Chase to let advertisers target bank customers based on spending history
By: Shannon T.
JPMorgan Chase bank unveiled a new unit on Wednesday – called Chase Media Solutions – that will let marketers tempt customers with targeted ads and discounts related to their spending data.
Born from the firm’s 2022 acquisition and integration of marketing platform Figg, Chase Media Solutions will give its customers access to relevant, exclusive deals on the Chase app or website that level up the appeal of the bank’s credit cards.
Unlike traditional media networks, Chase’s new ad deal doesn’t involve selling advertisement spots on its app or in its branches, and will only charge merchants a fee when a customer uses a deal to make a purchase, The Wall Street Journal earlier reported.
All of the deals are brokered by Chase’s new media unit in an effort to further secure its spot as the nation’s largest credit card issuer.
Discounts and opportunities to receive cash back will have to be activated via Chase’s app or website.
The bank’s ad initiatives are similar to recent efforts from Best Buy and Uber, which have also started selling ad space on their respective apps, websites, and other properties, The Journal reported.
These companies deliver target messaging using customer data in order to generate revenue outside of their core businesses. This way, only the shoppers that are most likely to turn into customers see the targeted ads.
Advertisers have been seeking out this model for years, including Facebook which, in the late 2000s, had a stint where it provided this type of ad-targeting service to marketers. Changes in privacy concerns have since changed how precisely Facebook could match ads to relevant prospective customers, according to The Journal.
A spokesperson for Chase assured that the bank cannot actually share its customers’ data with advertisers, citing “a matter of security and regulation.”
Rather, Chase Media Solutions has been “working with brands/merchants to create targeted offers for our customers” based on goals such as “acquiring new customers, targeting previous customers for a return shop, building basket size, etc.”
“We would target within our platform to our customers based on our spending insights. In turn, the brands only pay when a purchase is made,” the spokesperson added.
This means businesses will be able to attribute results to their spending with Chase, which the bank hopes will help interest marketers under pressure to prove their worth, Rich Muhlstock, head of offers and e-commerce at Chase, told The Journal.
“We will be part of larger campaigns because there are other things that are obviously always going to be important to building brands and awareness and things like that,” Muhlstock said. “But this fits in nicely with something that can truly drive sales.”
Chase has already been testing out the effectiveness of these targeted ads with a pilot campaign with Air Canada.
Though Chase didn’t disclose when the 30-day ads ran, per Chase Media Solutions’ model, ads and relevant deals would have only been shown to users whose Chase transaction history suggests they are interested in traveling.
As a result of the campaign, the Canadian airline raked in $6.3 million in total sales. The average order value topped $500, and 80% of transactions were from new customers, Chase touted in a case study of Air Canada’s targeted ads posted to its website.
