Two months ago Aimia-backed Cardlytics launched in the UK through deals with Lloyds Banking Group brand Halifax and more recently, Lloyds Bank.
Using transaction data, the card-linked marketing company displays relevant offers while consumers browse through their bank account online. Ocado, Coast and Homebase are already signed up.
Cardlytics, originally from the US, released research into the popularity of card-linked marketing, along with a breakdown of verticals and how certain demographics utilise the technology, in the hopes of dispelling some of the doubts surrounding its solution.
The man responsible for helping to get the Lloyds partnership off the ground, Charles Humphreys, managing director at Cardlytics chatted to PerformanceIN about industry perceptions, criticism, partnerships and expansion plans in the interview below.
How pleased have you been with the reception of Cardlytics’ UK launch?
Charlie Humphreys: Very pleased. The reaction from consumers and advertising retailers alike has been very positive, with good take up from both, which positions us very well for continued growth.
Why do you think it is important to combine offline data with online marketing?
CH: Advertisers have large budgets dedicated to online advertising (the digital ad spend in 2012 in the in UK was £5.42 billion) but it is difficult to connect their online media with real in-store sales. In the UK 90% of spend is offline, so to give advertisers a channel that connects the two and has segmentation and targeting based on consumers’ true overall spend (both online and offline) is extremely valuable.
What has the interest been like from UK advertisers?
CH: Very good, we are very pleased with our range of launch partners, which include a wide range of retailers from grocery to home improvement and travel to dining. It is also continuing to grow all the time. Some of the advertisers we work with now include Morrison’s, Argos and Homebase.
What level of data/insights do you provide advertisers on the usage of their offers?
CH: Cardlytics has insight on where consumers are spending on their payment cards, how much they spend, when they visit and how often they visit a particular store or location. We can only see spending, no personal identifiable information ever leaves the bank. These insights help our advertisers learn more about their customer’s preferences and we can measure precisely the performance of campaigns for advertisers, before, during and after the campaign period. We’re even able to do Test vs. Control.
Is it likely that you’ll be making this available to third parties in future?
CH: No, the data is owned by our banking partners and is not for sale. Insights about the data are available in detail to our advertisers.
What criticism have you come up against?
CH: In the UK, very little. We hear positives about the product everyday – the banks are happy to offer their customers deals on the things they already purchase, consumers really like seeing relevant offers that are easy to redeem, and advertisers are seeing high returns that connect online to offline sales.
Are you currently in talks with any other European banks about implementation? If so, which?
CH: The UK is the first market outside the US where Cardlytics, in partnership with Aimia, has launched this program. We see the potential to launch programs in a number of other markets, but have not announced any further markets yet.
Other than regional expansion, does Cardlytics have any other future plans such as feature updates?
CH: This platform offers many opportunities for enhancements and we will indeed incorporate the most popular features from the US for our consumers and our bank partners in the UK.