Many online marketplaces have simply become a place to buy essentials. But where’s the fun in that? While we need easy access to toilet paper and passionfruit La Croix, consumers also shop based on their passions. Take for instance, Star Wars Day, May the 4th. What began as a pun has evolved into an opportunity for fans of the franchise to connect with a larger Star Wars community. On eBay alone, there are 355K daily visits to the Star Wars page with six Star Wars purchases every minute 1. When it comes to what defines us, our interests play a strong part in how our world view is formed. Brands are taking note and are seeking more interest-based targeting opportunities in their campaigns.
Essentials are important, but passions drive engagement
Even if you’re not one of eBay’s 180 million active buyers 2, you may have found yourself on the platform looking for that special something you couldn’t find elsewhere. That something likely represented a personal passion point. Though a movie like Star Wars may seem uninteresting to some, many people have a visceral love of the franchise. The same can be said for a series like Game of Thrones (GOT). On eBay, searches for a GOT by MAC makeup pallette are currently trending as the show is in its final season. Equally, sports conjures the same level of fandom as popular media, if not more. Since Tiger Woods’ triumphant comeback at this year’s Masters, his go-to Newport 2 putters made by Scotty Cameron, have maintained a trending spot on eBay.
Improving your brand’s relationship with consumers
Like any relationship, surface level connections aren’t the best foundation for success. While age and household income are important data points, it helps to know what the person you’re trying to reach is interested in. eBay deeply understands what interests their users. They know that the same person shopping for Star Wars memorabilia is a parent who may share this bit of nostalgia with their children.
This deep level of interest based data captured from both contextual and behavioral insights coupled with demographics, allows advertisers to take a more personalized and humanistic approach to advertising. As other platforms attempt to roll out interest based advertising 3, eBay is proud to be one of the first to implement the approach.
Ready to lean into our users’ interests? Connect with our ad sales team.
- eBay First Party Data, 2019.
- eBay Fast Facts, Q1 2019.
- Digiday, 2/1/19.