• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, April 20, 2011

AudienceScience will officially release a lifecycle management and brand impact feature Wednesday for its data management platform created for media planners and buyers. The latest version of the AudienceScience Gateway DMP provides a better ability to collect and aggregate huge volumes of data from disparate sources, while maintaining privacy standards, according to the company.

The feature supports a fundamental shift in online target marketing, notes AudienceScience CEO Jeff Hirsch. Until now marketers used data management platforms per transaction or campaign, rather than to develop a long-term relationship with customers. It's a shift in how data is being used, he says.

The lifecycle of a campaign spans from the consumer's first interest in a product or service through the purchase process. Previously, AudienceScience had stored information for 12 weeks because the focus remained on immediate purchase intent items. Now brand marketers want a longer view of consumer activities.

Conversations with marketers also continue to change, Hirsch says. Marketers once talked about ad targeting -- how to serve up the perfect ad to the correct person. Now marketers want to talk about how they can increase their understanding of consumers' behavior online. Hirsch says he sees data management and behavioral targeting platforms becoming more like research and development, rather than ad targeting, tools. This fundamental shift brings new information and feedback into campaigns.

Think of the data management platforms as an extension of CRM tools without the need for consumers to register on a Web site for information. Only DMPs have large capacities for storing data related to audience segmentation and business intelligence.