Viacom, Amex Partner On Predictive Commerce

Viacom and American Express have partnered on a TV advertising deal that’s focused on better understanding consumer purchasing intent.

The partnership is aimed at combining Amex’s data capabilities with Viacom’s predictive analytics data targeting engine in order to create a new product called Vantage Intent, powered by AmEx. This partnership is also designed to understand purchase intent across various mediums, including television, digital and social media.

“Amex’s unique closed-loop analysis will give Vantage Intent, powered by Amex, the ability to do something unprecedented — forecast commercial intent before it has formed and target the right moment in time to reach people,” said Kern Schireson, EVP of data strategy and consumer intelligence for Viacom. “With this partnership, Viacom again furthers its competitive lead as we bring advertisers access to powerful predictive insights that provide extraordinary impact at scale across all screens on Viacom’s brands.”

Vantage Intent works by using advanced analytical models that involve American Express analyzing a majority of the $1 trillion in transactions on its closed-loop network. Those transactions are then aggregated and anonymized. Data scientists from both companies will use that data to develop predictive insights about consumers’ buying preferences.

Amex also emphasized that its anonymized forecasts and models protect cardmember privacy by not sharing personal data. Viacom and Amex will use that data to create advanced audience segments, broken down by region, that optimize ad placements so they can be better targeted to specific audiences.

“For years, insights from American Express closed-loop data have been the foundation for personalizing internal and third-party marketing programs that connect our merchants with millions of cardmembers around the world,” said Manish Gupta, EVP of global information management and data products for American Express. “Now, with Viacom, we are helping provide advertisers similar insights to reach segments beyond the American Express customer base. At a time when marketers are searching to target viewers beyond age and gender, our analytics will help them break through all the static to reach the right audience with the right message.”