We continue to spotlight our clients, showcasing how they navigate data management and their advertising strategies. The Globe and Mail, a leading Canadian publisher, is at the forefront of adopting secure and innovative advertising practices. In this second part of our interview series, we spoke with Soleil Adler, Data Optimization Manager, about their successful campaign with VIA Rail. This conversation highlights the importance of a well-structured data strategy and the ongoing pursuit of excellence to achieve results that exceed expectations. If you missed the first interview, you can read it or watch it here.

Discover all four perspectives on the successful partnership around data collaboration between publisher the Globe and Mail, advertiser VIA Rail, agency Omnicom Media Group and tech provider Optable in the AdExchanger article.

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What were your objectives for the VIA Rail campaign, and what were your partner’s goals?

The objective was to determine if using The Globe and Mail’s data enriched with a client's first-party data would outperform solely using The Globe’s data. VIA Rail’s campaign goal was to generate awareness and encourage planning for the next trip with VIA Rail.

Could you give us an overview of the campaign: what audiences did your companies match?

We matched all the Globe and Mail readers with three separate VIA Rail audiences: Lapsed Travelers, Mid-Week Travelers, and Travelers from the Last 3 Years to gather insights and then create a look-alike.

What tactics did you use to test the Clean Room matching with the advertiser?

We conducted an ABC test. For tactic A, we targeted on-site content focused on inventory using audience insights from the match. For tactic B, we created a lookalike audience based on the last three-year Travelers audience match. Tactic C served as our control, targeting The Globe’s domestic traveler audience.

How did you use insights on audiences derived from the match with VIA Rail?

Once we identified travelers who had purchased tickets within the last three years through our platform, we matched them with all of the Globe readers and gathered insights from this match. The insights revealed that travelers were highly interested in the Personal Finance, Business Opinion, and Investing sections. Therefore, we targeted our inventory towards those sections.

Why did you opt for the look-alike model for this campaign? What steps did you take to build augmented audiences using Optable’s prospecting technology?

We created a look-alike audience to reach potential new customers with similar interests in domestic travel. We achieved this by matching the audience to Optable’s prospecting Clean Room and assessing the model probability to ensure efficient scale and attribute, and then activating it.

How does The Globe and Mail plan to leverage the success of this campaign to attract more advertisers?

With VIA Rail, we have seen a 3.4 times increase in reach. We are continuing to use these tactics in new campaigns and conducting frequent data matches to improve our data strategy as we move forward. One thing we are focusing on is matching ad exposure with ticket sales to determine the contribution and identify who purchased the ticket after being exposed to the ad on The Globe. We are also working on another use case where we are creating a suppression segment to specifically avoid targeting existing ticket purchasers.

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The Globe and Mail's strategic approach to data collaboration and Clean Room technology highlights the transformative potential of these tools in digital advertising. By integrating advanced data solutions, focusing on meaningful metrics, and leveraging successful case studies like the VIA Rail campaign, they continue to innovate and lead in the realm of data-driven advertising.

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