All posts by Experian Marketing Services

Marketing in the automotive industry used to be a simple process. Advertisements would be placed in newspapers and auto dealers would host events to lure customers into showrooms. However, the way people shop for cars has changed dramatically. Most consumers don’t begin their car buying experience at dealerships—they start online with research and comparison shopping. To help auto marketers actively evolve their marketing strategies and campaigns and effectively communicate with today’s buyers, Experian Marketing Service has debunked a few myths: Myth #1: Traditional advertising methods are still the most effective. Advertising only on non-addressable linear television and direct mail is the way of the past. Digital channels are replacing physical interactions, creating various new interfaces between consumers and businesses. Marketers need to connect with today’s consumers with a one-to-one message, wherever they may be, whether it’s through TV and direct mail or online, social, email and mobile. Savvy marketers have learned how to use one channel to support another to drive maximum results. The key for auto marketers is developing a multi-channel campaign that enables them to target custom audiences on specific channels. The ability to measure and capture information about those points of interaction puts marketers in a position to apply data analytics and decisioning together to create a better customer experience.   Myth #2: Campaign success is measured by clicks. Getting clicks is no longer the ‘end all, be all’ for measuring the success of a campaign. Sales-based attribution shows precisely how well your marketing initiatives perform by campaign, lead source, make/model and more. Marketers need to get a more complete view of their target audience response, including those who bought from their competition. Recognizing trends sooner and making well-thought-out decisions are critical when it comes to seeing results. Once marketers have a clear picture, the success of the campaign can be measured in automotive insights and analysis based on the most accurate, up-to-date Department of Motor Vehicles statistics, combined with demographic, lifestyle, psychographic and financial data.   Myth #3:  First-party data is king. While first-party data is valuable in certain contexts, third-party data really amps up your ability to go beyond what you know – enriching customer profiles and reaching new customers. Collecting consumer data through a third-party is essential in today’s market. Six out of ten executives believe sharing their data with third parties and tapping into additional data to enrich their customer profiles will help them create frictionless customer experiences. In fact, there is an increasing percentage of senior leaders exploring opportunities to share more data with third-party agencies and partners. With the responsible use of data, the usage of third-party data sources to augment your own will help you identify the right customers faster, and deliver enhanced customer experiences. The Automotive News Power Training Webinar recently presented by Experian provides you with new information about automotive marketing KPI’s. Watch the on-demand webinar: The Race to the Sale: Adopting OEM advertising KPIs for a record finish to learn about a range of marketing KPIs commonly used by OEMs and their agencies to measure advertising performance.

For decades, financial institutions relied on direct mail marketing and mass media for credit card offers and invitations to apply (ITA) for loans. Today however, credit marketing is going digital. In fact, according to Statista, financial services ranks 3rd in total digital ad spend this year. Lenders need to deliver relevant credit offers to consumers in the spaces and platforms where they interact. Below are three best practices to help financial services marketers make the most of their digital budgets and strategies. 1. Test new acquisition channels Consumers are no longer just in one place. They are constantly moving around and business strategies need to encompass that. Today’s consumers have multiple devices – a mobile phone, a TV, a laptop, a smartwatch, etc. and each of these devices uses a different tactic to attract consumers. Marketers need to reach their audience across all the channels with which they are engaging. To maximize performance and profitability, lenders need to leverage multiple channels to target and re-target their intended audience. They need to expand the reach of tailored prescreen ad campaigns by adding email, digital display ads, or other online channels to the traditional direct mail channel. This will help increase response rates, decrease length of time to conversation, and provide insight on consumer behaviors and preferences that cannot be achieved with a direct mail offer alone. 2. Target an audience that is right for you. Through a streamlined credit criteria selection process, and Experian’s expertise in audience creation, you now have the power to target the best consumers for your business needs in a fully customized approach. Financial services marketers should isolate appropriate populations – enabling you to make unique offers for different consumer segments and target them in the channels they leverage. In addition, you need to ensure your data is accurate and compliant. Fresh, accurate data enables you to pre-select the best prospects for your business need—right when they are most motivated to respond—and avoid making preapproved offers to nonqualified consumers. Also critical is that while we are able to use regulated data sets to reach consumers, we need to do so with extra caution while meeting FCRA guidelines. It is imperative to honor consumer opt-outs across all channels and ensure you have audit rights with media publishers. The Experian Ascend Technology Platform gives financial institutions the power to integrate client data, industry-specific data feeds and the power of Experian’s unique capabilities in data, analytics, machine learning and advanced AI  to deliver enhanced opportunities throughout the customer lifecycle, including lending offers to acquire new customers and cross-sell to existing ones. 3. Test and adjust your campaigns Before the world of digital, it was difficult for financial institutions to track campaign impact on audiences. By employing online promotions, lenders can see how much interaction consumers are having with their promotional media. Financial services marketers should take processes and campaigns that have worked in the past and perform small, iterative tests using different channels. We believe that by adding a digital touch to a client's direct mail prescreen campaign, there is the potential to experience a lift above direct mail response rates; decreased length of time to conversion, and we can provide insight on consumer behaviors and preferences that cannot be achieved with a direct mail offer alone.  It is important to test and optimize accordingly.   Experian is also at the forefront of the digital credit revolution with Amplified Prospecting™. Experian’s Amplified Prospecting empowers lenders to deliver relevant firm offers of credit to prescreened consumers via multiple digital channels, including email, online display advertising and social media. Simply put, it allows you to timely engage the most desirable consumers where they’re increasingly consuming information and media today – improving your response rates and return on marketing investment.   Experian is a leader in the credit revolution, offering more ways for consumers to secure credit including the industry-first Text for Credit™, which allows users to initiate and complete the credit application process within minutes with a simple text message. In addition, Experian recently introduced Experian Boost, a revolutionary new online tool that can instantly improve your credit scores and help the 100 million Americans that don't have access to credit today, either because their credit scores are too low, or because they don't have enough credit history.   With faster, more efficient data integration and processing you can more accurately target leads, achieve better response rates, and optimize your marketing spend.   To learn more about Experian’s Financial Services solutions, contact us at (877) 902-4849 or experianmarketingsolutions@experian.com to learn more!        

There are thousands of potential car buyers heading into dealerships and browsing websites for their next vehicle every day. And that means thousands of opportunities for automotive manufacturers to market their vehicles to prospective buyers. But not every vehicle is going to meet the needs and wants of every car buyer. So, how do automotive brand marketers reach the individuals most likely to be interested in their products? Simply put, it comes down to better understanding the brand’s audience. But, today’s digitally-driven world creates a significant challenge for brand marketers – the overreliance on mobile devices and digital channels creates hundreds of digital touchpoints for brand marketers to consider. But, the data also creates an opportunity. If automotive marketers can bridge the gap between online and offline touchpoints, they’ll be better positioned to develop messages that resonate with their desired audience and deliver communications through the most effective channels. The end result? A more meaningful interaction with potential car buyers. To get there, automotive marketers need to consider these concepts: Navigate the identity resolution process The secret to a more relevant conversation begins and ends with knowing who you are addressing. People interact with brands through a variety of channels. For example, a person may see an advertisement for a new vehicle on their smartphone, later research the same vehicle at home on their desktop or on a mobile app and test drive the vehicle a few days later. The automotive marketer that can reconcile these three different interactions will be able to deliver relevant advertisements to the individual and cut down on wasted advertising spend. Knowledge-based identity resolution is what allows you to be smarter with your marketing. Present the right offer People are bombarded with hundreds, if not thousands, of advertisements daily. Automotive marketers need to cut through the noise and deliver messages that resonate with the target audience – whether it’s through e-newsletters, 30-second TV spots, banner ads or direct mail pieces. If automotive manufacturers miss the mark, it could lead to a frustrated consumer and poor brand reputation. For instance, an automotive marketer would not want to advertise the latest minivan to a couple who are empty nesters. Create customer loyalty It’s important to stay on top of current market statistics and data to fine-tune marketing campaigns. Vehicle ownership and purchase patterns can vary greatly in each market, and that means brands might need to fine-tune long-term loyalty strategies. A loyalty program that works in the Northeast might not work well for the Midwest market based on car buying patterns and the reasons behind owning a car. Data can help prioritize resources in areas with the highest potential for sales growth. Experian Marketing EngineTM helps automotive manufacturers engage customers across every channel while making the most of a marketing budget. It’s designed to seamlessly collect, consolidate and use customer data by connecting offline and online identifiers to create a single customer view. Experian’s North American Vehicle Database alone has over 11 billion records and over 800 million vehicles, of which over 68 million are Canadian vehicles. Marketing Engine leverages automotive specific insights, including vehicle purchase behaviors and ownership data, and combines that with other marketing data such as demographics and lifestyle interests. These automotive tools provide a more unified approach so that brands can make more informed decisions, gain and retain new customers, and drive sales. Learn more at https://www.experian.com/automotive/marketing.

The questions that keep retail marketers up at night have evolved quite significantly over the last decade. It wasn’t too long ago that marketers would spend their time debating which highway to place their billboard on, whether or not their next TV commercial should be comical or heart tugging, and even what the optimal time of day was to blast an email campaign to their entire customer list. However, today’s data-driven environment has turned the retail marketing landscape on its head, and businesses have a whole new set of struggles that revolve around identity and data.   1. Knowing What Data to Capture There is an excess amount of data available, from both online and offline sources. When a customer shops at a brick and mortar store, they are creating data points – what items did they purchase? What time did they shop? How long were they in the store? And when the same customer shops online, they are creating a whole new set of data points – what device did they use? Did they browse certain items that they ultimately didn’t buy? How much time did they spend on a certain page? There is a never-ending slew of data. So much so, that retailers are struggling to understand what data to focus on. The first step is to clarify the challenge you’re trying to solve. By knowing what your problem is, you can help drive the decision of what is the right data. For example, if you want to determine when a good time to offer an online incentive is, you should pay attention to what days and times your customers are shopping online the most, and don’t just pick one time, but customize it based on individual preferences.   2. Understanding Customer Behavior Not only is having too much data a challenge, but struggling to combine it all together to create a comprehensive single customer view is also a tough feat to accomplish.  Today’s consumer journey is no longer linear, customers use a revolving door of different devices such as tablets, mobile phones, and laptops, and retailers need to keep up. A customer may be in a store and see a new pair of shoes they want, but because of the long line at the cashier, they pull out their mobile phone and add the shoes to their cart. However, because they are on the go, they decide they will complete the purchase later. Back at home, they may go to purchase the shoes from their laptop and chances are if they aren’t recognized and the shoes aren’t in their cart they may feel inconvenienced and nix the purchase. Retailers need to be able to combine offline CRM and purchasing data with a customer’s online activity regardless of the channel or device.   3. Building Trust Between Consumers and Your Brand Trust is the bedrock of any online relationship. And consumers who hold trust with your brand will be willing to share more data in order to make their experience more convenient. However, retailers need to establish this trust by ensuring customer data is collected transparently and respectfully. In fact, according to recent Experian data, 80 percent of consumers say the more transparent a business is about the use of their information, the greater trust they have in that business. The same report also found that 56 percent of businesses plan to invest more in transparency-inspired programs, such as consumer education, communicating terms more concisely, and helping consumers feel in control of their personal data.   4. Establishing Customer Loyalty Today’s consumer has a plethora of opportunities and choices all available at their fingertips. This makes it more difficult than ever for retailers to build and maintain customer loyalty. By using data and insights to help brands interact with people in more meaningful ways, retailers can provide a more personalized and relevant experience, helping to establish loyalty. By understanding your customers’ needs and delivering what they want (i.e. cold weather products before they head skiing for a weekend or new swimwear before a beach vacation) you are not only helping to bring in additional revenue but you are building a relationship and keeping the customer shopping with you. 5. Finding Your Technology Solution Retailers need to integrate technology in order to actually make all their data actionable and use it to streamline the customer experience. Retailers need to be able to integrate data storage platforms with a fulfillment and reporting solution, such as email service providers, display networks and marketing intelligence tools. Whether retailers are exploring the industry or gearing up to make a substantial investment in the right technology partner, it’s important to ensure you are evaluating potential partners equally and consistently.   Experian can help retailers effectively use their data and insights to interact with their customers and potential customers in more meaningful ways. Our core capabilities revolve around data, linkage and activation. We work with retailers and provide them with the necessary data about their customers to help build a comprehensive picture of who their customer truly is and what they want. We also work with retailers to help them reach their customers across multiple channels including: mobile, email, social, direct mail, TV, and display, and provide the data and identity solutions necessary to ensure that same customer who put the shoes in their cart while at the store, is the same customer who wants to finalize the transaction later that evening on their laptop. Lastly, Experian helps retailers track the impact of their marketing campaigns to determine what strategies are effective and will increase ROI in the long term.   Today’s data-driven marketing landscape has opened the door for new opportunities and challenges. Retail marketers need to change their way of thinking if they want to continue to thrive. They have to sort through mounds of data and figure out what to use and how to make the most of it. They need to identify who their customers are no matter where they are or what device they are using. They also need to be able to build trust so that customers are comfortable sharing personal information and create customer loyalty by finding ways to turn that data into smarter decisions. Lastly, retailers need to find the right technology solutions and partners to ensure they are keeping up with today’s consumers and making the most of the marketing tools available in today’s age.  

TV has evolved drastically over the past decade, especially in just the past few years. We’ve witnessed a transformation from people watching their favorite shows in front of a television set, to individuals streaming movies and other video content on mobile devices. It’s gone from an experience shared by family members in the living room, to one that could be had almost anywhere in the world, at any time. But while the evolution of TV has made it more convenient and easier to watch what you want, whenever you want to, it’s created challenges for advertisers hoping to better connect with people. As brands look to adapt to the new TV landscape, we sat down with Brad Danaher, our Director of TV Solutions, to discuss how advertisers can maximize TV ad spend, assess ad strategies, deliver relevant content and what can be expected in the future.   Q: How do brands keep up with the shifting behavior of consumers as it relates to TV? BD: The growing popularity of on-demand video, as well as streaming devices has completely changed the way brands should think about advertising campaigns. In the past, it was possible for brands to succeed with a siloed and generic approach focused on reach and any targeting was simply contextual - a process of deciding which programming should be in the media plan. Campaigns based primarily on traditional TV ratings are rapidly becoming an outdated approach. Brand advertisers need to maximize online and offline data assets to more accurately and confidently identify and build audience segments. This means cultivating data assets they already own and looking for others that they can “rent” on a campaign basis, as needed, from companies like Experian. The shift in TV viewing has been towards mobile consumption – which means cross-channel campaigns are more important than ever. Traditional TV can’t be the end all, be all. It needs to work within the context of a larger advertising campaign. Q: How do advertisers adapt to the new normal?                BD: The approach is simple: adopt a digital mindset, which starts with proper identity resolution. Advertisers need to leverage a combination of first- and third-party data to get a full understanding of an individual. First-party data alone only paints a portion of the picture. That said, keep in mind that not all data is created equal. It’s recommended that advertisers work with providers that have a strong track record in data management. And when identities are resolved, it can help brands make the right marketing decisions and better connect with people. In addition, like a digital advertiser – test and learn. Understand that you can learn from each campaign to make the next one more optimized. Measure each campaign and apply those learnings to the next campaign. Measurement of advanced TV allows for that insight like never before. Q: As TV continues to advance, are linear campaigns still viable options for advertisers? BD: Despite the trends toward more advanced TV campaigns, linear TV still holds strong value in the market. It comes down to the intended audience for any given product. For example, items such as toilet paper, toothpaste and facial tissues are designed for a mass audience. But for products that are slightly more granular, yet don’t meet standards for addressable TV, there are optimized linear options. Using advanced data assets, you can do more detailed linear TV planning to find the programming that best fits your target audience. Most TV networks and OTT sellers are equipped to provide deeper insights into their audiences than ever before. Advertisers can go beyond viewership metrics and look at demographic, psychographic and transactional attributes. These data sets were not connected to TV viewing data five years ago, but now they make linear campaigns more effective. Q: How will TV advertising evolve over the next five years? BD: Much of the evolution will be driven by the “next” technological disruptor for the industry. But undoubtedly, data will continue to have tremendous impact on how brands connect with people, regardless of how technology shifts. TV advertising will become more relevant and more measurable. In addition, digital advertising and TV advertising teams will come together to be more unified in their planning approaches as the various datasets used by both teams is better understood and applied. The consumer needs to be at the heart of every advertising decision, and data is integral to this approach. It comes down to properly identifying audiences and delivering content that resonates with people.

This year, Experian decided to try something new, by hosting our own roadshow style events called ConnecTour. The idea behind ConnecTour was to create a casual, intimate environment in various cities across the country where clients, partners, and prospects could get together to hear and share industry challenges, discuss solutions and network with peers and industry leaders. The first ConnecTour was held in Chicago on May 8, 2018 at The Park at Wrigley, and attendees at this first event ranged from current Experian clients, to prospects in the Chicago area, and even included a few agency partners. Bruce Biegel, of The Winterberry Group, began the afternoon with a keynote about the current landscape of the digital industry. This was followed by an engaging panel on addressable TV that included Brad Danaher and Kevin Heindl of Experian, along with Todd Johnson of Yume. Finally, Room & Board presented a case study on digital strategy and how it has transformed their business. Attendees then enjoyed a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs celebrated a 4-3 victory over the Miami Marlins.   The second ConnecTour took place in New York City on September 28, 2018 at the Tribeca 360 banquet hall. We were joined by clients, partners, and agencies from the New York area, with a turnout of approximately 75 attendees. The evening started off with a cocktail hour and dinner and was followed by a two-part program focused on identity. Chuck Moxley of 4INFO gave a fascinating keynote presentation about identity resolution in an increasingly omnichannel world. This was followed by a panel which included Jessica Akinwale of Twenty Ten Inc, Howard Luks of Eyeota, and Patrick Workman of Experian. The panel brought a spirited discussion of the everchanging landscape of identity.   “4INFO was thrilled to keynote and be a panel moderator at the well-attended ConnecTour event in September. The attendees were leaders in the TV and Identity space.   Good conversations with existing and new partners were had.  We thank Experian for our continued partnership.” – Mari Tangredi, 4INFO       Experian will be continuing the ConnecTour experience in 2019, with a stop in Los Angeles on January 24 at The Jefferson in West Hollywood. More details coming soon. If you’re interested in joining us, please reach out to your Experian representative, or contact us at experianmarketingsolutions@experian.com.

In the battle to attract and retain new customers, competition is inevitable. When consumers research their next big purchase, they have access to numerous options when it comes to brands and products – it can be a challenge for brands to ensure they are seen. Not to mention, people consume information through a variety of channels – whether it’s on mobile, desktop and broadcast, among other channels. For example, a teen watching TV at home might see an ad for a new fall coat, and come across an ad for the same coat on social media later that afternoon. These interactions might prompt her to visit her nearest department store over the weekend, where she comes across a competitor’s ad for a new fleece jacket. But, feeling more connected with the ads from the first brand, she continues with her original purchase.... Read the full post at AW360 here.

As businesses, we are driven to earn consumer trust and affinity, and continuously strive to give those consumers a reason to interact with us and come back. But, technology has undoubtedly flipped that process on its head and changed the customer journey. From the moment a customer is introduced to a brand via a mobile ad, to the time they re-visit the brand online or in store, there have likely been hundreds of touchpoints between the two. If brands want to build that trust and affinity, it’s imperative to connect those touchpoints together to better understand their customers and have more relevant conversations with them. Data is key to that process. Kevin Dean, President of Marketing Services at Experian, recently participated in an interview with Nick Westergaard of On Brand podcast on the importance of data and identity when it comes to building customer loyalty. On the podcast, he discusses the role of identity resolution in building brand affinity, and how relevancy is critical in developing lifelong relationships with consumers. Dean also discusses the biggest challenges that brand builders face today, including data management, achieving a single customer view, being able to analyze the large amounts of data that businesses are faced with today, and ultimately using this information to correctly identify the opportunities at hand when better connecting with consumers. To listen to the On Brand podcast episode, Why Data is Critical to Building Customer Loyalty, click here.

Recently, Patrick Workman, Experian Marketing Services’ vice president of global platform partnerships, was named as part of DMN’s annual 40Under40 list. The recognition is given to executives under the age of 40 who are truly changing the landscape of contemporary marketing, and paving the way for constant innovation. Constant innovation is part of the culture at Experian, as we adapt to the evolving needs of society. Patrick exemplifies this through the work that he spearheads in our Marketing Services division. He and his team launched the activation partners program to help advertisers connect with people through digital media channels. The activation partners program furthers Experian’s commitment to helping brands uncover the right audiences. We’ve teamed up with marketing technology leaders such as 4C, Adaptly, Brand Networks, SocialCode and Unified to help brands deliver relevant content. As part of the program, advertisers can leverage their own first-party data, third-party data from Experian’s ConsumerViewSM marketing database, or a combination of the two to build audience segments and optimize campaigns. Once the audience has been built and the content created, advertisers can work with any of the marketing technology partners to deliver personalized advertisements to people across any marketing channel. The marketing industry is everchanging, and Patrick has been at the forefront, driving the change, for years. Prior to Experian, he held positions at innovative tech companies including Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. At Instagram, Patrick was part of a small team of Brand Development Leads who acted as evangelists for the launch of Instagram’s advertising business. He used audience intelligence to power brand engagement, activation, and direct response objectives for some of the world’s biggest marketers, across the automotive, technology/telecom, and financial service verticals. Additionally, Patrick is an adviser to multiple early stage startups focused on influencer marketing and ticketing. We’re proud that DMN recognizes Patrick as one of the top talents in the marketing industry. We know that he will continue to lead our teams toward the future of marketing, creating solutions that help marketers have more meaningful interactions with their audiences.