Unionpay Smart forges DMP/DSP deal with Isobar China using payment data

Kelvin Long, co-founder and CTO of UnionPay Smart, emphasised that the partnership is "unprecedented in the history of UnionPay Smart, as it’s the first time we have collaborated with a market leader in advertising”. 

"Big data is the future of marketing, but it cannot be achieved without massive real data, cutting-edge data mining technology and expertise in data analytics," Long said. "UnionPay Smart has exclusive data tags and leading data technology. Dentsu Aegis Network has access to unparalleled data and intelligence in digital marketing."

The duo claimed they will combine the existing big-data analytics of UnionPay Smart with advertising and user-browsing behavioural insights from Dentsu Aegis Network to develop a "precision brand marketing platform”.

A year in the works, according to the companies, the platform will comprise:

• A data-management platform (DMP) synchronising UnionPay Smart 'consumer portraits' with web browsing and search data shared by publishers. Specifically, the data exchange will prioritise the automotive, finance, maternity and infant sectors.
• A demand-side platform (DSP) for programmatic buying set on the key pre-condition of ensuring the use of all financial data is strictly safe and legal. It will incorporate online and offline behavioural data to optimise audience targeting across publishers.
• Customised services for brands and media owners in terms of customer relationship management (CRM) data.

Isobar China has been investing in Code1, a brand and consumer data analysing platform, according to Phil Teeman, group managing director of parent company Dentsu Aegis Network China. "Data integration is critical and we have been working to bring all of our data together into one platform: consumer data, ad data, and performance data."

To that, Jane Lin-Baden, CEO of Isobar China Group, added that the data offering with UnionPay Smart "is able to meet the needs of brand commerce, incorporate brand experiences with purchasing decision-making in order to identify consumer motives more precisely in the last mile”.

The two companies are describing this as a "reciprocal ecosystem that benefits advertisers, data solution providers as well as media platforms”. In an exclusive interview, Alvin Huang, managing director of Isobar China, told Campaign Asia-Pacific, “recently there are indeed many agency-related data cooperations, indicating that data-based marketing is the future trend”.

Huang pointed out that the partnership this time is different as it is on the basis of “real, actual payment data”, and is resulting in a jointly developed and jointly operated "new business".

"Actually, this time, UnionPay Smart’s cooperation with us is unique," he said. "Because they are not a media platform, we can be very flexible working with other media platforms, such as Netease, Sohu or Tencent, which will be more virtuous and more beneficial."