• by Ray Schultz , December 11, 2017

MNI Targeted Media, a subsidiary of Time Inc., has introduced DataMatch Attribution Insights, a platform to help advertisers attribute sales and ROI across channels.

The product was developed based on feedback from users of MNI’s DataMatch, a service that joins online and offline data to facilitate one-to-one targeting, says Stefanie Sena, associate director of digital account management with MNI Targeted Media.

DataMatch Attribution Insights, which was quietly rolled out two months ago after six months of testing, is designed to help firms attribute ROI and provide insight into the "touchpoints along the customer journey,” says Matthew Fanelli, SVP of digital for MNI Targeted Media. These can include display, mobile and email, according to Sena.   

In an automotive campaign, the company can “match the data they give us — first name, last name, email, postal,” along with point-of-sale data, to conduct one-to-one attribution, Sena says.  

If 100 people purchased a certain car in a month, MNI can determine that 50 bought it through a campaign, Sena says -- and it can document that the $50k campaign produced 100k in ROI, she adds. Email addresses are a key identifier in this process.

“When they are downloading an app, they are agreeing to terms and agreements and offer email addresses,” Sena adds. Email is not the only connection, but “it’s definitely one of the strongest ones,” she says.

The attribution tool is useful when there has been a purchase or conversion. “There needs to be that common goal in mind,” Sena notes, adding that the goal is to “put the budget behind users engaging with ads." 

In addition to automotive, CPG, retail and travel are also a good fit for the product, she says. 

Introduced two years ago, DataMatch includes data from MNI’s technology stack, the Omnipoint System, plus mobile and offline data, to give clients an end-to-end profile of customers. It can combine DMV records, census registrations and online behavioral data to target qualified users, Sena says.  

One user, perfectlyfree, an allergy-friendly CPG brand, used the platform to drive “awareness and conversion,” states Pat Maguire, director of marketing for parent Incredible Foods. Targeting households with food allergies, it achieved 0.23 percent CTR on desktop and 0.22 on mobile, using DataMatch, Maguire claims.  

Another client, Gulfstream Parks, used DataMatch to promote hotel bookings, achieving an average CTR of 0.28%.

MNI Targeted Media Inc. is a subsidiary of media giant Time Inc. That firm is in the process of being acquired by Meredith Corp.