Cadent and TiVo Make a Powerful Data Partnership. Interview with Jim Tricarico

In a media environment of increased data opportunities, Cadent’s recent partnership with TiVo to create an enhanced TV targeting solution for advertisers is particularly interesting.

Cadent’s core business, according to CRO Jim Tricarico, is as an unwired network that offers both visibility and verification to advertisers. “Cadent brings network like experience to unwired,” explained Tricarico. He added, “We deliver efficient GRPs across all cable networks – both large and small – and are able to access MSO inventory from over 200 MSOs of all sizes and reach.” Cadent’s MSO partners include the large operators such as Comcast, Cablevision, Charter, Cox, FIOS, UVerse and Dish as well as 190 smaller operators such as Suddenlink and WOW! resulting in an overall US coverage area of over 80%. But overall coverage levels can be deceiving according to Tricarico who said, “It is the smaller MSOs that fill in the rest of the US because we look at coverage on the zone level. For example New York City has 96 zones. So we need to be inside the zones and not just the overall DMA. That is why we have the only pure national footprint. And that allows us to translate into more like a national network, measured by Nielsen and posted using MSA.” Ultimately, Cadent enables advertisers to complement their network buy using their unwired network of inventory for greater cost efficiency, frequency and program targeting.

Now, with Cadent’s new data and sales initiative, advertisers can take advantage of TiVo’s 2.3 million household sample, six other data providers, as well as Experian’s buying and user behavior data to go beyond age and gender. This enables advertisers to reach their specific target niche audiences in an anonymous, privacy-protected manner. “We start with a client’s broad demographic,” said Tricarico, “and then narrow it down to focus on a client’s best prospects. We buy on a general demo and overlay data from TiVo and Experian for more precision to get to a micro dataset. Then we see which networks, across all 200+ cable networks we represent, to find the most appropriate dayparts, days and time periods to reach the micro dataset.” The result is the delivery of two different MSA posts – one on the general demo target and the other as a custom post for the micro dataset.

The response from the industry has been very encouraging, according to Tricarico. “We have three successfully executed campaigns – New Orleans Tourism, 1-800-Flowers and Cabot Financial. In addition, Modi Media is impressed with what we are doing and is partnering with us on high index buying, Other media groups are beginning to come to us too,” he stated.

Jamie Power, Managing Partner at MODI Media, has found success in Cadent’s data targetability. She noted, “Data and technology have changed what is possible in television today, we are now able to target below traditional demography with more precision.  Historically, television is planned using self-reported data and then measured through panel based data.   We are now we are utilizing census level set-top-box data to better target a brand’s customer. Our goal is to optimize television allocations against a brands’ strategic target and identify the best inventory. We are able to show clients that deeper targeting increases their ability to reach their strategic target by as much as 70 to 200 percent.  Better data helps us drive better results for our clients.”

“The core business is still growing,” said Tricarico, who added, “I see this extension growing quickly. I would not be surprised if it will become 20% of our revenue by next year at this time.”

This article first appeared in www.MediaBizBloggers.com

Targeting with Data. Q&A with Rick Erwin of Acxiom

Rick Erwin has been in the epicenter of the data driven marketplace for over 25 years including 10 years at Experian and 12 years at RR Donnelley. Now as President of Audience Solutions for Axciom, Erwin is responsible for the success of the data, analytics and digital media business globally in the Audience Solutions Division. According to Erwin, “Acxiom is an enterprise data, analytics and software-as-a-service company (referring to the cloud).”

In this interview, Erwin discusses Acxiom’s competitive market position, client base, dataset usability and changes in the data marketplace. He also looks ahead with some predictions of the media landscape five years from now.

CW: Who are your competitors and what is your point of difference? 

RE: Three things make us unique — 1) Data Stewardship: our position as a trusted manager of client, supplier and partner data who can neutrally and privately combine that data to produce better targeting and measurement results; 2) Recognition Capability: we are the only company that can anonymously, accurately and persistently recognize consumer identities in virtually any form and resolve that identity back to a common advertising currency; 3) Connectivity: we are unique in our ability to connect all forms of advertising media and platforms together, so that audiences can be moved safely and seamlessly between them. This allows any data company to distribute their audiences on any platform, any advertiser to reach their audience through any ad medium.

Our differentiation puts us in partnership and a provider role with most of the ecosystem, and so we are fortunate to not compete head-to-head very often.

CW: Who are some of your clients?

RE: Acxiom works with myriad clients across a variety of sectors including: American Express, Nielsen Catalina Solutions, TD Ameritrade, Sony, TiVo, Hearst, Macy’s, United Airlines and Epson to name a few. We have relationships with more than 50 of the Fortune 100 and business-to-consumer marketing leaders in key industries, such as financial services, retail, telecommunications, media, insurance, health care, automotive, technology, travel and entertainment.

CW: How do they (your clients) use your data?

RE: Our clients use the data in our network to accurately determine each person in their audience. This helps them spend their media budget more wisely to achieve the results they need. For some advertisers, data-driven marketing is still a very new approach, and we work with these clients to help them understand the data they have, as well as how to use it to create successful ad campaigns matched to the right audience. Our clients also use Acxiom’s data to instantly describe their audience and predict what they need to do to be relevant to them as well as to connect their audiences safely and privately through the right media channel.

CW: What are some surprises that your data reveals? 

RE: When we first apply our Abilitec recognition and our Infobase data assets to a client’s business, it often reveals that the advertiser’s assumptions about who their best customers are differs from what they thought. This is because many advertisers know their customers by the transactions they have had with them, but have an incomplete picture of who they are outside those transactions — do they have a family, what do they do for entertainment, what type of financial personality do they have, etc. Knowing these things allows us to be more relevant marketers to these consumers.

CW: Who are your competitors?

RE: It is not our practice to comment on the competition, but what I can say is that we work with other data and service providers. Our mission is to enable a neutral and open ecosystem that connects and advances the entire marketing industry delivering marketing efficiency that benefits brands and consumers alike.

CW: How has the data space changed (if at all) from when you first started?  

RE: So many things have changed while others have remained bedrock foundations. The most exciting change is that advertising media has become predominantly digital. This means that we can use technology to target and measure advertising at the household level almost everywhere. When we do this, marketing becomes much more relevant to consumers and much more effective for advertisers. And while this exciting change is happening right under our feet, the data, analytics and decisioning approaches can use the same foundational capabilities that Acxiom has brought to our clients for 45 years.

CW: How have advancements in technology helped or hurt your business model?

RE: The advancements in technology driving the Internet of Things (IoT) and Addressable TV have helped our business, and also consumers. With increasing amounts of data, marketers now have the means to get a clearer understanding of their customer. By activating an omnichannel strategy, they are able to seamlessly deliver data to a broader range of touch points, media platforms and digital marketing applications. By onboarding customer data, brands can unlock new possibilities for employing data-driven marketing strategies that increase efficiency and campaign performance, such as enhanced targeting, closed-loop measurements and one-to-one marketing attribution. And ultimately, consumers win through a more relevant experience with the brands they love. 

CW: Give me some predictions as to how you think the media landscape will look 3 to 5 years from now.

RE: We expect to see a few significant evolutions: 1) A continued trend of the marriage of data for targeting and measurement with media impression information.  2) The development of a healthy business around addressable TV advertising and 3) major advertiser expectation of accurate omni-channel campaign effectiveness measurement.

Q&A Interview with Ken Wollenberg

Ken Wollenberg, President/General Manager of Experian Simmons has a range of measurement experience from MRI to Nielsen to Arbitron, which led to his current position at Simmons. In this fascinating interview, Ken talks about the pros and cons of STB data measurement, research quality, the modeling and hybridization of STB data and other big data sets especially as it applies to Experian and the future of media. Ken also discusses the development of Simmons Connect, a new cross-platform media planning service that links consumers’ consumption of eleven traditional and digital media platforms, including mobile, to rich behavioral, attitudinal and lifestyle information, including brand preferences.

The three videos of the complete interview are as follows:

Subject                                                Length (in minutes)

Background, STB Data, Quality              (8:29)
Experian                                                   (11:55)
Predictions                                                (9:21)


Charlene Weisler interviews Ken Wollenberg, President of Experian / Simmons who talks about his backround, Set Top Box data and Experian in this 8:29 minute video:



Ken Wollenberg, President of Experian / Simmons talks to Charlene Weisler about his Experian Connect and the way media is being measured in a Cross Platform world in this 11:55 minute video:



Charlene Weisler interviews Ken Wollenberg, President of Experian / Simmons who discusses future media trends and ffers some predicitons in this 9:21 minute video:

Q&A Interview with Ellen Romer - Simmons

Ellen Romer, SVP Strategic Planning at Experian Simmons, has vast experience on the supplier side of consumer research. In this interview she talks about Simmons new DataStream study, the impact of set top box data, some consumer trends and future predictions.

There are four videos in that cover the following topics:

Subject Length (in minutes)
Background and Simmons (4:48)
Data Stream Simmons Study (7:59)
STB and Predictions (6:10)
Consumer Trends and Conclusions (5:38)



Charlene Weisler interviews Ellen Romer, SVP Experian. Ellen talks about her extensive supplier side background and her work with Simmons in this 4:48 minute video:




Charlene Weisler interviews Ellen Romer who talks about Simmons' new consumer measurement system DataStream in this 7:59 minute video:





Charlene Weisler interviews Ellen Romer, SVP Experian. Ellen talks about consumer trends in this 6:10 minute video:





Ellen Romer, SVP Experian Simmons talks about set top box data through Experian and give us some predictions for the next five years. This video is 5:38 minutes long:







Interview conducted by Charlene Weisler, a research veteran, member of the Set Top Box Collaborative executive committee, the CTAM Research and Research Planning Committees and a CIMM consultant. She can be reached through her blog www.WeislerMedia.blogspot.com or at WeislerMedia@yahoo.com.