• by Tyler Loechner  @mp_tyler, September 15, 2015

Connexity, the retail publisher formerly known as Shopzilla, has been involved in the programmatic ad game, most recently striking a partnership with Index Exchange to launch a private marketplace so that it could sell its owned-and-operated inventory via programmatic.

With the technology now in place, Connexity is taking aim at what brings that technology to life: data.

The company is set to announce the beta release of a data-as-a-service product for advertisers and agencies that rely on their own data management platforms (DMPs) and demand-side platform (DSPs) to manage programmatic campaigns. Through “Data as a Service,” the new product, “advertisers can export Connexity’s audiences through either Oracle’s BlueKai or Acxiom’s LiveRamp,” the company notes.

In short, the data-as-a-service offering makes Connexity’s shopping data available on other platforms.

“We made these profiles available in our own platform, but now we can export those audience profiles into [an advertiser’s] platform of choice,” explained Craig Teich, SVP of sales and business development at Connexity.

Connexity currently offers around 100 audiences through BlueKai and LiveRamp, with most of those audiences being retail-oriented. Connexity’s data comes from online shoppers; it’s not brick-and-mortar data.

“We also have different types of lifestyle segments,” Teich added. “For example, based on our view of shopping, we have a segment called ‘DIY Neighbors,’ and ‘Household CEO,’ or ‘Fashion Insider.’”

Other segments are “life-stage in nature,” Teich said, including "College," "Millennials," and "New Parents."

Teich said that Connexity’s goal is to double the amount of audiences offered to 200 by the end up the year -- or sooner, to gear up for the holidays.

The data-as-a-service offering is considered by Connexity to be an “evolution of the business,” said Teich. Connexity will still offering media-buying for clients, but this data-sharing initiative is set to become a main focus of the company’s.

“We’re expecting this to be a main driver of growth for the company,” said Teich. “The primary reason behind rebranding (from Shopzilla) was to move to become a much more data-driven marketing company. This is one of a few tent pole initiatives. There’s more to come, but this is an important one.”