ALM is announcing the launch of Audience First, a new advertising platform that targets decision-makers and influencers through first-party behavioral and self-reported demographic data and then uses advanced ad technology to drive messages to these audience segments.
Audience First is part of ALM’s data-driven ad strategy, led by the newly appointed Vice President of Product & Data Strategy, Joann Kropp. Kropp previously spent 11 years at Informa, Inc. (previously acquired from Penton) as Vice President, Global Data Strategy and Data Solutions, where she focused on monetizing the audience data sets across a user database of 30 million contacts in 17 markets. While at Informa, Kropp started and rapidly grew a new division that provided advertisers with valuable data-driven marketing solutions. Prior to joining Informa/Penton, Kropp was the President of InfoGroup’s Walter Karl division.
Audience First is the latest addition to ALM’s data-driven product strategy, which currently includes Fusion, ALM’s engagement marketing solution that drives brand affinity, engages clients through content, and influences the buying cycle. Audience First uses self-reported, first-party demographic data that ALM uniquely collects from its audience subscription, lead generation, and event registration activities. It also leverages behavioral data collected as audiences engage with ALM’s topic-related, award-winning content. Advanced ad tech functionality then allows ALM to serve ads to these audience segments instantaneously as they visit brand-safe websites and social networks, as well as the ALM network of sites.
Job-function and topic-based contextual targeting will be included at launch, to be followed by ABM, geographic, and in cases where clients request it, third-party firmographics including industry classification, sales volume, employee size, and other data.
“This additional advertising capability allows us to uniquely target our vertical market audiences in ways that social media and many of our competitors cannot,” said Matt Weiner, President of Marketing Services at ALM Media. “We’re responding directly to how our customers have told us they want to access our communities.”
“At ALM, I look forward to leveraging the data, sales and marketing expertise that I have gained over the years,” says Kropp. “Creating and implementing new data-driven digital advertising products like Audience First will be a critical part of ALM’s digital growth strategy for years to come.”