Vicks Helps Moms Track Flus

"Kaz, manufacturer for the Vicks brand, found an innovative way to target a very specific audience for its new behind-the-ear thermometer — moms and expectant mothers — by leveraging the geolocation abilities of smartphones, demographics data provided by apps and an algorithm created by Google that estimates regional flu activity based on Internet searches," according to Direct Marketing News. "Google aggregated Web searches from 2003 to 2008 with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, and using the location aspect of users' IP addresses, Google devised a formula to estimate regional flu activity based on Internet searches. Using Google's predictive model for the flu as its primary data, Kaz partnered with the third-party ad network Where.com to pinpoint the moms and moms-to-be who would be most interested in the noninvasive temperature-taker by indicating to them that they are in a region where the flu is prevalent, via ads served through a number of apps." Read more.