Bell expanding targeted ads program to all services

BCE Inc. is rolling out to more services a pre-existing program that asks its subscribers to consider giving the company their personal information to better target relevant ads to them. The program is an expansion of a marketing initiative that Bell launched for its wireless customers in 2016 -- now available to TV, internet and phone customers, spokesman Marc Choma said in an email. The current iteration of the program is on an opt-in basis, in contrast to a similar unsuccessful initiative called the relevant advertising program in 2013. That version faced stiff opposition, especially from the privacy commissioner, who found the program’s lack of explicit consent troubling. The company shelved the plan in 2015 and relaunched with an opt-in model a year later. “Tailored marketing means Bell will be able to customize advertising based on participant account information and service usage patterns, similar to the ways that companies like Google and others have been doing for some time,” the company said on its website, adding that benefits include “knowledge of local promotions.” Customers who choose to participate can leave at any time, and Bell said it will only track those services users choose. Choma said the personal information it collects will never leave the company or be given or sold to advertisers or anyone else, as the company adheres to privacy rules. The program is in-line with a strategic opportunity the company’s top brass said it must capitalize on. In late 2017, Bell’s CEO George Cope said the country’s largest communications company needs to do a better job of finding opportunities in emerging advertising technology. Last year, the company launched programmatic ads on billboards, which allows advertisers to cater relevant ads based on the proximity of the user. Other ad technologies making conversations in the industry include dynamic insertions, which Corus Entertainment Inc. has viewed as a vital part of its future.

Bell expanding targeted ads program to all services

Brief | January 8, 2019

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Bell expanding targeted ads program to all services

Brief | January 8, 2019

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