In its quest for greater personalisation in media planning and ad targeting, Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) has launched what it calls a “true people-based digital advertising” offering.
DAN describes M1 as a people-based planning and activation platform which all of its agency brands can access on behalf of their clients to help with insight, planning, activation and measurement.
In terms of what makes it a “true people-based digital advertising solution”, DAN says ‘true’ refers to the fact that this is ‘truly’ matching data to real people, rather than proxy segmentations underpinned by web-browser cookies alone.
“Designed to help our clients reach real people at scale, M1 enables us to leverage what we know about a person and their passion points to tailor their ad or content experience, while optimising digital activations for effectiveness, efficiency and brand safety," DAN Australia and New Zealand CEO Simon Ryan says.
Others in the market have also launched 'people-based' marketing offerings, such as Signal.
The people-based marketer raised $30m in funding in 2016 to expand its technology platform and the organisation globally.
Australia is the second country, behind the US, to introduce the platform into its local network, with the central global resource designed to service all of Dentsu's agency brands.
M1 uses data gathered from many different sources, including DataSource, Dentsu’s consumer database, to address the growing interest in personalised marketing campaigns.
Ryan says M1 gives DAN “significant competitive advantage”.
“We are the leaders in data and programmatic, and will continue to offer an integrated planning and buying service across all media touch points,” he says.
“Dentsu Aegis Network is undertaking a transformation as a global enterprise. We believe the future of our industry is a personalised and addressable one, requiring a holistic understanding of people's behaviours and motivations. With the deployment of M1, we are now at the leading edge of this evolution.”
Ryan says the investment in this, as well as Merkle, reflects the fact that capabilities in data, analytics and addressable media are a core agency competency in the digital economy.
Earlier this year, DAN rebranded its performance marketing agency Columbus to Columbus, a Merkle Company, effectively launching Merkle in Australia through an established brand with more than 100 performance experience and data marketing experts.
The business is led by Columbus boss Rebecca Tos, bringing in new talent and introducing more Merkle products over time.
DAN adds that the investment into Merkle and the roll-out of M1 puts "real people" at the heart of its data strategy.
M1 Australia GM Ollie Fifoot, has led the local development of M1 over the past 18 months.
“We believe the future of our industry is a personalised and addressable one; requiring a holistic understanding of people's behaviours and motivations," he says .
“Through our approach to people-based marketing – allowing us to reach individuals with messages that are relevant and interesting – we are truly riding the next wave of progression in marketing to the benefit of our clients and their audiences.”
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