1. 225 N. Michigan Ave., 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601 | www.ResolutionMedia.com | (P) 312.980.1600
Facebook’s New Self-Serve Feature Gives Advertisers
the Ability to Reach Specific Consumer Segments
April 2013
Background
On April 10, 2013, Facebook launched Partner Categories, a new feature
that enables advertisers to target consumers based on online and offline
purchasing behavior. Currently Partner Categories includes more than 500
unique targeting segments from third-party data firms Datalogix, Acxiom,
and Epsilon. The functionality is currently available to all U.S.-based
advertisers. Non-U.S. advertisers must be whitelisted in order to leverage
Partner Categories and can target only U.S. consumers at this point.
Partner Categories comes on the heels of a flurry of targeting
enhancements by Facebook intended to better equip advertisers to drive
and measure business outcomes and ROI. As with Facebook’s Custom
Audiences program – the ability to import customer data to inform
targeting – Partner Categories will most certainly be a smart tool for
advertisers looking to increase brand equity and drive sales by reaching
the consumers that matter most to them. Widely accessible and requiring
no minimum spend commitment, Partner Categories will no doubt benefit
big and small brands alike.
How it Works
Partner Categories are integrated as targeting options within Facebook’s
self-serve platform, Power Editor, as well as through select Paid Media API
platforms. Advertisers looking to leverage Partner Categories as part of a
media buy would simply select the specific consumer segments they want
to reach, much as they would select Facebook’s native targeting
segments like Age, Gender, Broad and Precise Interests, and so forth.
To further refine targeted buying, advertisers are able to pair Partner
Categories with the native Facebook targeting filters as well as Custom
Audiences and Look-A-Like options. For example, an advertiser might
target female Yogurt buyers under age 35 by layering gender and age
parameters to the “Yogurt Buyer” Partner Category segment. All in all, the

2. 225 N. Michigan Ave., 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601 | www.ResolutionMedia.com | (P) 312.980.1600
ability to combine both native and third-party data gives greater depth to
the advertising tool set.
Resolution POV:
These new capabilities provide three key benefits to marketers:
1) Minimize Media Waste ─ Refining media targeting with Partner
Categories will help advertisers to more precisely reach and
engage the consumers that matter most to them, resulting in more
efficient and effective spending.
2) Influence Buying Behavior ─ Powered by consumer purchasing
data, Partner Categories can be a potent tool for advertisers to
deliver brand messages and incentives to consumers who are
category buyers or in market for specific products. As such, it can
be effective at driving purchase or influencing purchase decisions.
3) Build Brand Equity ─ Partner Categories provides advertisers with
additional opportunities to drive visibility of their brands and
branded content to core consumer segments at scale. Coupled
with the targeting flexibility of Facebook’s self-serve ads offering,
Partner Categories can bolster branding efforts and brand
relevancy by enabling advertisers to reach specific consumer
segments with messages tailored to their precise purchasing
behaviors.
Summary
Facebook’s Partner Categories demonstrates Facebook’s commitment to
helping marketers better reach and engage the consumers that are most
important to them. With a rich array of data-driven targeting segments at
their fingertips, advertisers are now able to increase the precision and the
relevancy of their ads on Facebook with relative ease and accessibility.
All in all, this new opportunity should serve advertisers looking to drive sales
as well as those looking to build brand health, ultimately leading to better
ROI and more effective media buying.

3. 225 N. Michigan Ave., 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601 | www.ResolutionMedia.com | (P) 312.980.1600
For more information, visit the resources below:
http://www.facebook-studio.com/news/item/partner-categories-a-new-
self-serve-targeting-feature
For information about Resolution, visit our website:
http://resolutionmedia.com/