“We can pick up recency signals from our digital advertising business for activity that might change the way you personalize an subject line in real time,” Kennedy said. In late 2016, Conversant launched CORE, an identity resolution and cross-device matching capability that bridges the gap between its first- and third-party data assets.Įpsilon still keeps a Chinese wall between its PII data and the non-PII data that sits in Conversant, but the identity resolution capability allows it to link direct customer interactions like emails with digital media campaigns. While Epsilon has been slow to integrate the pieces that comprise Conversant into a cohesive stack – let alone bring it together with Epsilon’s data business – that’s “pretty much ancient history” now, Kennedy said. We actually think the rest of the market is frankentech.” “We offer a bundled solution for our clients. “In the rest of the industry, there’s an onboarder, a DMP, a DSP, an attribution capability and a dynamic creative offering,” Kennedy said. That stack initially consisted of the demand-side platform (DSP) Dotomi, ad network ValueClick and an ad server as well as tag management and mobile in-app advertising solutions. Publicis has made it clear that the biggest value add for its business comes from Epsilon’s experience working with first-party data.Įpsilon’s CEO, Bryan Kennedy, also pointed to the breadth of offerings Publicis is getting through the deal: data, tech and “scaled platforms that activate data built around a proprietary identity resolution technology linked to all of our offerings.”īut it’s a lot of stuff, and even though it’s still early – the integration plans aren’t set yet and the deal hasn’t officially closed – the industry is already wondering what Epsilon’s smorgasbord of assets really bring to the table for Publicis, and what might be spun off.Ĭonversant is an amalgamation of ad tech platforms Epsilon acquired in 2014 with the goal of creating an end-to-end marketing stack, powered by its data. But Epsilon also gives Publicis an affiliate marketing network (Commission Junction), a third-party data marketplace, a retail data co-op (Abacus) and an ad tech platform (Conversant) built from multiple bolt-on acquisitions. But Publicis got a lot more with Epsilon’s hefty $4.4 billion price tag.Įpsilon is best known for its services related to data management, email marketing and loyalty platforms.

Publicis acquired Epsilon on Sunday primarily for the latter’s expertise in working with first-party client data.

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