AUGUST 17 2011 LONDON – Struq, the ad personalisation and optimisation platform, announced today the launch of the WHO engine, a core piece of technology able to predict with 80% accuracy the probability of a specific user clicking and buying a product or service through a Struq ad.

The question of frequency capping is becoming increasingly problematic for online advertisers. Successful online advertising requires reach and impact however potential customers can soon begin to feel “stalked” by an ad if it is served repeatedly, especially if it is irrelevant to them. “Stalking” occurs when users are not in market for an advertiser’s services but are served display ads regardless.

Building on the technology that underpins Struq’s Creative Optimisation Engine, the WHO engine is a matrix factorisation algorithm that uses Bayesian filters to process 8.1 billion data points in real time to predict the probability of a user clicking on a Struq ad and buying the product or service.

Struq’s WHO engine has shown an 80% level of confidence of predicting user behaviour correctly. This means that when Struq predicts a user’s behaviour, the actual subsequent behaviour of the user will match Struq’s prediction 80% of the time. The benefit to Struq’s clients is that 4/5 of the ads that Struq serve will reach in-market customers who are most likely to click and buy through a Struq ad.

The WHO engine assigns each individual user with a score which is used to determine the probability of that individual buying a product or service through a Struq ad. This technology means that impressions are not wasted on users who are not in market for the particular product or service advertised and enables advertisers to advertise more accurately and efficiently by focusing solely on the most profitable users. When combined with Advanced Creative Optimisation, the WHO engine ensures that, through personalised frequency capping, the end user will no longer repeatedly be shown irrelevant ads – Steve Jobs would not receive ads for the Samsung Galaxy Tab – so they will be more receptive to the relevant, personalised ads they are subsequently served. This translates into £19 revenue on every £1 spent by a Struq client, and enhanced brand value and recognition as customers associate the client with quality, relevant ads.

The WHO engine is core to Struq’s proprietary advanced technology. It is available to Struq’s client base and is compatible with every Struq ad in every format. As Sam Barnett, founder and CEO of Struq, explains “the success of a campaign depends on understanding what the customer wants and being able to deliver this when, where and how they want it. The technology behind the WHO engine enables Struq to do this and exceed their clients’ expectations in an unprecedented way.”