TransUnion, the nation’s third-largest credit reporting agency, is diving further into the data-driven marketing world with the acquisition of technology company Signal.
TransUnion makes its consumer data set available for marketers who are looking to acquire new customers. Acquiring Signal will help address retention and customer loyalty.
“In combining these strengths, we are able to bring our business customers a more complete solution,” Steve Chaouki, TransUnion president of U.S. markets, said in a statement.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Signal is a company that helps brands better organize and protect their first-party data assets in a way that makes their marketing interventions less intrusive, and, ideally, more impactful.
Last May, TransUnion bought TruSignal, a company that analyzes data to build audiences so marketers can more easily target specific consumers. The company also participated in a $10 million funding round last April in Tru Optik, a tech company that specializes in over-the-top advertising.
“We’re focused on marketing solutions that are people-based because it’s the future of marketing effectiveness and delivers value to the consumer,” Matt Spiegel, evp of marketing solutions and head of media at TransUnion, said in a statement.
TransUnion has acquired Signal during a pandemic that’s made deal-making more complicated as work-from-home setups and a squeeze on ad spend change priorities for both buyers and sellers.
The deal also comes as ad targeting faces an existential threat from both lawmakers and Big Tech. Industry bodies are coming together to preserve addressable advertising, but regulators and giants like Apple and Google are putting pressure on how consumer data is collected and used.
“When we talk about a people-based future, this strategy is: rooted in a stable offline foundation of consumer identity data, applies a multikey approach to identity, doesn’t rely on a singular identifier and considers consent at the core. We believe that privacy and personalization are both critically important in this future–and must coexist to be successful,” a TransUnion spokesperson said.
Signal is based in Chicago and has 30 full-time employees, not including contracts, according to the spokesperson, who added that TransUnion’s acquisition of Signal is an investment in both people and product, and that TransUnion is excited to welcome all Signal associates on board as leadership integrates solutions and teams.
