Mindshare rolls out 'human intelligence' targeting tools

Mindshare has rolled out new machine learning tools intended to help advertisers better understand the “motivations, mindsets and emotions” of target audiences.

The Group M agency claims its Precisely Human Intelligence (PHI) tools combine “empathy and precision through a deeper understanding of human identity connected to first party data”.

PHI uses data from WPP’s Choreograph Audience Origin, a huge database that contains first-party consumer data about interests, behaviours, media consumption and purchase decision-making across 74 markets.

Mindshare said it combines human information with first-party data, including geolocation, hashed emails and mobile phone numbers, “allowing us to connect to other data sources using persistent identities with over one million people”.

In essence, Mindshare says PHI is a new way of planning media that considers what motivates target audiences, how behaviours differ on various digital platforms and when the most effective time is to target certain messaging in a media plan.

Victoria Cook, Mindshare’s global chief data strategy and insights officer, told Campaign the idea behind the tools was motivated by better connecting how people think and behave to their media consumption habits.

“We are now able to connect culture to how people use platforms and media with empathy data,” she said. “So, for example, if you think about the way you approach LinkedIn versus the way you approach TikTok, the reason you use these platforms is very different, so the storytelling you want to do on those platforms needs to be better tailored,” she said.

“So we have four mindsets that are combining the likelihood to purchase on ecommerce platforms. That allows us to tailor the storytelling and make sure we have the right content available to all those people.”

Mindshare claimed the new tool also allows it to improve the effectiveness of cross-media plans by pairing behaviour on these platforms with client data.

“This is really about how different people use media, such as TV and online platforms and what pulls people apart,” Cook added.

Mindshare said PHI will include a new media planning process that will be rolled out to all clients across its global network. 

Global chief executive Adam Gerhart said: “The Precisely Human Intelligence suite of products is part of Mindshare’s vision to deliver Good Growth for our clients. The underlying products are already driving growth and value for clients. 

“By shifting from third-party precision signals to a balanced first-party data approach we have seen incremental lift in performance metrics by up to 35%.”

The four PHI products are:

PHI Culture: delivering more relevant messaging and media activation through a more nuanced understanding of culture, using a unique combination of algorithms and large consumer data sets.

PHI Platform: delivering better creative storytelling, through a highly scalable, globally automated analysis of consumer motivations and how they map to social media platforms.

PHI Commerce: delivering more precise targeting, using a global cognitive science approach that gives a robust understanding of subconscious decision-making patterns.

PHI Media: delivering significantly improved effectiveness of cross-platform media buys, using always-on, continuously updated media behaviour segments paired with bespoke data from client segmentations.