(Updated: 4:25pm 30/9/2014)

FACEBOOK WILL GIVE advertisers the ability to target specific demographics across all devices and the web with the launch of a new ad platform.

Atlas, its new ad platform, will allow marketers to track the effectiveness of their ads across the web. Similar to Google’s offering DoubleClick, the service will be able to follow and target Facebook’s 1.3 billion users on all devices using its data.

The company calls the service ‘people-based marketing’ and says its more accurate than cookies, which are normally used to track browser data and help serve up more relevant ads.

Since cookies aren’t accurate when tracking across multiple platforms, especially on mobile, and offline measurement, it means that they become less accurate in targeting demographics.

The platform will also use this data to target those on Instagram as well, which has recently introduced ads into the feeds of UK users.

Addressing those who may have privacy concerns about the new platform, the company says that no marketers or companies will be given access to any data beyond what users have already made available through their privacy preferences.

The company will deliver the advertiser a batch of anonymised users that fit into the demographic targeted.

Your identity will remain anonymous to advertisers and only select data will be provided to them.

The launch of Atlas is a direct challenge to Google, which currently dominates the display ad sector with DoubleClick. Facebook bought the Atlus platform from Microsoft last year for an undisclosed fee.

[Originally published: 11:32am 29/9/2014]

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