It is really remarkable how many companies today view data analytics as the cornerstone of their businesses.aCerno is an advertising network that uses powerful analytics to predict which advertisements to deliver to which person at what time. Their analytics are performed on completely anonymous consumer shopping data of 140M users obtained from an association of 450+ product manufacturers and multi-channel retailers. There is a strong appetite at aCerno to perform analytics that they have not done before because each 1% uplift in the click-through rates is a significant revenue stream for them and their customers.

Aggregate Knowledge powers a discovery network (The Pique Discovery™ Network) that delivers recommendations of products and content based on what was previously purchased and viewed by an individual using the collective behavior of the crowds that had behaved similarly in the past. Again, each 1% increase of engagement is a significant revenue stream for them and their customers.

ShareThis provides a sharing network via a widget that makes it simple for people to share things they find online with their friends. In a short period of time since their launch, ShareThis has reached over 150M unique monthly users. The amazing insight is that ShareThis knows which content users actually engage with, and want to tell their friends about! And in its sheer genius, ShareThis gives away its service to publishers and consumers free; relying on delivering targeted advertising for its revenue: by delivering relevant ad messages while knowing the characteristics of that thing being shared. Again, the better their analytics, the better their revenue.

Which brings me to my point: data analytics is a direct contributor of revenue gains in these companies. Read the rest of this entry »