Consolidates All Identity Assets into LiveRamp
Delivers Greater Value to Clients and Enhances Strategic Flexibility
Acxiom to Explore Strategic Options for Marketing Solutions Business
CONWAY, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Acxiom®
(NASDAQ: ACXM), the data foundation for the world’s best marketers,
today announced plans to realign its portfolio into two distinct
business units: LiveRamp®, the identity cloud for transforming the
world’s data into value, and Acxiom Marketing Solutions, the leading
provider of data solutions for powering exceptional customer
experiences. This realignment will allow Acxiom to best meet client
needs in a rapidly evolving marketplace, create a strong foundation for
continued growth and enhance value for shareholders. Acxiom expects to
report its results under the realigned business units in the first
quarter of fiscal 2019.
The structure configures Acxiom’s three divisions into two business
units, aligning key Audience Solutions’ assets to each. All identity
assets including IdentityLink™, AbiliTec® intellectual property and
Acxiom’s TV integrations will be consolidated in LiveRamp, creating the
world’s first truly end-to-end identity platform for people-based
marketing. The remaining Audience Solutions’ lines of business for data
and data services will be combined with Marketing Services to create
Acxiom Marketing Solutions, the world’s deepest bench of experts for
turning customer insights into engaging experiences that drive tangible
business outcomes.
James Arra and Anneka Gupta will continue to serve as co-presidents of
LiveRamp, and Rick Erwin and Dennis Self will serve as co-presidents of
Acxiom Marketing Solutions. All business unit presidents will continue
to report to Scott Howe.
“At Acxiom, our clients are our number one priority,” said Acxiom CEO
Scott Howe. “Aligning our structure with the way clients buy our
products and services makes it easier to explore a greater range of
opportunities for delivering value. In addition, the structure better
positions each business to address distinct market trends and execute
against its respective opportunity set.”
LiveRamp’s Identity Cloud Transforms Data into Value
LiveRamp IdentityLink is a foundational element of any technology stack
– making it easy for companies to connect, move and share data, so they
can make smarter decisions and forge stronger customer relationships.
Our core suite of capabilities includes:
-
Data Unification – connecting data from any source to create a
true omnichannel view of the customer.
-
Data Augmentation – enabling deeper consumer insights through
Data Store, the world’s largest marketplace for buying, selling and
sharing consumer data.
-
Data Activation – delivering data across more than 550
technology platforms and publishers to support people-based targeting,
personalization and measurement for hundreds of billions in offline,
digital and TV spend.
“Identity is the catalyst for everything companies want to do with data
– determining who to reach and what to say, creating new revenue
streams, engaging effectively at scale and measuring outcomes,” said
Howe. “We’re going to help anyone and everyone drive better decisions
and business results through our neutral, open SaaS platform.”
Acxiom Marketing Solutions Powers Data-Driven Experiences Across the
Customer Journey
Acxiom Marketing Solutions offers unique capabilities to help brands,
agencies and their technology partners harness data to improve every
customer interaction, including:
-
Data Management Services – turning the chaos of marketing data
and related technologies –databases, data lakes, DMPs and CDPs – into
a simple unified data layer with a complete omnichannel view of
customers.
-
Data Strategy Services – providing clients with a prioritized
roadmap for optimizing the use of data and marketing technology.
-
Analytics Services – delivering independent services for
measuring marketing ROI, attributing impact, deepening consumer
insights and predicting consumer behavior.
-
Audience Creation Services – creating ideal audiences through
look-alike modeling, advanced scoring, custom segment creation and
traditional packaged data offerings.
“Everyone realizes that data is valuable, but few are using it
effectively,” said Howe. “In a world where everything is becoming
data-driven, Acxiom Marketing Solutions offers the deepest set of
capabilities for helping companies navigate the complexity of creating
exceptional experiences across every consumer touchpoint.”
Acxiom to Explore Options for Marketing Solutions Business
Over the last three quarters, Acxiom has undergone a comprehensive
review of its businesses to drive cleaner lines of sight, clearer
accountabilities and to maximize its strategic flexibility. Following
this review, the Company announced today that it intends to actively
explore options to further strengthen Acxiom Marketing Solutions and
deliver greater value to its clients. These options may include a
strategic partnership, acquisition, tax-free merger, joint venture,
tax-free spin-off, sale or other potential strategic combinations.
“Acxiom Marketing Solutions has long-standing relationships with many of
the world’s biggest brands and currently serves nearly half of the
Fortune 100,” said Howe. “Our associates are deeply committed to the
long-term success of our clients, and our goal is to provide them with
the ability to deliver even greater value at an accelerated pace.”
Acxiom does not intend to provide further public comments on its
strategic review, unless there is a material development.
Conference Call
In a separate release issued today, Acxiom also announced its fiscal
third quarter 2018 earnings results. The Company has scheduled a
conference call at 4pm CT today to discuss its results for the quarter
and the new organizational structure.
About Acxiom
Acxiom provides the data foundation for the world’s best marketers. We
enable people-based marketing everywhere through a simple, open approach
to connecting systems and data that drives seamless customer experiences
and higher ROI. A leader in identity and ethical data use for more than
48 years, Acxiom helps thousands of clients and partners around the
globe work together to create a world where all marketing is relevant.
Acxiom is a registered trademark of Acxiom Corporation. For more
information, visit Acxiom.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements including, without
limitation, statements regarding a contemplated corporate reorganization
strategy and possible strategic alternatives. Such forward-looking
statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially. The following are factors,
among others, that could cause actual results to differ materially from
these forward-looking statements: the possibility that the integration
of or separation of businesses may not be successful as planned; the
possibility that the contemplated reorganization structure will not
deliver the expected benefits to our customers or value to our
shareholders; and the possibility that other risks and uncertainties may
emerge, including those detailed from time to time in our current and
periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including our current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form
10-Q and annual reports on Form 10-K, particularly the discussion under
the caption “Item 1A. RISK FACTORS” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended March 31, 2017, which was filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission on May 26, 2017.
We undertake no obligation to update the information contained in this
press release or any other forward-looking statement.
To automatically receive Acxiom Corporation financial news by email,
please visit www.acxiom.com
and subscribe to email alerts.
Acxiom, LiveRamp, IdentityLink, InfoBase and all other Acxiom marks
contained herein are trademarks or service marks of Acxiom Corporation.
All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
View source version on businesswire.com:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180206006249/en/
Acxiom Investor Relations
Lauren Dillard, 650-372-2242
investor.relations@acxiom.com
or
Acxiom
Public Relations
Meggan Powers, 650-356-3427
meggan.powers@acxiom.com
Source: Acxiom Corporation