SMG, Acxiom Forge AOS Alliance

Starcom MediaVest Group and data and analytics firm Acxiom said today they have created a new partnership that will give SMG clients access to Acxiom’s new Audience Operating System. SMG and Acxiom will also co-develop applications for AOS that will introduce new ways to utilize the system’s consumer data and insights services. 

The agreement is said to be the first agency deal of its kind for Acxiom. It’s also the latest in a recent spate of agreements that SMG has forged to co-create new products this year with outside companies. Earlier, it fashioned similar deals with Twitter, comScore, Google and Yahoo. 

AOS is a newly launched open platform that Acxiom claims allows marketers, agencies and publishers to plan, buy and optimize audiences across channels, devices and applications with precision and scale.

The agreement with Acxiom is a multiyear deal that gives SMG the right to extend at the conclusion of the partnership as well as first rights to global expansion. The deal also gives SMG parent company Publicis Groupe the option of expanding offerings to VivaKi and other Publicis Groupe companies. There are opportunities for the new partnership to work in conjunction with VivaKi products, like Audience On Demand and SkySkraper.

“This is a next-generation partnership that will accelerate data-driven marketing and precision targeting for our clients,” says Laura Desmond, CEO at Starcom MediaVest Group. “We’ve dreamed for years to scale personal and addressable communications from niche to mass, across screens and platforms. We believe this partnership will, in part, make this dream a reality.”

“Leveraging Acxiom’s AOS will help SMG to continue to make the best data-driven marketing resources available to its clients,” said Scott Howe, President and CEO at Acxiom. “AOS advances SMG’s ability to help its clients get closer to 1:1 marketing at scale than ever before, allowing them to connect with consumers in more meaningful ways.”
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