Yes, I said “virtual pop star” — Miku is a virtual singer and character created in 2007 by Crypton Future Media using Yamaha’s “Vocaloid” software. Her singing has been used in more than 100,000 user-generated videos, and Toyota has employed her before in campaigns in which she interacts with “real” people (are we really referring to actors and spokespeople as human beings these days?).

Through downloading the Toyota Shopping Tool App for Android or iOS — which is infused with the junaio Plugin, an extension of metaio’s augmented reality browser junaio that overlays interactive digital and 3-D content on top of a mobile view screen — Miku and/or Corolla fans can watch the electric-blue-haired virtual pop star perform a song alongside the 2011 Corolla. The directions don’t seem that difficult:

If you print out the “Toyotag,” you can make Miku sing and dance wherever you want. App users can also use the augmented reality program to shoot photos of themselves with Miku.

“The junaio plugin provides a convenient and efficient solution in taking existing mobile apps and integrating rich, robust AR functionalities like this Hatsune Miku Corolla experience,” says Lisa Murphy, project lead and metaio senior business developement manager. “I am thrilled that we were able to work with Toyota to take the virtual Hatsune Miku and make her a reality. We look forward to working together with Toyota in the future to make augmented reality an integral part of the customer purchasing experience.”

GM was the top online advertiser among auto manufacturers in January, delivering roughly 1.7 billion display ad views in the U.S. – Toyota came in second with 1.4 billion and Ford Motor Company rounded out the top three with 1.1 billion, according to a recent study by comScore.

GM also led in reach, with about 103 million unique individuals receiving their display ads during January, followed by Ford which reached 95 million and Toyota, which reached 62 million.

But Toyota won out in the sheer number of ads delivered per person reached – hitting a frequency of 22 ads per person compared to 16 for GM and 11 for Ford.

“GM has really led the auto industry in its use of online advertising,” said Alistair Sutcliffe, vice president of comScore Advertising Solutions. “And, their recent announcement that half of their $3 billion annual advertising budget would be spent online in the coming years is likely to be a bellwether for many industries. Many traditional advertisers are beginning to understand that the Internet enables them to efficiently build their brands by achieving their demographic reach and frequency goals while at the same time reaching the most attractive, behaviorally-defined target segments. This is a winning recipe for achieving an attractive return on one’s advertising investment.”

So where are car companies advertising? The top publisher sites they advertise on are portals and auto resource sites. Yahoo Sites and Microsoft Sites deliver the highest number of impressions – 936 million display advertising views and 585 million display advertising views, respectively.

“We hope mobile users viewing ‘The Pool’ will get big laughs on their small screens. We know Toyota will get big results,” said FLM president Frank Chindamo in a statement. FLM is currently running TV ads promoting the show on major networks like Fox, BET and ABC. The series will be available on mobile platforms like Sprint Powervision and MSN’s SmartVideo for Windows Mobile-powered phones. The show will also be available to watch on the Xbox 360.

FLM specializes in mobile comedy video. Its shows have been featured on networks like HBO, MTV, Comedy Central, CBS, and Fox. The channel has won several awards, including one for Best Live Action Short Film at Cannes.

Players of Funcom’s free “Anarchy Online” version can walk up to in-game billboards and interact with them, thus revealing a sleek, new Yaris. Massive Inc. believes that this in-game ad technology will make for a more memorable advertising experience, as well as provide for a way to target the “elusive male 18-34 range.”

Massive Incorporated CEO Mitch Davis said that, “This is just the beginning of interactive ads in games, and we are very pleased to unveil this new technology together with Funcom and Toyota.” He emphasized that the company does not intend to distract from the game experience, especially since Massive “always has the best interest of the gamers and the game experience in mind.”

Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas has chosen to use Massive’s technology because, as he stated, “In Funcom we are always trying to push the envelope in innovation and technology.” He continues, “Our primary goal is always to deliver the best possible entertainment, but to offset the high development costs in today’s gaming landscape, we need to look at additional forms of income. What Massive is offering us is exactly that, and we are therefore very pleased to continue working with them to introduce new technologies that give us a competitive edge.”

Massive Inc. has pioneered in-game ad technology and was recently purchased by Microsoft, while Anarchy Online has utilized in-game advertising since 2005, introducing dynamic advertising billboards with video and sound.

Almost eight years later, behavioral targeting is still a popular concept that’s finally beginning to come into its own. The challenge was extending the reach once the users left the relevant section of the Site. Thanks to technological improvements, we can now harness users navigating through other sections of our Site and leverage it for marketers looking to achieve maximum impact with their target audience.

Another innovative way that behavioral targeting has grown is through harnessing user intent. We should distinguish and understand the difference between intent and subject interest. A web search is often times the first step in a consumer’s search for product information. A directory assistance search on the other hand, in almost all cases demonstrates intent by the consumer to make a purchase decision.

Independent research firm Knowledge Networks/Statistical Research Inc (KN/SRI) published a study that suggests a majority of consumers who search business listings are doing so because they intend to make a purchase in the very near future. For marketers, the knowledge that a consumer intends to make a purchase in 30, 60 or 90 days is a powerful combination, and it is unique to online directory assistance.

Online directory assistance searches also give marketers a wealth of information that can be used to enhance and refine an ad campaign. The layering in of valuable demographic information like gender, age or geographic information and even whether the person is searching from work or from home can increase a marketer’s chances that an ad is reaching the right consumer at just the right time.

Take the auto industry for example. A large part of the ad budget spent in this industry happens at the local level because people buy new vehicles from their local dealership. If Toyota knew when a female consumer living in Seattle searched for a Honda dealer in her area, they could target an ad for the Sienna minivan to this consumer, grabbing her attention, instigating a similar search for Toyota dealers in her geographical area, or better yet, a click through to the ad.

Toyota assumes that the consumer is close to making a purchase of a new automobile and because she is a female, they may infer she is looking for a family car and that passenger safety is an important concern. In this case, Toyota could take the information acquired from this customers directory assistance search query and use it to their advantage by serving up a relevant ad at a point where the consumer was still uncommitted to a particular brand.

Research by comScore also tells us that consumers searching online directory assistance are often times reacting to a life changing event like planning a wedding or the purchase of a new home. By evaluating the most popular business categories searched for in any given month, we can gain insight into why people are using online directory assistance.

If those categories included restaurants, hospitals, doctors, churches and schools, you could assume these consumers are new to the neighborhood because anyone who has lived or worked somewhere for any length of time would already know where the closest services are located. Advertisers like Lowes could use this information to serve a relevant ad to a potential new home buyer. When you add in demographic information and geographic information, Lowes can further refine the ad to meet the needs of that particular consumer.

As a marketer your goal is to build brand awareness. Being able to reach a specific audience at a key time can make all the difference in the world when it comes to measuring success. Online directory assistance sites provide a wealth of simple behavioral information that can be leveraged and turned into a successful advertising campaign with real results. For the consumer, this means they will continue to visit online directory assistance sites for local searches because they are being served ads that are of interest to them. For the marketer, this means less money wasted because ads are reaching the right audience at the right time.