Sports Innovation Lab Forms Partnership with Dentsu
Like most reasons for ad-marketing partnerships, it is all about the data. So too with the one just announced between Dentsu and the Sports Innovation Lab (SIL). The goal is for clients of both entities to have specialized access to sports audiences across any publisher or platform. Dentsu is the first holding company to partner with SIL, providing clients with the ability to develop sports-related insights and target addressable sports audiences to nearly 270 million U.S. adults.
“Holding companies and agencies have rich data on consumers, said Jennifer Pelino, President & Chief Commercial Officer of SIL. “However, no data set is perfect, as attributes and consumer understanding are often overlooked in areas because of legacy systems or data gaps.
SIL’s audience segments are composed of all across the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, WNBA, MLS, and NSWL, their entertainment venues, and major sports betting platforms built on deterministic, transaction-based data. Through the partnership links SIL’s data with Merkury, Dentsu’s global data, identity and insights platform.
Gerry Bavaro, Chief Strategy Officer, Merkury at Dentsu, said in a statement: “Merkury’s more than 10,000 consumer data attributes combined with the data-driven fan intelligence from Sports Innovation Lab, generate the most advanced and precise sports audiences in the industry.” He described the partnership as enabling brand marketers and other clients to develop custom audiences for personalized, real-time experiences across channels while protecting their data.
“With our data, we can provide differentiated insights on elusive communities like tailgaters, and tech-savvy hockey fans, or youth sport parents of baseball, for example,” Pelino said. “This scope allows brands unique access to these very valuable consumers, and they can reach them with personalized messaging.”
The integration is privacy compliant, using a cohort-based scoring method that aligns with data privacy requirements and security in digital advertising. Merkury does some heavy duty targeting across 100+ publishers and ad-tech platforms, including connected TV, social media, and display media, all by using personal ID-based connections.
Pelino sat down with StreetFight to go deeper into the value offered by this partnership.
Why is Sports Innovation Lab data and its programs like the one with Dentsu so valuable to brands and agencies?
Sports Innovation Lab fills a void that has existed for far too long within the advertising industry. Sports data is fragmented and most often built from small samples of survey data and demographic-level data and then projected, producing an outcome of lower quality and fidelity targeting options.
What is a differentiator for SIL?
SIL is different in that its data is at the individual level on US 250MM people (18+), passively collected transaction-level data from teams and leagues, subscriptions, publishers and merchants. This comprehensiveness allows us to provide a holistic picture of what drives a consumer to be a fan.
Can you explain how a brand would benefit from this partnership?
So, a brand like L’oreal Paris can reach youth sports baseball and softball moms by selling them their latest moisturizing cream with sunscreen and wind protection. Gain Laundry Detergent can be targeted at hockey families so that they can clean their equipment with a fresh scent. Tailgaters can be reached with an auto insurance message while supporting their college or professional football team.
How would you describe how the Sports Innovation Lab partnership will work with Dentsu, and we’re assuming, its agencies?
Sports Innovation Lab is dedicated to helping brands through their agencies be more effective and efficient with their advertising spend in sports, media and entertainment properties. We provide deep analytics at the individual level, on why consumers develop particular behaviors and fandom towards teams and brands. This rich analysis allows for greater personalization of campaigns to consumers, ultimately driving greater conversion and incremental sales lift.
