DrivenIQ positions itself as offering “enhanced capabilities to rival incumbent CDPs” (hackles up, Mr. Sulu) although its main strength is identifying website visitors and enriching their profiles through 14 billion records linked to 660 million individuals. Their latest offering veers in a slightly different direction, linking its consumer identities with data about the businesses where those people work. Hackles on standby.
Dentsu is expanding the scope of its Merkury data and identity platform. A new media solution will combine clients’ own first-party data with identity, data, and media integrations across digital channels and identity graphs. A new creativity solution will combine identity data with creative and media performance information to enable dynamic creative optimization. Both will be rolled out in the first half of next year.
Cloud data platform Databricks hasn’t been quite as eager to replace CDPs as Snowflake although it’s surely on their checklist for world domination. They just agreed to spend something over $100 million for Arcion, which copies data from other systems into Databricks The immediate threat is less to CDPs than point solutions such as data pipeline tools – a reminder that platforms like Databricks can effortlessly ruin the market for specialized components: think Godzilla flattening a house outside of Tokyo without even noticing.
Google is facing another antitrust lawsuit, this time in Canada, specifically focusing on anti-competitive practices in online advertising. The Competition Tribunal has been asked to order Google to sell two of its ad tech tools, prohibit future anti-competitive practices and fine the company billions of dollars. In response, Google points to a highly competitive market offering plenty of alternatives.