Two things come to Publicis Media’s Alex Vinci’s mind right off the bat when asked about how brands use purchase data to drive measurable results. 

The first is that purchase data is “one of the best things to happen to the ad ecosystem” because essentially it makes marketers’ media buys more efficient. At the very least, it helps reduce wasted ad impressions. 

That’s also a win from a consumer standpoint, said Vinci, VP, Global Commerce Strategy, at Publicis Media. As she told Jeremy Bloom, the OhHello.io founder and co-host of The Ad Tech Forum with Ad Tech God, when people are presented with fewer ads from products that they’ve already bought, the frustration factor is diminished appreciably. 

Okay, that may sound like a small win. But lowering the friction between consumers and brands is an important part of the battle.

“I don't know what's more frustrating than scrolling through whatever platform you're on and seeing ad after ad for the thing you've already purchased,” Vinci said. 

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Purchase Data Produces Loyalty

With that consumer pain point out of the way, brands and their desired audience are freer to move on to the next purchase. “If you understand what I buy when I buy it, where I buy it and how I pay for it, inevitably you're able to send me more relevant communications for things I actually want to see and want to buy,” Vinci said, extolling the benefits of purchase data being put in action.

The real magic, however, happens when you layer in other types of data like identity or geography or affinity, Vinci added. Those are the analytics layers that add up to understanding a consumer’s transaction history —  and it’s how brands can tee up future purchases. 

The insights accrued from purchase data allows marketers to get  to the heart of who a consumer is, what engages them online and offline. That’s what the building blocks of  customer segmentation are based on. Effective use of purchase data also sets the stage for creating fuller personas that influence a brand’s ad targeting. 

From there, you can dovetail into creative strategy and get more insights into what imagery will work better, or what calls-to-action would be most effective, Vinci said. 

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Breaking Through Walled Gardens

To Vinci, one of the more exciting things about the expanding use cases associated with purchase data is that it can be used outside the walled gardens of the retail media networks.  That translates into unlocking planning across the full marketing funnel, she said. 

“Commerce, as we know, is not relegated to just the bottom of the funnel — and neither should purchase data, if you know how to use it, " Vinci said. “Traditionally, media is planned on a cost-by-reach basis. If you want to reach the most relevant number of people for the most efficient cost, when you introduce purchase data, you can add in a layer of proximity and other attributes. Purchase data is what is allowing you to get closer to that person in the mindset of converting.”

CTV is a prime example of harnessing purchase data’s power. As linear TV shifts to streaming, marketers want to integrate CTV with their other media channels. Brands can leverage retailer data to enhance the value of all those aligned media buys. 

“Typically, CTV would be thought of as a little more upper- and mid-funnel, but by integrating it into other buys, it becomes infinitely more relevant to that household,” Vinci said. “Layering purchase data, geography, proximity, etc., just generally levels up your ability to plan more full funnel targeting.”

To capture Vinci’s full insights on harnessing the power of purchase data, be sure to check out the full episode of the Ad Tech Forum here. 

Follow and listen to past episodes here.