Margin test

Experian Data Quality, a part of Experian Marketing Services and a leading provider of data quality software and services, today published a new report on the prevalence of personalization and analytics required to support new marketing efforts. The study found that while almost half of companies personalize messages across more than one channel, organizations struggle to gain insight quickly and maintain an accurate data source. “While the majority of companies are investing in analytics and looking to improve the customer experience through personalization, many lack the data backbone necessary to support this effort,” said Thomas Schutz, senior vice president, general manager of Experian Data Quality. “Companies are able to obtain compelling types of information at impressive volumes, but most struggle with basic data quality that allows them to ensure accurate and accessible information.” Experian Data Quality also found that: • Of those that leverage personalization, 84 percent do so to improve customer engagement • Ninety-four percent of companies have challenges related to personalization • More than two-thirds of companies are investing budget into analytics and have an analytics team • Ninety-four percent of companies are linking customer information across channels, but 83 percent are having a difficult time accomplishing this “Without a foundation in data quality, organizations simply will be unable to fully achieve personalization goals,” added Schutz. “Organizations need to continue to invest in analytics, but they also should leverage resources to consolidate information and ensure its accuracy.” To obtain a copy of Maximizing personalization from Experian Data Quality, please visit http://www.qas.com/whitepapers/maximizing-personalization/contact-form.htm.

For the seventh straight year, Experian Marketing Services secured the top spot, according to Internet Retailer’s 2014 Top 500 Guide Experian Marketing Services has once again secured the number one position as the leading email marketing provider to the greatest total of top 500 online retailers in North America. According to Internet Retailer’s recently released 2014 Top 500 Guide, Experian Marketing Services ranks ahead of all other email marketing services companies, as measured by the number of top-500-ranked e-retailers in North America using its products and services. This marks the seventh year in a row Experian Marketing Services has held the leading position. Internet Retailer’s Top 500 Guide compiles exclusive data to provide marketers with valuable insights to help grow their businesses, including insights related to what’s driving growth in online sales. The annual guide is widely recognized as the industry’s most comprehensive analysis of America’s 500 largest retail Websites, as ranked by annual ecommerce sales. “Drawing on our expertise in building scalable and reliable marketing technology as the world’s largest email service provider, our frontrunner recognition in the 2014 Top 500 Guide underpins our commitment to providing our clients with a single cross-channel platform to deliver coordinated and intelligent interactions with their customers,” said Peter DeNunzio, president of Cross-Channel Marketing at Experian Marketing Services. “There’s no question that competition is increasing in the online retail space so it’s wonderful to see so many of our clients leading the way in customer engagement year over year.” The modern-day consumer has forever changed the relationship between a brand and its customers, as well as the technology that enables marketers to maintain and grow those relationships. As one of the most highly regarded email service providers in the industry, Experian Marketing Services sends more than 14 billion email messages a month on behalf of the world’s most recognizable brands. Backed by the industry’s highest-rated client services team, Experian Marketing Services’ cross-channel marketing platform is built with the scale and flexibility to support digital programs of any size and sophistication. Learn more about Experian Marketing Services’ cross-channel marketing platform by visiting its Website. Order a copy of Internet Retailer’s 2014 Top 500 Guide by visiting it’s Website.

2014 Client Summit: Storytellers will focus on how brands can deliver authentic and meaningful customer experiences. Experian Marketing Services today announced a star-studded speaker lineup for its 2014 Client Summit to be held July 23–25, 2014, at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nev., around the theme of “Storytelling.” The award-winning event will bring together more than 1,000 attendees from some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated brands. Marketers will hear from compelling storytellers throughout the three-day event including: • Michael Strahan, cohost of "LIVE with Kelly and Michael" and "Good Morning America," analyst for "Fox NFL Sunday" and pro football Hall of Famer • Adam Savage, cohost of “MythBusters” on Discovery Channel • Sophia Amoruso, founder and CEO of Nasty Gal, the fastest growing online retailer in the country, and author of #GIRLBOSS • Jermaine Dupri, Grammy winner and founder of Global 14 • Don Steele, senior vice president, fan engagement, multiplatform marketing at Comedy Central • Dave Beveridge, senior vice president, marketing at ShoeDazzle • Jenn McClain-De Jong, vice president, ecommerce at The Limited • Brad Nash, marketing director, email and lifecycle marketing, GameStop “Marketers need to master both the art and science of storytelling in order to resonate in a meaningful way with their customers,” said Ashley Johnston, senior vice president, global marketing at Experian Marketing Services. “For the 2014 Client Summit: Storytellers, our goal is to give marketers the right balance of inspiration, education and networking. We’ll also demonstrate the latest advancements within our marketing suite so that clients can go back to their teams with tangible strategies for creating relatable, memorable and sharable customer experiences.” At the event, executives from Experian Marketing Services will unveil the company’s latest products, capabilities, actionable case studies and groundbreaking consumer research, sharing the stage with clients and partners. Attendees can choose from nearly 50 breakout and roundtable sessions featuring speakers from Forrester Research, GameStop, Michael’s Stores, Microsoft Advertising, Yahoo!, Zappos, Hearst Magazines, AT&T, Bass Pro Shops, Williams-Sonoma, Saks Fifth Avenue, Men’s Warehouse, AOL, Associated Press, EA, Bare Necessities, Finish Line, Scripps Interactive and Western Union, among others. Breakouts will address a wide range of topics relevant to marketers, including: • Digital advertising • Mobile strategies • Response attribution • Data management • Behavioral targeting • Email to cross-channel evolution • Email creative optimization • Compliance and deliverability • Predictive analytics and modeling • Loyalty programs A highly anticipated event each summer for marketers, Experian Marketing Services’ Client Summit was recently recognized with a Stevie Award for Best Tradeshow/Conference at the American Business Awards. “I had an absolute blast at my first Summit,” said Courtney Bradley, Coordinator, Loyalty Marketing, Virgin Airlines. “Not only did we learn a great deal, but we had a fantastic time doing it! The keynote speakers were inspiring, the breakout sessions were insightful and The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas was a fantastic venue. Experian Marketing Services did an amazing job overall. I can't wait for next year!” Visit http://www.2014clientsummit.com today to learn more and to register. Space is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the Mississippi Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Experian. While not breaking news, it is important to provide context to the allegations. As the world’s largest credit bureau – and in managing more than 220 million files in the US alone – it has become commonplace to question credit reporting agencies. We are used to scrutiny of our practices – but sometimes the claims are just plain wrong. In the case of the lawsuit from the Mississippi Attorney General, we are disappointed that the state has taken this action. We feel that the lawsuit is not based on facts – even after we had fully cooperated with their investigation. As such, we intend to vigorously defend our company against these allegations. Specifically, to say we purposefully put errors on credit reports is false and unsupported by evidence, and clearly calculated to be sensational. Contrary to those allegations, Experian credit reports are used millions of times every day to accurately and quickly assess risk in lending and speed the process of making credit readily available to consumers. The Attorney General asserts that 95% of the data in our systems is accurate – but in fact, it is closer to 98% accurate. While we are proud of this accuracy rate, we continue to invest millions of dollars every year to make our accuracy rates even better. We are, in fact, working with the industry and our competitors to raise the accuracy and data quality standards for our credit reporting industry and, ultimately, to benefit consumers. Any allegation that we are operating illegally and out of compliance is false. In fact, Experian already operates in compliance with laws and under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which governs all aspects of our credit reporting business, including how we receive data, store it, transmit it and most importantly, how we allow other companies to use it and consumers to view and dispute it. Specifically, under the FCRA, consumers can view and dispute any or all of the information on their credit reports. And we recommend consumers take full advantage of accessing their free report annually at www.annualcreditreport.com. In the event a consumer finds an inaccuracy in their report, they can dispute the inaccuracy at Experian as required by federal law. While we plan to defend the lawsuit outside the lens of a public forum, it is worth noting how Experian, as a global leader, is a vital part of the credit ecosystem — empowering economic health for businesses and consumers alike. Very simply, because of what we do and what the credit reporting business offers, consumers can walk into an automotive dealership and purchase a car, they can get approved for a home loan over the phone and they can instantly get credit at their favorite retailer. Sometimes we take that for granted.

Experian Marketing Services’ Client Summit and The Digital Marketer report recognized among more than 3,300 nominations nationwide Experian Marketing Services, a global provider of integrated consumer insights and targeting, data quality and cross-channel marketing, was presented with three bronze Stevie Awards at the 12th Annual American Business Awards in Chicago, Illinois, on Friday night, June 13, 2014. The American Business Awards is the nation’s premier business award program. All organizations — public and private, for-profit and nonprofit, large and small — operating in the United States are eligible to submit nominations. As a winner, Experian Marketing Services was recognized from more than 3,300 nominations that were submitted this year. “It’s an honor to be recognized, especially by this esteemed panel of business executives, for the value we create for our clients,” said Ashley Johnston, senior vice president of global marketing at Experian Marketing Services. “Our Stevie Award wins underscore our commitment to helping our clients create intelligent interactions with their customers, through our wide range of strategic marketing services and offerings.” Experian Marketing Services’ Client Summit and The Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report were both recognized with bronze Stevie Awards. • For the highly attended 2013 Client Summit, Experian Marketing Service developed a program that combined inspiration, education and networking around the theme of “Interactions.” The three-day event exposed more than 1,000 marketers from some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated brands to key strategies, recommendations and drivers for effective cross-channel marketing. The ultimate goal the Client Summit is to help marketers make meaningful connections with their customers at every point of interaction. • Created to help demystify today’s rapidly changing digital landscape for clients and the business community at large, the fifth edition of The Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report features extensive analysis, case studies, best practices and the results of a survey Experian conducted among several hundred marketers. Experian Marketing Services also received a bronze Stevie Award for Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year for an internal communications campaign that engaged global employees in a strategic business initiative. Nicknamed “the Stevies” for the Greek word for “crowned,” the trophies were presented to winners during a gala banquet on Friday, June 13, at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park Hotel. More than 400 nominees and their guests attended. The presentations will be broadcast by the BizTalk Radio Network this week on Tuesday and Friday nights, June 17 and June 20, respectively. Experian Marketing Services also is a finalist for the American Business Awards new product and technology awards event, scheduled to take place on Friday, Sept. 12, in San Francisco, California. “It’s an honor for us to recognize and celebrate such an outstanding class of organizations and individuals,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards. “The judges were especially discerning this year. All of this year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners should be proud that the judges recognized their achievements and their ability to express those achievements in a way that captured the judges’ hearts and imaginations.” Details about the American Business Awards and the lists of Stevie winners who were announced on June 13 are available at StevieAwards.com/ABA.