Markle, which is a major performance marketing company, and Rentrak, which is essentially an analytics company for movies and TV have entered into a new strategic partnership. This will allow them to combine their exceptional resources concerning consumer segments, viewership data and more to help improve customer analytics.
According to Andrew Hoeberichts, SVP and General Manager of Media & Entertainment at Merkle said, “In the media industry, broadcast and cable networks have converged on the need for a better understanding of their viewers in support of both the buy and sell sides of the ecosystem. Our partnership with the leading player in the marketplace, Rentrak, allows us to help advertiser clients get more granular insights on the viewing behavior of their target audiences with the most powerful medium in the world, TV. This is a new and extremely valuable input to today’s modern media planning activities.”
This partnership is another step toward ‘blurring the lines’ between traditional and digital marketing. As more and more companies that were once seen as ‘online only’ are beginning to use television, radio and other mediums for advertising we are likely to see more of these types of partnerships forming.
While many performance marketers have done a great job earning money using digital advertising only, that strategy may be a thing of the past for the largest and most successful companies.
Rentrak’s CEO, Bill Livek, said “Rentrak is very excited to be working with Merkle to power targeting solutions that are revolutionizing the way television is bought and sold.” This seems to sum up this partnership and possibly the future of cross-platform marketing quite well.