Editor’s Note: Brands with access to first-party data have launched media networks in recent years across a variety of verticals—from grocery chains to hotels to airlines. But in the past year, financial companies have also gotten in the game. Chase Bank, Paypal and Klarna have all thrown their hats in the ring—and the latest to do so is Western Union. Last month the company launched a media network of 150 million people with the purpose of serving ads to its multicultural customer base. CM sister pub AdExchanger reviews what the service can provide for marketers.
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If a brand has first-party data and a little inventory of its own, dollars to doughnuts it’ll launch a media network.
We’ve seen grocery chains do it, hotels, big-box retailers, airlines, rideshare companies, gyms, convenience stores, makeup brands – the fruit hangs low.
But over the past year, companies with financial information have also started getting in on the trend, including Chase Media Solutions (as in, Chase Bank), banking app Revolut, payment providers PayPal and Klarna, and, most recently, Western Union.
Last month, the money transfer company – which, fun fact, sent its first telegrams across the American frontier in the early 1850s – launched a media network that claims to touch 150 million people across the US and Europe.
The purpose of Western Union’s media network, according to Chris Hammer, SVP of global digital product and commerce innovation, is to connect its customers “with brands that drive unique and relevant value to an aspiring multicultural population.”
That might sound like an excerpt from a press release, but the sentiment is genuine, Hammer said.
“We’re not trying to spam and blitz our customers just because we have data about them,” he said. “We see this as part of our mission, which is to create opportunities for an underserved, underbanked and mostly migrant population.”
To read the full piece, head over to AdExchanger.
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