Rakuten Adds AI and Machine Learning to Prospecting
Rakuten Marketing has released a new edition of its Prospecting product with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology to help companies acquire high-value consumers that will drive long-term growth through loyalty and repeat purchases.
Rakuten Marketing Prospecting is a proprietary custom audience-acquisition product to help digital marketers find people whose interests align with their brands, who demonstrate a propensity to purchase online, and who are likely to connect with the companies' core values to become loyal customers. The Rakuten Marketing AI and ML algorithms learn from consumer signals (further enhanced by CRM data or DMP integration), to create more dynamic audiences than those that simply mirror existing customers; it predicts and targets potential customers who aren't already on companies' targeting radar.
Rakuten Marketing Prospecting is built on four core technology and data components:
- Audience Amplifier, a proprietary audience-creation platform;
- The proprietary Rakuten Marketing demand-side platform, DSP;
- Rakuten ecosystem data covering 1.2 billion memberships across Rakuten businesses worldwide; and
- Partner Enriched Audiences, complementing Rakuten ecosystem data.
In concert, these components fuel AI and ML algorithms that leverage signals from consumers, including sites browsed, products viewed, and purchases made. That data is then combined with ad placement data, which the predictive model uses to determine the right ad and price to pay for specific consumers based on their propensity to purchase.
When paired with Rakuten Marketing Retargeting, companies can influence consumers through a variety of ads, spanning devices and publishers, and bring purchase-ready consumers to their sites.
"Rakuten Marketing Prospecting allows brands to go beyond standard look-a-like modeling and deliver ads based on predictive intelligence and data," said Neal Richter, chief technology officer at Rakuten, in a statement. "Our AI and ML-driven technology means marketers can dynamically adjust to be relevant to the specific needs and interests of potential customers, which increases the overall quality and effectiveness of their online experience. With this technology, digital marketers have a greater ability to find audiences that are relevant, in-market and potentially loyal consumers."