Interwoven Weaves in Adaptive Targeting for Web Marketers

One of the things top of mind every time Web marketers sign off on a new strategy is whether or not it will truly resonate with a diverse array of individuals. With a sliding economy and many people second-guessing their purchases, targeted messages are of the utmost importance. Trying to fill this need, San Jose, Calif.–based content management provider Interwoven unleashes Interwoven Optimost Adaptive Targeting offering, now generally available.

According to Mark Wachen, managing director of Optimost at Interwoven, the offering has a three-fold benefit for marketers:

• discover new segments of site visitors;
• learn more about current visitor segments; and
• respond quickly with relevant experiences and content.

Wachen, who founded of Optimost and remained when it was acquired by Interwoven in November 2007, explains the combination of both companies' sweet spots -- the former specializing in multivariable testing and the latter in content management -- brings forward a solution that sets the company apart from other competitors. "Other systems can create and deliver content, but they do not have the optimized piece like we do," he stresses. "This gives us a unique advantage because adaptive targeting takes a more holistic approach, considering geography, behavior, context, or even demographics. By marrying it with multivariable testing, we can look at essentially millions of permutations and match the best ones with each individual segment."

Jim Murphy, research director of Web and enterprise content management at Boston-based industry analyst and consulting firm AMR Research, also believes that Interwoven is coming from a fresh perspective among its industry peers. "Certainly this combination is eye opening," he admits. "There's no vendor I can think about in [this space] that has done anything like this."

Murphy goes on to explain that some companies offer an on-premises type of scenario in which companies may offer A/B testing -- essentially testing one piece of a Web page, such as a banner, versus another version -- in addition to organizing content. "It's a linear process and more time consuming," he says.

Another point of differentiation for Interwoven's new offering is that it is available as software-as-a-service (SaaS), according to Murphy. He explains that this particular industry has historically had a problem producing tangible return-on-investment figures, rather simply saying "I'm getting the sense my site is more usable." By adding Optimost into this offering, Murphy says it can actually measure usage and click-throughs, which can produce a measurable return in a short period of time. "Look at the economic environment right now," he urges. "Companies aren't going to invest in anything without at least a good sense of quick [possible returns] and predictable cost...and SaaS is good for that purpose."

Looking ahead, Wachen says Interwoven plans to infuse Optimost's functionality into the other targeting solutions the company has out on the market. "What's exciting is that this is really somewhat unchartered territory," he says. "I'm sure there's going to be a tremendous learning curve over the next year."

That excitement extends beyond the four walls of the Interwoven headquarters, according to Murphy. "Of the [offerings] I have seen from [the company] for awhile now, this solution is generating a great deal of interest," he explains. "This is something new in the space of Web content management."

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