And more analytics: TV ad data from Alphonso has been integrated with IRI Lift, which measures the impact of media programs on retail sales. Alphonso has two data sets: one tracks exactly when and where TV ads are shown and the other tracks ads viewed on 40 million smart TVs and similar devices. All with thorough privacy protection, of course.
Artificial intelligence has become so common that it barely registers as a product differentiator. That must be frustrating to AI pioneers. If the folks at TinyClues are feeling that pain, they’ve eased it a bit with a $18 million Series B investment in their system, which uses retailers’ first party data to choose the best product for each individual in email, mobile push, direct mail, and Facebook campaigns. The company says its clients have increased campaign revenue by an average of 49%.
The opposite of people-based marketing is content marketing, which markets to anyone interested in a particular topic even if you don’t know their identity. If privacy regulations and other changes make identification harder, you can expect content marketing to grow. That’s presumably the logic behind Sphere, Outbrain’s new, invitation-only network of publishers who will offer their content to each other’s audiences. It’s also positioned as a way for marketers to escape the walled gardens.
Google lashed out at the Department of Justice’s threat to break up the company, calling the proposals “radical.” Among other things, Google says the proposals would threaten users’ privacy, stifle innovation and break Android and Chrome. Given the appeals process, it will likely be years before we know whether Google will stay in one piece.