• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, July 3, 2013

The ad tech industry seems to have become obsessed with speed. The ability to pull ads faster to serve up in search results or on publisher sites, and to more quickly integrate offline data into online systems, have become critical components to support brands.

BlueKai's data management platform is faster at activating offline CRM data across digital channels, according to the company, which believes it's helping brands save time for a process many believe have become too lengthy.

BlueKai's technology through Fast Ramp reduces 10 to 12 days from today's 15-day offline-to-online cycle. It relies on stored profiles that enable BlueKai to bring offline data online without identifying the user again in the browser. "In the old process, we'd onboard the data and we would wait for someone to show up again; it could happen in one day or 30 days," said Molly Parr, director of product marketing and management at BlueKai. "Marketers want to quickly get a file online the first time you use it, as well as for ongoing updates."

Having the ability to update information quickly means advertisers can talk with potential customers about recent purchases, not ones that happened days or a month ago.

For instance, historically a large financial institution would bring its file data online, and because advertisers would identify users in the browser, it would take 15 to 30 days to find those users again. With Fast Ramp, the attribute identifying someone with "a high value credit card," for example, is added to BlueKai 123's profile, without having to see them again. Instead of serving a generic welcome banner, the financial institution can serve them content that suggests they look at a particular CD.