Insurance E-mail Wins Need Quality, Targeted Data

Success with e-mail in 2018 insurance marketing boils down to using quality, targeted data--something that AccuList USA is committed to delivering. Data provider V12Data summed it up well in a recent post offering basic insurance e-mail data tips. With an estimated 30% of e-mail subscribers changing their addresses each year, make sure all e-mail lists are up-to-date, with addresses validated and verified, including any e-mail addresses that have been matched and appended to a postal list. Good list hygiene should include removing duplicates; correcting formatting errors; identifying addresses known to be associated with spam traps; and eliminating hard bounces, invalid e-mails/domains, and e-mails associated with complaints. There's no point to all that quality e-mail data if it's not used to understand and target your audience. That means looking at both actionable internal data, such as customer service records, transactions, credit card purchases or e-mail responses, as well as relevant demographic data, either from first-party collection or appended via third-party data aggregators. Consumer demographics could include date of birth, home ownership, occupation, gender, estimated income, age, presence of children, investments and more. Then segment your lists in order to offer the right product to the right audience segment. Plus use data to personalize offers and creative, and that means going beyond a Dear FirstName. Today's e-mail audience expects and demands personalized offers. Smart e-mail campaigns nurture customers and prospects through the buying cycle. Because those who request general information and those who fill out a request for quote form may be at different stages of the buying cycle, they need different messaging. Website signups can be sent a personalized welcome message, while subscribers who have not taken further action can get a follow-up nurturing message about products and services, with a call-to-action promoting a free quote or agent call. When a prospect makes a quote request, e-mail messaging can focus on getting to a policy sale, with more policy information and a specific offer or promotion. Note that life cycle counts as much as buying cycle. Consumers are more likely to buy insurance during major life-event changes, such as marriage, divorce, moving, home purchase, a new baby, retirement, etc. Leveraging that data in targeting sends the right offer at the right time for maximum response. See our blog http://www.acculistusa.com/focus-on-e-mail-data-for-2018-insurance-marketing-success/

Smart Marketers Cater to Millennial Direct Mail Fans

Remember when marketing gurus were calling direct mail "dead," drowned by a wave of digital, mobile, and social technologies? Well, research keeps resurrecting mail from its low-tech tomb. In fact, recent studies find that Millennials--the 22- to 36-year-old, tech-savvy generation supposedly addicted to mobile devices and digital networking--are bigger fans of direct mail than older generations in some ways! For example, a recent study by InfoTrends and Prinova found that response rates for direct mail remain high for all demographics, including Millennials, who open direct mail received at the same high rate of 66% as recipients overall. More significantly, Milennials as a group respond faster to mail--within 2.4 months--which is less than the average response time for all respondents. Plus, the InfoTrends research found that a big 63% of Millennials who responded to a direct mail piece within that three-month period actually made a purchase! Along similar lines, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) conducted a survey on direct mail's political impact on Millennials and found that at least 42% of Millennials prefer direct mail political ads over online ads, and that Millennials are more likely to be prompted to action by mail, with 66% likely to research the candidate and 54% visiting the candidate’s website after receiving mail. However, research also shows that all mail pieces are not created equal. Mailings that resonate best with Millennials are targeted and personalized, per research. Luckily, sophisticated targeting and personalization are possible with today's variable printing, programmatic and automation programs, and database segmentation and analytics. Millennials demand printing quality as well, with one quarter of surveyed 25- to 34-year-olds saying they opened direct mail because of the print and image quality. Plus, engaging copy counts, with 25% of that same surveyed group saying they consider reading direct mail a leisure activity. That doesn't mean that printed mail can be divorced from Millennials' digital lifestyle. Data in eMarketer's survey report “US Millennial Shoppers 2017” shows that Millennials prefer digital shopping and are comfortable with mobile shopping, which means that integrating print and digital--via QR, AR, or PURL--can significantly boost response. For more detail, go to http://www.acculistusa.com/marketers-win-by-catering-to-millennial-direct-mail-fans/

Data & Content Key to Publishers' Audience Building

In the age of big data and exploding digital content, targeted data quality and database management are more essential than ever to profitable circulation marketing and audience development for publishers and media owners. A recent Marketo blog post backs up that assertion with their advice. Demographics and firmographics are a key starting point, but now media owners also can mine transactional data, behavioral data, and psychographics/interests across channels, the post notes. Smart use of first-, second- and third-party data allows for tailored content, offers and channel targeting. As the Marketo article explains, "For example, you may know that a reader is a part of a cohort that is female, between 18-35 years old, with a household income between $64-96K....But what could you do–in terms of engagement–if you learn through her content consumption patterns that she’s interested in football, responds to sponsored content from travel brands, and mostly responds to content that’s shared on Facebook?" Yet more data from multiple sources–web, print, mail, e-mail, social media–also presents challenges, and Marketo cites Folio's recent survey of publishing leaders, which found 71% citing data management as a top priority for creating and monetizing media products. The solution is a single hub for audience data and automated cross-channel processing in real-time, the post advises, in order to deliver the right message at the right time to the right target. Finally, in publication/media marketing even more than other brand marketing, content counts. Faced with ever-growing digital content noise, media owners must work even harder to deliver content that interests and engages the target audience. For more, including advice on content marketing wins and misses, see to our complete onsite post at http://www.acculistusa.com/data-content-are-keys-to-profitable-audience-building/

Direct Mail's New 'Moment' in the Digital Age

It's no surprise when the CEO of the powerful McCann ad agency, which manages $10 billion in annual marketing spend, stands up to champion direct mail at the recent National Postal Forum. McCann is the U.S. Postal Service's agency of record, paid to push the advantages of mail. But that doesn't diminish the value of the insights offered by CEO Harris Diamond, as reported by Direct Marketing News magazine's Senior Editor Al Urbanski. Arguing that "in a world in which people are endlessly bombarded with electronic messages, direct mail is now the most welcome house guest," Diamond backs up his belief in mail's value by citing a McCann finding that the average American spends 25 minutes out of each busy day with mail. Diamond calls that 25-minute opportunity "The Mail Moment." And he offers five creative principles McCann uses in marketing campaigns to maximize results from that precious Mail Moment. First, he advises, go to the customers to understand their perspectives, looking beyond traditional assumptions; he holds up the example of Pope Francis going out at night, dressed in street clothes, to spend time with the homeless. Second, use direct mail's unique physical properties to engage in ways unavailable to digital, and he cites an Australian Air Force recruitment piece that mailed radio parts sans instructions to prospective engineers and offered a commission to any who could build the radio and tune into a dedicated station. Third, put new technologies to work with mail to enhance engagement and branding, such as using augmented reality (AR) to add a digital experience to paper. Fourth, realize it's not about mail tweaking; it's about "reinventing" the mail medium, using technology creatively to drive action and leverage the Mail Moment to the max. And, finally, make mail a tool for developing a relationship in the digital age, using data to target, personalize and touch audiences. For more details of Diamond's remarks, read http://www.dmnews.com/direct-mail/mccann-ceo-direct-mails-moment-has-come-again/article/485318/

Consumers Shun Excess, Irrelevant Retail E-mail

Retailers count on e-mail to help drive sales--but overly frequent, poorly targeted e-mail currently may inspire more consumer irritation than shopping, according to recent research. A 2015 survey of more than 1,000 Internet users, conducted by First Insight, found the average consumer subscribes to 2.3 retailer e-mail lists and receives 13.1 e-mails a week from those lists. But most aren't happy about it. Two-thirds of the consumers who received six or more e-mails a week said it was “too many.” In contrast, only 21% of shoppers who received five e-mails per week thought that frequency too high. Individual retailers will want to aim for fewer than five e-mails, however; 61% of consumers said their favorite retailers only send them one or two e-mails a week. Excess frequency is not the only problem. Just 25% of retailer e-mails got opened, and the most common reason consumers gave for not opening more retailer e-mail was lack of relevance. Based on e-mails received, just 18% of respondents felt retailers understood them. Indeed, the average shopper said only about 5% of retailer e-mails were personally relevant. Unfortunately for retail e-marketers, consumers tend to express their frustration by opting out, with 45% saying they unsubscribed from a retailer’s e-mail list in the prior six months. On the other hand, the research also points out a solution: 43% of consumers said they would be more likely to open retailer e-mails if they knew the e-mails contained personalized suggestions of products aligned with past purchases, instead of promotion of products generally available or "on sale." For the study report: http://www.firstinsight.com/press-coverage/how-many-promotional-emails-a-week-is-too-many

Marketers Miss Personalization Edge of Social Data

Marketers are missing out on key opportunities to use social media data for multichannel personalization, reports Adweek magazine's SocialTimes blog, citing the "2016 Yesmail Channel Report." This is despite the fact that personalization has proven its value in response and conversion across channels. For example, marketers often fail to gather e-mail addresses, one of the most basic contact points, through social media. According to the report, 45% of marketers don't collect e-mail addresses on social media, and 70% don't collect e-mail from their own mobile apps. (Of course, an amazing 17% don't even collect e-mail via their own websites!) Even companies who build e-mail databases fail to then use freely collected social data points, such as demographic and location information, to effectively personalize e-mail communications. In fact, only 42% say they customize e-mail campaigns with the recipient's name, so it's no surprise that only 36% modify copy and just 34% alter images to personalize e-mail content. The problem stretches across channels: Only 50% say they modify any marketing materials based on easily collected demographic data from social channels, and just 36% use social media data, such as brand page likes, for personalized targeting. See the full article at http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/report-retailers-missing-cross-channel-personalization-opportunity/632710

How to Pick List Brokers for E-mail Prospecting

Marketers sometimes shy from e-mail prospecting lists, where there is not a direct opt-in or relationship with the target audience. They fear risking dollars on spammy, low-response data. E-mail list rentals via trustworthy, experienced data brokers address that concern, and, as data brokers, the AccuList USA team is happy to pass along tips for choosing an e-mail list partner as provided by a recent Target Marketing magazine article from Regina Brady. Yes, there are some unscrupulous list purveyors out there, so it makes sense to start with broker members of the Direct Marketing Association, who are more likely to follow DMA's code of direct marketing ethics, for example. Internet marketing consultant Brady then advises selecting brokers who are very experienced with e-mail marketing and e-mail lists. E-mail list brokers with expertise in your industry or related industries have an additional advantage, of course. And if your existing direct mail list broker has the e-mail chops, you'll have the added plus of an understanding of your customers and campaigns. In fact, it can make sense to bring in the expertise of more than one list broker, as Brady notes; no one broker has all the answers, and recommendations from other points of expertise can boost the odds for success. But remember, broker recommendations will only be as good as the information you supply about the demographics, psychographics, or firmographics of existing customers and segments; about past campaigns and list testing; about multichannel promotion and response vehicles; and about whatever else may impact results. So we are happy when clients "do a brain dump," as she urges. Finally, you can judge a good list broker by his or her inclusion of proven selects in list recommendations; drilling down with selects increases cost but also improves targeting and thus response. For more of Brady's advice on e-mail acquisition, read http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/how-to-increase-your-email-prospecting-odds-for-success/

Print Can Add Needed Punch to Marketing Plans

Printed material, including direct mail, keeps proving its worth to our clients in this digital marketing era. So our thanks to Jean Gianfagna of Gianfagna Strategic Marketing for a post summing up the reasons for print's continued marketing power. She cites six marketing advantages that make print a must-have for a smart marketing strategy: unlimited creative options, from formats to personalization to dimensional impact; effective branding via the unique impression created by physical materials; enhanced customer relationships from targeted, personalized loyalty, cross-sell and up-sell messaging; increased customer understanding with detailed product descriptions, comparisons and options that don't fit tight digital formats; durability, influencing decisions long after a tweet or e-mail has been discarded and forgotten; and engagement tapping multiple senses (visual and tactile, plus even scent and sound). That said, marketers can also squander budget on overdesigned, untargeted, ineffective print efforts. So Gianfagna adds some important advice on using print wisely: work closely with a printer before finalizing design to choose the most cost-effective materials and formats; be cautious with use of pricey print techniques, such as die-cuts, embossing and foil stamping; use quality data for targeted, correctly addressed direct mail; plus, when it comes to direct mail, keep USPS regulations in mind for lower postal rates. For more detail, go to http://www.gianfagnamarketing.com/blog/2015/10/29/6-reasons-you-still-need-print-in-a-smart-marketing-strategy/

Clues That Your Media Mix Needs a Tune-up

Every budget cycle, marketers question whether they have the right media mix to optimize sales, whether they need to shift dollars between channels, especially in the rapidly changing digital landscape. In a recent Marketing Land article, Scott Rayden, chief revenue officer for 3Q Digital, offers seven clues that a change in your digital mix may be in order. Here are a few of his tips, starting with a no-brainer: If your brand, and non-brand, search numbers are declining, it's time to consider new ways to boost online brand awareness. He advises taking a look at options such as Twitter, display ads, video, Facebook, Pinterest, and Gmail sponsored promotions. Next, now that mobile traffic has topped desktop traffic, you are clearly behind the curve if most of your traffic, whether B2C or B2B, is desktop-driven, so invest in mobile. Rayden also notes that even with great CRM and well-segmented e-mail campaigns, you may not be mining all the gold in your first-party data. Consider using customer knowledge to prospect for lookalikes with new targeting programs offered by Facebook Lookalike Audiences, Google Similar Audiences and Twitter Tailored Audiences, he suggests. And if you are generating lots of leads but not enough paying customers, he advises rethinking targeting and linking CRM first-party data to marketing campaigns to weed out junk lead sources and boost channels delivering conversions. And, of course, pay attention to competitors; if they use many more channels to target the same demographics or firmographics, an expanded media mix may be in order. For more tips, read http://marketingland.com/7-signs-cmos-need-examine-media-mix-133456

The High Cost of E-mail Targeting Failure

Targeting and personalization may be the mantras of today's e-mail marketers, but many are still missing the mark, according to an Aimia Institute study recently reported by Direct Marketing News magazine. The penalties for faulty targeting are steep. Poor e-mail communications caused 70% of respondents in the study to close accounts or subsciptions, 66% unfollowed brands on social media, 59% opted out of all e-mail communications, 57% blocked phone numbers, and 54% deleted apps. Excessive e-mailing was another common misfire for marketers; 68% of Americans surveyed complained that they received too many brand e-mails. Of course, some industries are doing a better job than others. For example, 33% of consumers surveyed felt they received relevant e-mail information from credit card providers, and 29% said supermarkets and banks send useful e-mails, too. And there were glimmers of hope in the study for e-mailers who need to take better aim: 56% of Americans said thay are still willing to share personal details to receive relevant offers, and 48% felt personalized e-mails from brands are useful. For an infographic of study findings, see the DM News article at http://www.dmnews.com/marketers-fail-to-hit-the-target-infographic/article/412023/

B2B Online Success Is Still Built on the Basics

Distracted by the buzz of new tech toys and tactics, B2B marketers sometimes need to be reminded of the basics of online success. For a review of B2B online fundamentals, check out Lee Odden's recent TopRankBlog post. Here are just the first four of the 21 basic tactics that he lists, and note that they are not high-tech investments but offline efforts with online impact: client testimonials that speak to the target audience; case studies that show the brand's problem-solving breadth and depth; industry recognition to enhance credibility; media relations to get quoted, profiled and linked in the press and blogosphere. Other, more online-specific basics include quality website design and functionality, targeted online advertising, search engine visibility on competitive terms, and so on. To further aid online success, we'd also like to remind of the basic marketing disciplines -- targeting, testing, tracking, updating and optimizing. Analyze your customer and make sure an event presentation, news release or social post offers useful content in a format likely to be shared by the target audience, for example. And avoid wasting ad, design and search dollars by implementing targeted, measurable response testing. For Odden's complete article, see http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/07/21-b2b-online-marketing-tactics/

Is Your Marketing Hobbled by These Data Missteps?

Make sure your "data-driven" marketing isn't undermined by data mishandling. A recent Adweek article outlined five of the most common blunders. At the top of the list is failing to take advantage of the deeper demographics being culled in this big-data era. Going beyond age and gender can reap big returns. An example from the article: The Neustar Global Media Intelligence Report for 2013 found retail marketers that targeted campaigns according to attributes like home value and brand of car earned a 500% performance lift over non-targeted campaigns. Second, marketers can focus on the wrong metrics, choosing "vanity metrics," such as Facebook fans, instead of behavioral data linked to conversions, such as navigational paths and brand preferences. A third data misstep is focusing on shiny new digital data without integrating offline inputs (such as retail stores), creating a false picture of marketing's multichannel ROI. Fourth, marketers can get stuck looking at past data to the neglect of predictive modeling and forward planning. A forward-thinking success story from the article: American Express used predictive analysis and behavioral data to identify at-risk customers, for a 740% increase in attrition-combating efficacy. Finally, organizations can fail to invest in crucial data management and analysis skills, and surveys of executives find a majority admitting as much. Do you recognize areas for improvement in your own organization? For the complete article, with links to relevant studies, see http://www.adweek.com/brandshare/5-ways-marketers-are-mishandling-data-156449

Ugly Can Outperform Pretty in Direct Mail

"Ugly" direct mail can attract more response than pretty mail. We were glad to see a recent reminder of that from direct marketing consultancy DMCG. It really isn't that surprising, since graphic design is not at the top of the list of mail-response predictors. In order of importance, response is due to audience targeting (the list), the offer, the channel and, at last, creative execution, the blog post notes. That means direct marketers need to put knowledge of their market and copywriting ahead of graphics in crafting pieces. Many marketers get fixated on creative look instead, the post opines, because response-generating copy based on study of audience and value proposition is a lot harder than producing fun graphics, because marketers fail to test creative rigorously or track sales back to creative, and because the volume of content required in the digital age has outstripped the availability of expert copywriters. (We would add, as data brokers, that organizations will fall short with a focus on tweaking graphics over finding, segmenting and testing data to reach the right mailboxes.) DMCG cites a real ugly-beats-pretty example in the success of its inexpensive, homely but official-looking Snap Pack format for clients such as AARP. See the full article at http://dmcgresults.com/direct-marketing-blog/2014/5/23/why-ugly-beats-beautiful-in-direct-mail.html

Proven Tactics Trump Marketing Tricks in B2B Sales

While new business-to-business marketing tricks get press, marketing basics, not some technology sleight of hand, remain the surest way to find, win and keep customers. And we thank Larry Kim, founder and CTO of WordStream, a search engine software firm, for that reminder in his recent article for Inc. magazine. Kim cites five basic strategies that have delivered B2B sales increases for his company: First "be a thought leader" to provide potential clients with information that underscores your expertise and authority via multiple channels, including website, blogging, podcasts, video, conference presentations, Twitter chats, you name it. Next, build brand ambassadors inside (employees) and outside (clients); encourage social media as one way for ambassadors to get the word out. Third, develop a profile of your ideal client and find out where to reach them and what message connects with them; since it costs five times as much to acquire a new client as it does to generate business from existing customers, targeting high-ROI prospects is essential. Fourth, Kim advises to "be real" in marketing and lead nurturing -- the tried-and-true tactic of underpromising and overdelivering. Finally, learn target prospects' paths to purchase in order to provide needed information in preferred formats and channels at the right timing for onboarding clients. Yes, it's common sense, but, alas, it's not always common practice! For the complete article, go to http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/how-we-got-thousands-of-b2b-clients.html

Increase Triggered E-mails to Upgrade ROI

Looking to improve e-mail marketing performance? Behaviorally triggered e-mail should be on the agenda. Research shows behaviorally targeted, triggered e-mail campaigns achieve 30% higher open and click-through rates and three times the conversion rates of broadcast e-mail, as a recent MarketingProfs article "Three E-mail Marketing Improvement Challenges for 2014" pointed out. Of course, the article included triggered e-mail as a top recommended improvement! The first step is to select programmed "triggers," meaning the customer action/inaction, time or event to trigger e-mail delivery. To boost response, e-mails can then be tailored for delivery timing, subject line and content, and target recipient or recipient group data. More sophisticated programs (such as lead nurturing) can involve sequenced messaging (a track), along with the timing, number and content of messages in each sequence/track. Perhaps you already use basic welcome e-mails and bounce-back purchase thank-yous, but what about adding triggered up-sell or cross-sell suggestions, a lead nurturing series, an educational series, renewal and re-order offers, birthday greetings or customer anniversary e-mails, and reactivation efforts? For more, read http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2014/24909/three-email-marketing-improvement-challenges-for-2014?adref=nlt041514

Want to Grow Your E-mail List? Turn to Direct Mail

With studies showing the average e-mail list suffers an annual 30% attrition rate, e-mail list growth requires an aggressive lead generation program to do more than just run in place. And direct mail is a great way to rev up that e-mail opt-in acquisition, asserts Cyndie Shaffstall, founder of Spider Trainers, a managed automated e-mail services provider, in a recent Target Marketing blog post. Using direct mail will avoid the risks of e-mail renting, purchasing, borrowing and partnering, risks that run from customer complaints all the way to getting blocked or blacklisted, she points out. Direct-mail lists also are typically less costly than e-mail lists, providing cost savings that can be applied toward mail postage and printing. To execute your mail-to-e-mail conversion campaign, obtain a direct-mail list sans e-mail address but otherwise using list selects for appropriate targeting. The goal is to collect e-mail addresses down the road -- e-mail addresses specifically opted in to your messages. Next craft direct-mail creative that will entice engagement through the use of a high-value offer and drive traffic to a targeted squeeze page and, in many cases, from there to a microsite. The squeeze page and/or microsite will be focused either on introducing the brand or introducing the product, depending on the audience's level of brand recognition. Mail recipients attracted to the squeeze page or microsite will be asked to supply an e-mail address. Visitors may also be asked to respond to a limited number of simple questions for lead scoring. Lead scoring of responses can flag recipients ready for immediate sales follow-up (high scorers), or move respondents into an active nurturing campaign (mid-range scorers), or drop prospects into a drip campaign (low scorers). To maximize e-mail opt-ins, Shaffstall notes two key tactical issues. First, the higher the value of the gift, the higher the conversion rate. Second, the more focused your direct mail list, the more likely it is that the audience will be receptive to your offer. For an example of one company's successful implementation, go to http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/blog/mail-to-email-conversions

Digital Sales Ride in on Paper Catalogs

Old-fashioned paper page views will be ringing up sales along with digital page views this holiday season. According to a new survey by Kurt Salmon, a global retail consultancy, 86% of survey respondents bought an item after first seeing it in a printed catalog. More than half of online shoppers said they browse catalogs, and almost a third who make an Internet purchase have a catalog on hand when they click “buy,” per the survey. And the catalog impact isn't limited by age group: Shoppers between the ages of 18 and 24 are as likely to use one as those between 45 and 54. In a recent article in Business Week magazine, Artemis Berry, vice president at Shop.org, the digital group of the National Retail Foundation, points out that printed catalogs retain a key role in retail marketing in part because of more efficient mailing list targeting and distribution. Today's improved data use ensures that a Victoria’s Secret catalog is not mailing to the homes of single men, for example. For more on catalog trends, see http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-07/why-the-analog-catalog-still-drives-digital-sales

Remarketing Expands Impact of YouTube Video Ads

If you run a video ad campaign on YouTube, don't miss the opportunity to create a remarketing campaign! It can generate added exposure and engagement with your target audience. YouTube’s TrueView advertising program offers video remarketing tools, also known as remessaging or retargeting, that enable advertisers to build a prospect list and bring viewers back to a video marketing message. With remarketing, the advertiser has the opportunity to show text or display ads to promote a video based on the audience member's past interactions with the video. For a presentation on how to leverage your YouTube ad reach, see the Target Marketing magazine blog post by Gary Hennerberg at http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/blog/video-advertising-remarketing-direct-marketers

For E-mail Success, Focus on Content, Segmentation

Compelling content and list segmentation are rated by both B2B and B2C marketers as the most effective tactics for e-mail success, according to a June research report from Ascend 2 and Research Underwriters. Creating relevant and compelling content was ranked as key by most B2B (71%) and B2C marketers (65%). Segmenting the e-mail database was cited as an effective tactic by the second greatest percentage of B2B marketers. For B2C marketers, segmentation ranked as the No. 3 tactic for achieving e-mail marketing objectives, after testing and optimizing the e-mail campaign. But guess what? Creating relevant content and list segmentation are also listed as the most difficult to successfully execute by those same e-mail marketers, along with testing and optimizing messaging. Tactics that are the focus of many articles -- optimizing e-mail for smartphones and engaging with social media -- fell to the bottom of the list of successful e-mail tactics cited by B2B and B2C marketers. For more detail, see the emarketer.com report at http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Which-Tactics-Work-Best-Email-Marketers/1010020

Ebay May Soon Share User Data With Marketers

Ebay may soon follow in the footsteps of Amazon and start sharing its user data with marketers who want to target online ads to shoppers on non-Ebay sites, according to a recent story in Adweek, citing a report from an agency executive who had been pitched on the new Ebay program. Reportedly, Ebay has compiled browsing and purchase data for the auto, clothing, music and books segments. Questions remain about the untested platform. Will Ebay have enough detailed segmentation to interest advertisers? Will advertisers snub the bargain-hunting Ebay customer? See the Adweek story at http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ebay-plans-share-its-users-data-brands-149156