Arity’s Driver Data Reaches 200 Million Connections

Arity’s Driver Data Reaches 200 Million Connections

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It’s no secret that contextual advertising is on the comeback trail as the industry waits for Google to choke the last gasp out of the third-party cookie. New privacy legislation, cookie deprecation, and higher barriers to entry for advertising in iOS are also contributing factors to a decrease in the amount of available data for marketers to use effectively. Unsurprisingly, driving behavior ties into interest-based advertising. Arity, a mobility data and analytics company, has actually increased its third-party data set from one million seven years ago to 200 million connections as of this year.

Mobility data from vehicles and phones can show movement patterns and behaviors in multiple and varied locations and result in more relevant ad targeting. Arity’s data is derived from “privacy-friendly” channels that can be useful to advertisers and consumers, the latter of which consciously and deliberately opts into data sharing via apps, including those on iOS.

Fred Dimesa, Head of Aggregated Data and Advertising Product Lines at Arity, said the platform was built with that specific opt-in permission aspect. “So, we could maintain our position in the market and grow it,” he explained. “And we can still target on iOS.” Other data platforms that can target only on Android operating systems have lost half the market because they’ve lost half the data. Lots of cheap CPMs are available out there because the communication is so untargeted, he said.

GasBuddy, an app that helps drivers locate the least expensive gas in a given location, is one of Arity’s partners; so are local weather apps MyRadar and Weather Bug, the latter of which is the number 3 weather app on iOS. Arity also works with Life360, described as a “family safety” app, which enables family members to share their locations and movements in real-time in case they need help.

Users who activate and opt-in the apps can see all the data collected while they were. In this way, Arity has created its own private ad marketplace to collect contextualized advertising.

“The Wild West of location data is gone,” Dimesa said. “You can use location and mobility data in a privacy-safe way and provide value to the consumer with that data. They want useful products. That’s what they want with their data.”

One of the biggest challenges in using any type of data lies in understanding what’s different about this data versus other data. Arity can understand and potentially anticipate a consumer’s needs based on the person’s physical journey throughout the day.

For example, a user may tend to eat out at high-end restaurants every Friday night or stop in for coffee every morning at a certain Dunkin’ Donuts. Even though Arity has no dining apps in its repertoire, its mobile location data can build audiences for breakfast or fine dining. “You can never identify the individual,” Dimesa said, “But you can know [which users] behave in the same way.”

Arity does not sell its data but works with brands to build audiences based on behavior. “We provide options to brands who want to find a type of consumer target,” he said.

Launched in 2016, Arity’s data and analytics can provide deep insights into the insurance category, particularly car insurance, one of the most competitive consumer categories in the market.

While State Farm remains the largest private car insurer in the country (it underwrote $46.6 billion in direct premiums in 2022), according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, Progressive has overtaken Geico by a hair’s breadth in the number two slot, with $38.9 billion to $38.1 billion, respectively. Allstate, which launched Arity in 2016, is the fourth largest auto insurer with $29.2 billion.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. remains far and away the largest writer of personal auto insurance, logging direct premiums of $46.66 billion in 2022, up from $41.67 billion in 2021. Allstate Corp. is in fourth place with $29.28 billion in direct premiums in 2022, up 8.0% year over year.

One differentiating aspect of Arity’s data is The Arity Drivesight®, which uses phone sensors to identify risky driving behaviors. Arity’s data also can inform consumers, based on their own driving record, whether they qualify for lower premiums.

Outside of advertising, Arity’s data in aggregate, has been used in city planning by providing mobility and risk assessment at the street level.

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Kathleen Sampey