Meet the People Solves Marketers “Cookie Addiction” with Zero-Party Data
Ascendant Holding Company Enters Strategic Partnership & Investment in Blockchain-Based Loyalty Rewards Marketplace qiibee
NEW YORK, NY – July 25, 2022 Marketers have grown addicted to cookies to bring them consumer data — but what happens when those cookies start to crumble? Holding company Meet the People believes one of the answers may be “zero party data,” which is why it’s investing in Swiss tech company qiibee. qiibee uses blockchains to create a rewards marketplace that lets customers find true value in loyalty programs, and marketers tap into data that’s voluntarily given.
The investment is a natural step for Meet the People, founded by media agency veteran Tim Ringel. It starts with the people, in a literal sense. In an industry where data is captured without consumers clear consent, loyalty programs and rewards allows for a mutual data relationship between brands and consumers. “Brands need to understand, and are learning quickly, that data belongs to consumers,” Ringel says. “It’s not a currency to be sold by large technology companies. It’s a commodity that, when consensual, can be used to build long-term trust and relationships.”
While the burgeoning holding company has acquired three agencies thus far, this is its first investment in a technology platform. qiibee, founded by Gabriele and Gianluca Giancola, takes a novel approach to one of the shortcomings of the traditional loyalty program: your points have limited use if they can only be redeemed with just one brand. In its blockchain-based B2B rewards marketplace, a potentially unlimited number of brands can exchange their loyalty points for other brands’ — which means consumers’ points have real worth.
That also means a trove of consumer data, which will help Meet the People and its brands create deeper relationships with consumers. As part of its strategic partnership in the United States, qiibee and Meet The People will collaborate on product roadmap development, consumer experience design and technology solution integration. The blockchain infrastructure will make it possible to trade points in the blink of an eye, while providing security against fraud, data manipulation, and abuse.
“Working with Meet the People and its agencies has the potential to open up the rewards economy, already worth billions of dollars,” says Gabriele Giancola. “But more importantly, zero-party data also puts control of data sharing and privacy back into the hands of the consumers.”
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ABOUT QIIBEE AG
qiibee is the leading blockchain-based B2B Rewards Marketplace, offering instant access to world-renowned brands, thousands of rewards, crypto, NFTs and exponential membership growth. Marketplace loyalty programs benefit from partner integration in one click, zero reconciliation costs and increased security while boosting customer engagement and new member acquisition. Backed by leading VCs, strategic and angel investors with expertise in loyalty and web 3.0, qiibee’s mission is to unlock the purchasing power of the rewards economy by making all rewards exchangeable and liquid.
ABOUT MEET THE PEOPLE
Meet the People is a holding company for the people, created by people who know that holding companies don’t work. Not for brands, unless you’ve got a few billion to throw around. Not for agencies. And definitely not for the people. Backed by Innovatus Capital Partners, LLC, we started Meet the People because we know holding companies from the inside and believe we can do better. So that brands can come to one place for all their marketing. So that agencies can be bigger than the sum of their parts. So the people are treated with dignity.
