Consumers are frequently bombarded with generic marketing messages that have no relevance to their interests or shopping behaviors. And quite frankly, many of these messages go by the wayside. Consumers are constantly on the go, and expect and deserve highly personalized communications. But how do marketers adapt to this new reality? The answer is simple. Marketers need to go addressable. Unfortunately, too many marketers view this approach as too sophisticated or difficult. But the technology and expertise exists to help marketers achieve this goal. In this MarTech Advisor article, Brienna Pinnow, director of product marketer for Experian Targeting discusses the nuances of addressable advertising, and how marketers can leverage it to its fullest capabilities.  The end result is more customized marketing and a better customer experience.

Portuguese Translation I’m a Marketing Analyst in Serasa Experian’s Data Strategy and Management department. While my day job is to help businesses create user-friendly digital experiences online, the role I’m most passionate about is a project I’m implementing that will use interactive games to help people take better control of their finances. Earlier this year, I learned about One Young World – a summit in Ottawa, Canada where delegates from around the world share solutions for pressing global issues, including financial education. To be selected as one of five ambassadors to this event from Experian, I had to pitch a project idea that would provide financial education to Brazilian citizens. My idea was to transform Experian’s existing educational website and mobile app into a game, to make financial education more interactive and engaging. I envisioned incentivizing customers to better understand their finances by offering them product discounts in exchange for high scores in games. Each game would teach people different skills on how to control their finances – like budgeting – or improve their credit score. Experian loved the idea so much that they not only selected me as one of their ambassadors for One Young World, but also chose to implement the idea for our customers. Within the next 12 months, my project will be implemented, providing financial education to countless Brazilian men and women who are struggling to clear their debts and manage their budgets. I attended the One Young World summit in the fall, which furthered my desire to continuously provide better financial education for the people in my country. I want everyone to feel empowered when they think about their finances. It’s important for people to be able to recover their dignity and clear their name if they had a poor credit background. And I’m happy to do my part to give people better access to the credit they need to improve their lives and the lives of their families. Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world.

I’m an Account Executive in Experian’s Consumer Information Services department. I’m also a millennial. So I know firsthand that millennials’ way of thinking — and spending — typically goes against the grain of traditional lending, especially given today’s focus on a sharing economy. Most millennials don’t have a traditional credit history to prove we can be trusted to pay back loans or lines of credit from lenders. Using data, I’m working to change that while also helping small businesses by enabling them to do business with my generation. At Experian, we look at alternative data sets — like paying rent and utilities — that show how a millennial is actually a low-risk candidate for credit, even if his or her credit score doesn’t reflect that. Through our data, we’re providing opportunities for people who wouldn’t ordinarily have access so they can buy their first house, get a car or start that business they’ve always dreamed about. I see my role as a bridge between millennials and an older generation, connecting young consumers with the resources experienced lenders can provide. A lot of my clients are small-business lenders with strict underwriting criteria. My lenders need to improve their underwriting to win lifelong customers, but they’re understandably afraid of risk. With pinpoint accuracy, we can help them identify their best opportunities using data, including information like rent payments, they may have overlooked. In my work, I get to take a hands-on approach of adapting to an emerging market and an ever-evolving technology landscape. I’m proud to be helping to create a new generation of customers for small businesses while giving my fellow millennials the financial access they need. Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world.  

At Experian MicroAnalytics, we work to develop the financial services sector in emerging economies. We knew when we started this venture that we wanted to make a big difference and have a strong social impact. Recently, we began working with one of the largest banks in Kenya – a country where a lot of people don’t have access to finance. Getting a loan can take weeks, requiring an enormous amount of paperwork. For all that effort, most Kenyan entrepreneurs really only need $5 to $120 loans to help their family pay for groceries or purchase fresh business supplies. If a Kenyan small-business owner, for example, needs to pay their supplier $50 for Coca-Cola products to sell in their shop at a higher margin, they have no easy or timely way to get that money, which means they lose potential business. We implemented for this bank in Kenya a system that allows their clients to log onto a mobile banking app and get their loan instantly. This system creates a risk profile for each client, collecting all the relevant data on any previous banking transaction. The system – using the risk profile – will then define the maximum amount the bank can lend to each individual client, and any loan request within this limit is processed and disbursed into the client’s bank account instantly. This system enables them to cut through the red tape and piles of paperwork, giving more people access to affordable loans. Since we started, we have helped more banks in countries around the world facing the same types of issues. It feels great to know that the work we’re doing is helping millions of people get access to finance. It means they can pay for whatever they need in an easy way, allowing them to make ends meet and keep their business moving. Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world.

I’m an IT Trainee at Serasa Experian. I research and identify ways to solve the challenges facing financial technology (fintech) organizations in Brazil, including fraud. Fraud is a prevalent problem that makes loans expensive and application processes time-consuming. I’m working to help fintechs, like online lenders, give their customers more affordable loans without risking fraud. One particular fintech wanted our help to offer cheaper credit to people through online lending. The problem was they weren’t relying on any bureau data or automated processes, which made verifying identities and credit scores difficult. They relied on face-to-face conversations and a manual paperwork reviewal process, which was both expensive and tedious. Not surprisingly, they were having significant issues with fraud. My team came in and provided a scoring system for credit reports and a fraud protection tool that Experian had developed. Now when an individual applies for a loan through the lender’s mobile application, Experian runs the credit score for them and verifies that person’s identity. This process is not only faster, but it has significantly decreased their cases of fraud. Because this fintech can now obtain more accurate credit scores for its applicants, it can offer loans to more customers who genuinely need them, while lowering costs. I take pride in knowing that the work I do is making an impact on my country’s economy and helping people get the financial access they need at a fair price, faster. Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world.

I’m a Marketing Specialist with Experian’s shared Marketing and Innovation department, which means my team and I work with different business units within Experian to strategize and build email marketing campaigns for our clients and prospects. My role in marketing is largely driven by analytics. I help my clients strategize and develop emails that get deployed to consumers who might be looking for better access to credit or information to make decisions for their business. I help my clients create a communication strategy rooted in data, then review the performance of their campaigns to analyze how they can improve their communications in the future. I can definitely tell when my work is making a difference. Often businesses make marketing decisions based on gut feelings—like randomly choosing to add a green button to an email campaign rather than a red button simply because they like that color better. Without the numbers behind that decision-making process, they’re simply relying on feelings. But when I come in using data from the campaign, I can prove that the green button drove 50 percent more click-throughs than the red one, for example. Recently I developed a training guide for marketers to help them learn more about email marketing analytics and how they can use data to transform how they communicate with their own clients and consumers. Whenever a marketer deploys emails, they want to know and understand how the campaign performed. I have often found, however, that marketers shy away from even basic metrics like click-through rates because they think the numbers are too difficult to understand, or they don’t know how to properly gather that information. The guide I built gives our clients some of the tools they need to pull the metrics and break down the numbers. Once a marketer understands the story the data is telling them, they can begin to improve on subject lines, calls to action and other email campaign components to better reach their audiences and drive revenue. In other words, they can improve their businesses and address their customers’ needs better by relying on data instead of gut feelings. Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world.

Experian has been ranked as Britain’s Most Admired Company in the Business Support Services category at Management Today’s prestigious ‘Britain’s Most Admired Companies’ awards 2016. Experian also posted a top ten finish in the overall rankings. It’s the second time Experian has had the honour of winning the Business Support Services category after picking up the honour first time around in 2013. Commenting on the accolade, CEO, Brian Cassin said: “This is a clear recognition of Experian’s strategic focus on helping businesses and consumers achieve better outcomes, whether that’s creating greater financial access, preventing fraud or facilitating business growth. I also believe it’s a testament to our 17,000 colleagues around the world who work every day to service and power opportunities for all our customers.” Organised by Management Today magazine, the BMAC Awards give an insight into the corporate reputations of UK businesses with the winner determined by a poll of the biggest companies, which evaluate their peers. You can see the full list of 2016 winners on the Management Today website. Photo: Experian’s Bill Floydd and Tom Blacksell receive the BMAC Award from Lord Michael Heseltine    

I am a Senior Business Analyst in Experian’s office in Bulgaria. When refugee camps in my country first began filling up with Syrian refugees, I went to help as a volunteer. Since Experian had helped with similar initiatives for those in poverty in Bulgaria, I thought it would be a good idea to volunteer so I could inform other Experian employees of ways they could volunteer in the future. And now I can see that happening, as Experian is about to embark on a new volunteer project as a result. When I first stepped into the refugee camp as part of my own volunteer efforts, it was evening and nearly winter. I came with two volunteers, each carrying bags of clothes and food. No one can really prepare you for the conditions you witness in the camp, and they’re difficult to describe, too. Families had staked claims in small spaces by hanging up curtains, and while some families had the luxury of a bed made from a basic mattress, most people slept on the ground. As I made my way through the camp, I met a family of 12, including a small baby. I was overwhelmed by the welcome they gave me as they invited me to stay and talk with them. A few of them spoke some English, but the rest just wanted to communicate to me in whatever way they could. They graciously prepared me a dinner in traditional Syrian style — couscous, with vegetables and sauces. The meal was like a small celebration for them. They were delighted to even have my attention. Before I left, they sang me a traditional Syrian song that brought tears to my eyes. These people were a normal family — just like mine. They may be from a different country, speak a different language and have different cultural traditions, but I felt a strong sense of kinship to them. My experience grew in me a desire to do more for refugees coming to our country and bring more people along to help. I decided to apply for funding for Experian to work alongside the Refugee Project in a joint initiative to make a bigger, long-term impact on these people. This funding would give other Experian employees a chance to volunteer and provide refugees with the supplies they need. Additionally, Experian is in the process of organizing workshops for families who wish to stay in Bulgaria. These workshops will provide financial education to help them open a bank account, learn how our financial system works and give them the financial information they need to rebuild their lives. It means a lot to me to see what a difference we’re making and how we’re changing lives. I love knowing our work is helping people find a place to live, get a job and start their own business, as well as introducing Syrians to our local culture and customs. Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world. Photo: Tram in Sofia, Bulgaria

Experian is honored to be among a select group of companies recognized by the Orange County Register as among the best places to work in Orange County, California. This is Experian’s fourth year participating in the TopWorkplaces survey and the fourth time we’ve been recognized as a TopWorkplace. We’re very proud to be among this select group of companies, achieving continual recognition for our positive business culture. Over each of the past four years, Experian’s position on the list has continued to rise, and it’s a cause for real celebration across our workforce of nearly 1,300   people in Orange County when the rankings are announced. We believe this is a reflection of the true passion and commitment the people of Experian demonstrate in our business every day in our efforts to better serve consumers and businesses. On a personal basis, I started with the business nearly 40 years ago, when the company was known as TRW Credit Data, headquartered in Anaheim. And I’ve watched the business grow from the simple concept of credit reporting to what is now an incredibly complex and powerful global business that powers opportunities by understanding how to make information and technology work for the benefit of consumers, businesses and the communities in which we operate. Experian’s employees realize that what we do impacts the lives of millions of people every day. Lenders rely on our information and technology to make decisions about extending credit to people millions of times every day, which means we’re enabling people to buy cars, get mortgages and fulfill their dreams of home ownership, pay for college educations, and fund the development of small businesses. After all, it’s access to affordable credit that underpins the development of all economies, and on a global basis, Experian is there to help. We are very proud of what we do and we’re equally proud of how we do it. We also realize that we have a responsibility to actively participate and contribute to our communities.  Across the globe, we refer to our community engagement programs as “the Heart of Experian,” it’s central to the passion and commitment the people of Experian feel about the company. Our employees are strongly incentivized to be engaged in community support efforts, and Experian provides ample opportunities for employees to volunteer time and money to support local food banks, raise donations for organizations like Children's Hospital of Orange County and Susan G Komen For the Cure. We work with individuals in homeless shelters to help make them credit worthy to be able to afford to move into housing. We’re also committed to continuously searching for top-level talent to bring to Orange County to support our business. Our senior leaders participate in the advisory councils of major universities, including University of California Irvine, and our recruiters travel to universities throughout the United States searching for some of the brightest minds to join us. As I see it, it’s easy for business leaders to make throw away comments such as “our employees are our greatest asset.” In today’s highly competitive world, it is essential that businesses do more than say, but rather treat all employees as their greatest asset. Companies build the atmosphere to treat employees as their greatest asset by providing challenging work and vexing problems to solve, the best training and development available, opportunities for career development and progression, a healthy respect for diversity, and a reward systems that recognizes every individual’s contribution to the success of the company. Experian’s mission oriented environment is one that attracts and retains top talent in Costa Mesa, as well as our other locations across North America. Our employees are committed to helping to create better tomorrows in our communities through corporate social responsibility activities, and through our everyday work and business purpose. Peg Smith is Executive Vice President of Investor Relations Photo of Experian employees accepting the award courtesy of the Orange County Register.