TORONTO – Media agency Horizon Media Canada announced Wednesday it has launched a proprietary audience framework and data ecosystem called blu., a connected marketing platform previously launched stateside by its U.S. parent company in 2020.
“This transformative platform promises unparalleled insights and capabilities for marketers to deliver highly personalized experiences while ensuring transparency and respecting user privacy,” a press release says.
The blu. platform “offers a holistic view of Canadians throughout the entire advertising process, encompassing target development, insights generation, media planning, activation, and measurement,” the release reads. “Its unique ability to connect seamlessly with brands’ first-party data and media owners’ data opens new possibilities for targeted campaigns, media plan optimization, and advanced measurement.”
While younger Canadians are more receptive to personalized ads than older generations, they also expect brands to respect their privacy, a Horizon Media Canada spokesperson said in an email.
“blu. was conceptualized to address the evolving needs of marketers and consumers alike,” Kevin Kivi, general manager of Horizon Media Canada, said in the press release. “Our recognition of marketers’ need to differentiate themselves, coupled with consumers’ expectations of personalized experiences, drove the development of blu. This platform embodies our commitment to transparency and user empowerment.”
“blu. represents a major leap forward in the Canadian data-driven marketing landscape,” said Caroline Bergeron, Horizon Media Canada’s senior vice-president of data and digital solutions. “Our comprehensive profiles of over 25 million adult Canadians, coupled with deterministic attributes such as demographic and household information, purchase habits, and affinities, provide unparalleled granularity for precise targeting. Additionally, our data vaults and clean room integrations ensure the utmost privacy and safeguarding of client data, while still enabling partner enhancement and measurement.”
Key features of blu. include:
- Identity framework and audience platform: connect seamlessly with Horizon Media’s suite of planning, activation and measurement tools, delivering personalization at scale
- Integrated personalization strategy: customized to encompass behaviours, drivers, community engagement and shopping inclinations across brand representation, online retail, customer relationship management, and collaborative branding initiatives
- Feedback loops: empowering ongoing optimization of audiences, tactics and investment allocation for sustained campaign success
In addition, the blu. platform is “built for the cookieless world, so marketers can be confident that their campaigns will continue to be effective even as cookie technology fades away,” the Horizon Media Canada spokesperson said.
