Claritas, Polk Deal Could Drive Cable Ad Buys

Claritas, a major source for consumer segmentation data used by advertisers and agencies to plan media buys, has struck a deal with the nation's largest automotive ownership database company, which will enable far more accurate cable TV advertising buys aimed at new car buyers.

The data, which will be made available online via Claritas' AdSelect system, should improve the precision of marketers targeting new car owners. Data covered by the deal include: new car registrations and purchasing patterns, which will be overlaid with cable TV broadcasting zones, generally defined by ZIP-codes.

According to Morris Sneor, vice president of Claritas, "if [media buyers] are buying on a local basis on behalf of auto dealers, they will be able to identify how many cars were sold within a ZIP code or an aggregated ZIP code." Elaborating, Sneor said: "It would allow you to compare different markets in terms of overall purchasing and also specific trends like make, model, year--that sort of thing."

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Sneor said the Polk data will be available exclusively through Claritas' subscription-only AdSelect service, which already provides similar information for other products like home furnishings on a targeted local basis. The extent of information available depends to a large degree on what data cable providers choose to provide about subscribers.

Claritas developed the Polk "data module" for AdSelect in consultation with major cable providers including Time Warner, as part of local cable's efforts to boost its desirability as an advertising medium. Among other objectives, local cable providers hope the combination of their subscriber information with auto purchase patterns will give them a leg up over local broadcasters, who can't track their audiences as precisely. As part of this mission, Claritas' new service will also allow them to generate thematic maps and custom reports.

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