The new world of advanced TV ad targeting is an open field.
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Marc Cestaro, VP, Advanced TV, North America, InfoSum, says the optimum strategic approach is not yet known.
But he says one thing is for sure – privacy, data and integration are critical.
Sum of data
InfoSum allows companies to join datasets without actually moving their data, something which would likely breach privacy rules.
Companies use InfoSum’s software to match up data sources using a range of tools, whilst maintaining privacy rules around that data.
InfoSum raised a $65 million Series B investment last summer, as data clean rooms rose in appeal for marketers and publishers keen to continue connecting data.
It is a capability now used by global companies like ITV, Channel 4, eBay, Experian and The Telegraph, all of which are building out their own data-driven consumer ad targeting capabilities and all of which are adapting to a world without rudimentary cookie targeting.
UK health retailer Boots recently told Beet.TV how it is using InfoSum technology to use its own customer-loyalty database together with user lists from broadcasters ITV and Channel 4, to target ads on TV.
Agnosticism & Privacy At Speed: InfoSum’s Cestaro On The Data-Sharing Challenge
Data imperative
“It’s not the newest phrase of the day, but data is the new oil,” Cestaro says. “It has to be at the forefront of all these conversations.”
But how data is used is murky. Cestaro suggests that is different in each case, and a degree of correction may have to occur.
“Brands are really leaning into it,” he says. “Publishers are really leaning into it. Everyone wants to make sure that they’re making use of what’s available.
“It’s hard to say what’s state-of-the-art data. I think there’s been a lot of collection over the years, but it hasn’t been utilised in the right ways. So it’s not necessarily (about) what’s new, it’s more about ‘how is that being applied today?’”
Connect at scale
“One thing is clear that it’s not a one size fits all,” adds Cestaro, who was previously agency-side as a director of Group M’s MODI Media advanced TV unit.
“In terms of priorities, what are major TV companies looking to do this year? I think it’s to put themselves in position to be … able to work with all these different partners.
“At InfoSum, we put ourselves in position to be interoperable across data partners, identity partners, brands, agencies, as well as publishers and everything in the middle.
“And I think that’s a similar position that our major TV companies that we’re working with our leaning into as well, (asking) ‘how do we make ourselves available to everyone out there?’”
You are watching “Advertising Transformation: What’s Next for Converged TV and Video,” a Beet.TV Virtual Leadership Summit presented by Mediaocean. For more videos, please visit this page.