Unilever has become the first brand to use a new global planning tool from WPP, designed to provide monitor cross-device consumer behaviour and media consumption.
The global planning tool developed by mobile marketing agency Joule, created to The mFluence tool, developed by Joule and Kantar’s TNS, has been in beta since last November, and now forms part of WPP’s connected audience activation and product company Tenthavenue’s portfolio.
Unilever, was the first beta partner for the tool signing up in November 2013, and now has officially become the first non-beta client, with the view to using the tool as a fundamental part of its global planning strategy.
During the beta testing mFluence helped Unilever dig into insights around device ownership, usage and media consumption, and how and what people research by segments and countries, along with likely future technology behaviour.
mFluence, which is available across Asia, utilises data from TNS’s Connected Life survey, a study of 55,000 internet users across 50 markets, which offers essential insight into the impact of the growing digital ecosystem on the media landscape.
Owned by tenthavenue, this proprietary system enables the survey data to be pivoted in multiple ways, delivering over 24 billion different data permutations to address planning issues.
mFluence gives media planners the ability to understand a series of complex data points – such as consumer behaviour across multiple markets, demographics, social economic groups, consumer segments and product purchase – through a series of in-depth filters, and then shape and articulate these into actionable media planning insights.
It reveals how paid, owned and earned media channels impact directly on a consumer’s decision to purchase products and engage with brands, and how this behaviour differs between online and offline. In addition, it empowers media planners to cluster audience segments based on actions, behaviours and activities. This means planners can determine the correct content and channel strategy to target consumers at the point where brand interactions will have the biggest purchase decision impact.
StephanLoerke, managing director of the World Federation of Advertisers said:“The major food and beverage companies have strict controls in place on how they communicate with younger audiences. This latest strengthening of the IFBA global policy demonstrates the extent to which IFBA members are taking their responsibilities seriously when it comes to marketing to children.”
The new criteria will be used to update local “pledge programme” initiatives, which are based on the IFBA global policy but which also bring in local companies in order to extend market coverage.