comScore said today it has launched comScore Audience Advantage, described as a "digital audience optimization platform" that allows publishers to provide advertisers and media planners with the ability to reach their most valuable audiences.

comScore Audience Advantage uses proprietary audience scoring algorithms to determine optimal audiences for advertisers using predictive variables as inputs. These variables come from a variety of observable behaviors online as measured via comScore’s opt-in research panel, including site visitation, search activity, video views, advertising engagements, online purchases or any other number of behaviors that may relevant to an advertiser.

The Audience Advantage platform does use cookies to create it s predictive algorithms. Instead, they are butyl using the actual observed behavior and characteristics of the opt-in comScore panelists. comScore says its platform can also use third-party databases that are integrated with its research panel to provide anonymous offline purchase behavior as another important predictive input to these algorithms.

"Audience Advantage offers significant value creation for the online advertising ecosystem that benefits all stakeholders," said Erin Hunter, comScore executive vice president.

"Publishers will be able to demonstrate higher value in the campaigns they deliver, thereby justifying higher CPMs, while advertisers will be able to minimize wasted impressions and reduce the total cost of advertising outlays. It is truly a win-win for the digital advertising industry."

Using all available behaviors as inputs, Audience Advantage determines a predictive score for various audience segments. Participating publishers use this score to anonymously identify and deliver to advertisers "lookalike" audiences from the behavior they observe among their own site visitors.

Campaigns can be planned to target only 5 or 10 percent of consumers most likely to a purchase a particular brand with the goal of reinforcing loyalty, or they can be planned against a larger segment of consumers who are dual brand buyers with the objective of switching to the advertiser’s brand.