Meet Our Partners:
Q&A with placeIQ Partner sales executive, Mark Bielicky

TruAudience^® solutions enable the marketing ecosystem to leverage data and identity with trust. In this series, we will introduce the partners who are critical to our success.

Can you tell me about PlaceIQ and your role there?

PlaceIQ is a data and technology company that helps brands understand and connect with consumers using location-based insights. PlaceIQ has been turning location data into actionable intelligence for over a decade, powering audience activation, real-world measurement and attribution for marketers, analysts, and publishers.

I work directly with account teams to help ensure success for our sell-side partners such as publishers, DSPs, and consumer platforms. What I most enjoy about my role is evangelizing a data-driven approach to empower brands and businesses with location intelligence. The market has matured so much in the 1.5 years I’ve been with PlaceIQ. There are always new and exciting opportunities to provide incremental value to our partners — that’s been of the utmost importance as we all grapple with large changes in consumer behavior.

What verticals do PlaceIQ audiences specialize in? How are they leveraged via the TruAudience^® Data Marketplace?

PlaceIQ specializes in several verticals, including retail, travel, entertainment, dining and auto. Our basemap includes millions of commercial locations from theme parks to convenience stores so we can provide a true view of consumer behavior using real-world movement. We produce audiences for all verticals which can be used for omnichannel activation across TV, social, display, audio, and OOH.

In the TruAudience Data Marketplace, PlaceIQ data is used to contextualize real-world consumer movement, allowing marketers to target audiences based upon real-world, consumer movement. Location-based targeting helps amplify results for marketing campaigns. Audiences are made for everything from direct visitation signals — a frequent Macy’s shopper, for example — to lifestyle indicators such as Family Road Trippers, recent QSR breakfast diners and more.

What trends are you seeing with first-party data usage in connected TV (CTV)?

We’re seeing an acceleration of first-party data usage within an omnichannel approach. People really want to use the same message across multiple channels, test it, optimize against it. That’s why it’s important for us to work with TransUnion to bring this data to CTV.

We’re also seeing clients want to get very targeted in their approach to develop messaging for different behaviors. The message you’d show to someone who goes into work every day, travels, and goes to sporting events is likely different than one you’d share with someone who’s been staying home, ordering in and venturing out less.

What do you think is most important when it comes to data targeting on CTV?

I’d say scalability is a huge factor in success. If you want the strategies you put in place to drive value, you need not only scale, but clean, timely, accurate data as the basis of your segmentation. PlaceIQ utilizes a mix of data inputs from a variety of sources from over 140 million devices monthly. This ensures we don't get a skewed view of activity from any one region or lifestyle.

Location data is complex, but the PlaceIQ team is highly skilled at cleansing data, understanding patterns, and collaborating with the appropriate partners for different sectors (i.e., auto visitation differs from fast food dining trends). All this is to say: You need strong signals and high scale to enable effective personalization to drive visitation.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of TransUnion. The information contained in this blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. You should consult your own attorney or financial adviser regarding your particular situation. TransUnion does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided.  The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute an endorsement by TransUnion. Trans Union LLC and its affiliates (“TransUnion”) make no endorsement, recommendation, or representation with respect to the information provided herein. For complete details of TransUnion products, visit www.transunion.com.