Omnicom links LiveRamp and Experian for data platform

omnicomJust days after IPG bought Acxiom, rival Omnicom Group is aiming to prove its own data-driven credentials with the launch of a new cloud-based insight platform, designed to challenge both its rival marketing giants as well as the likes of Adobe, Salesforce and Oracle.
Dubbed “Omni”, the scheme pools creative, media and data-driven marketing functions on one dashboard, with the marketing services giant claiming the move will finally make mass personalisation a reality.
It uses data provided by Acxiom-owned LiveRamp, Experian and Neustar, among others, and was developed and hosted by Omnicom’s data science division, Annalect.
Omni is designed to integrate with marketing cloud providers, whch, according to Omnicom at least, will allow clients to get the most from their first-party data and martech investments.
The company needs to play catch-up after rival IPG bought Acxiom earlier this month for $2.3bn.
Omnicom Digital chief executive Jonathan Nelson said: “Until now, the idea of mass personalisation was more of an aspiration than a reality. Omni changes that. This is precision marketing at scale and in action. And the new platform can be leveraged by all Omnicom clients across multiple disciplines.”
The company’s shift towards a more targeted approach was first revealed in September last year, when it created a direct, data and digital marketing division – dubbed the Precision Marketing Group – to address what it called “the growing demand for seamlessly integrated solutions and teams”.
The division, which reprised the name of the now defunct Centaur Media magazine, is part of the group’s Diversified Agency Services (DAS) network and will include the UK agencies Proximity and Rapp, as well as their global networks, and other agencies in the group Targetbase, Javelin and Organic.
Centaur Media axed its magazine nearly a decade ago, after deciding that Marketing Week was the future. This magazine has since gone monthly.

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