News Briefs

Amperity, an enterprise customer data platform (CDP) for consumer brands, announces a major company milestone of delivering over 10 billion unified customer profiles per day to ad platforms, representing more than $300 billion in digital ad spend annually. Through its industry-leading ad connectors and patented unified customer profiles, brands such as Alaska Airlines, Brooks Running, and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, have achieved match rates as high as 85% on key channels, improve return on ad spend (ROAS) by up to 5X, and experience up to 90% faster activation time for new campaigns.

With the elimination of third-party cookies and constantly evolving data privacy laws, marketers can no longer rely on the traditional methods of identifying, retaining and acquiring customers. To ensure they are delivering ROI on every paid campaign, brands should tap into their own first-party customer data. According to a survey from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), brands that link all of their first-party data sources can generate double the incremental revenue from a single ad placement.

“Marketing is experiencing a generational shift in how they acquire and retain their best customers especially with the deprecation of third-party identifiers and ever-evolving data privacy policies,” said Barry Padgett, CEO of Amperity. “With Amperity, brands and agencies can build first-party audiences and activate their data in hours - when it traditionally takes days or weeks to reach their high value customers. This enables them to be hyper-responsive to changing consumer dynamics to grow revenue and increase profitability.”

Why Amperity’s Approach is Unique

Traditional digital marketing has historically revolved around brands “renting” customer data from third-party data sources and then relying on external digital identity graphs to match their data with ad platforms. This method is no longer preferred as data privacy laws and customer preferences evolve. With Amperity, brands can take advantage of AI and machine learning to ingest and stitch together online and offline customer data to build comprehensive, live unified profiles.

Unlike other approaches that use fixed and brittle matching rules, Amperity's patented, AI-powered identity resolution and unified customer profiles build a complete view of customers that increase match rates, drive suppression and retargeting, and generate high-value audience segments. This foundation allows digital teams to quickly build targeted segments, directly activate with leading ad platforms and effectively measure the impact of digital ads across online and in-store purchases.

“Amperity has been at the forefront of helping its customers deliver on the promise of building a unified customer data foundation,” said Matthew Hogg, senior vice president, partnerships at Criteo. "With Amperity, our clients are seeing higher match rates and decreased customer acquisition costs, while delivering personalized advertising that drives real commerce outcomes in a privacy safe manner.”

How Brands Are Benefitting

Customers using Amperity for paid media campaigns have reported incredible results that are significantly impacting the bottom line.

Major brands such as Alaska Airlines, Reckitt, SPARC Group and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts are experiencing increased return on investment (ROI). SPARC Group, a long time Amperity customer, experienced a 5X ROAS using predicted CLV (customer lifetime value) for segmentation. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts saw double digit growth in ROAS in activated targeted audiences, while Alaska Airlines experienced a 21% cost savings in paid channels with Amperity. From early market implementations, Reckitt, a global Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) company, has seen a 30% improvement in match rates and significant uplift of seed audience size leveraging its customer data in Amperity.

 

"Having direct-to-publisher activation at our fingertips is key,” said Michael Shiwdin, vice president, guest intelligence & engagement at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. “With Amperity for Paid Media, we can take our high-impact guest audiences directly to the paid media ecosystem for retargeting and look-alike modeling. In doing so, we are seeing an uplift in conversions for targeted audiences, all while realizing new cost efficiencies and greater privacy.”

 

Wendy's and Google Cloud announced an expanded partnership to pilot an artificial intelligence (AI) solution, Wendy's FreshAI. The technology has the potential to transform Wendy's drive-thru food ordering experience with Google Cloud's generative AI and large language models (LLMs) technology.

Demand for Drive-Thru

With 75 to 80 percent of Wendy's customers choosing the drive-thru as their preferred ordering channel, delivering a seamless ordering experience using AI automation can be difficult due to the complexities of menu options, special requests, and ambient noise. For example, because customers can fully customize their orders and food is prepared when ordered at Wendy's, this presents billions of possible order combinations available on the Wendy's menu, leaving room for miscommunication or incorrect orders. Google Cloud's generative AI capabilities can now bring a new automated ordering experience to the drive-thru that is intended to enhance the experience that customers, employees and franchisees expect from Wendy's. As HT reported last month, one Wendy's franchise, Wenspoke, is expanding its use of AI in the drive-thrus.

"Wendy's introduced the first modern pick-up window in the industry more than 50 years ago, and we're thrilled to continue our work with Google Cloud to bring a new wave of innovation to the drive-thru experience," said Todd Penegor, President and CEO of the Dublin, Ohio-based QSR. "Google Cloud's generative AI technology creates a huge opportunity for us to deliver a truly differentiated, faster and frictionless experience for our customers, and allows our employees to continue focusing on making great food and building relationships with fans that keep them coming back time and again."

Pilot Near HQ

In June, Wendy's plans to launch its first pilot of Google Cloud's AI technology in a Columbus, Ohio-area, Company-operated restaurant, using those learnings to inform future expansions to more Wendy's drive-thrus. The pilot will include new generative AI offerings, such as Vertex AI and more, to have conversations with customers, the ability to understand made-to-order requests and generate responses to frequently asked questions. 

This will all be powered by Google's foundational LLMs that have the data from Wendy's menu, established business rules and logic for conversation guardrails, and integration with restaurant hardware and the Point of Sale system. By leveraging generative AI, Wendy's seeks to take the complexity out of the ordering process so employees can focus on serving up fast, fresh-made, quality food and exceptional service.

Today's update builds upon Google Cloud's and Wendy's long standing partnership to enhance the Wendy's restaurant experience. Since 2021, Wendy's has leveraged Google Cloud's data analytics, AI, machine learning (ML), and hybrid cloud tools to make it faster, easier, and more convenient for customers to access the brand.

As part of a national effort to raise awareness and offer expert insights, Denny's is kicking off a series of summits focused on how companies and individuals can better manage and improve their mental health and wellness.

The first summit is taking place on April 22 at the HPAC Theater in Spartanburg, S.C. The summit will be free to the public and attendees can participate in-person or virtually.

"Denny's has always been committed to feeding people's bodies, minds, and souls, and this summit series perfectly aligns with our holistic approach to wellness," said Kelli Valade, CEO of Denny's. "The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the topics of mental health and personal well-being front and center. Now is the time to think about how we can bring our whole selves to all facets of our lives, including the workplace."

The summit keynote speaker is Dr. Daniel E. Dawes, Senior Vice President for Global Health and Executive Director of the Institute of Global Health Equity at Meharry Medical College. Dawes will discuss the importance of addressing mental health equity and the path forward to achieving a healthier society. Other nationally recognized panelists include:  

• Dr. Shaneeta Johnson, a surgeon, clinician, educator, and researcher at Morehouse School of Medicine and Senior Fellow in Global Health Equity at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute
• Dr. Monique May, a board-certified and licensed family physician best known as the "Physician in the Kitchen"
• Dr. Bennie L. Harris, Chancellor of the University of South Carolina Upstate
• Sharon Lykins, Denny's Vice President of Product Innovation

"Mental health and wellness significantly impact the quality of life of individuals, families, and communities across the Upstate region and beyond," said USC Upstate Chancellor, Bennie L. Harris, Ph.D. "We are thrilled to join forces with a global leader like Denny's to address one of the most critical public health issues of our time."

Journalist Roland S. Martin will moderate two panels, "Mindful Eating," which will address the connection between food and wellness, and "Wellness at the Workplace," which focuses on mental health at work.

A second mental health summit will be offered on October 10 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Infor^® announced that Oostwegel Collection, a Dutch group of historically authentic luxury hotels and restaurants, has implemented Infor’s full suite of solutions for the hospitality industry. The first business globally to go live with all five of Infor’s hospitality-specific systems, Oostwegel Collection has implemented Infor Hospitality Management Solution (HMS), Infor Sales & Catering (SCS), Infor EzRMS revenue management, Infor Table Reservations Solution (TRS) and Infor Point of Sale (POS) across all of its properties.

Having used Infor EzRMS since 2015, Oostwegel Collection was impressed with its functionality as well as the excellent customer service and support from Infor. The business started to explore other Infor hospitality solutions as part of its strategy to not only replace its incumbent on-premises property management solution (PMS) but to try to secure a single vendor for all of its hospitality management systems.

After a thorough assessment of the market, Oostwegel Collection opted for the suite of solutions from Infor. Infor was the only vendor offering the full range of solutions that provided the functionality Oostwegel Collection was looking for, all in the cloud, which was crucial for the business.

The full suite of solutions provides a single, fully integrated platform for the group, linking with other business systems to ensure data consistency and integrity across the organisation. The business can now view data across Infor solutions, which has led to significant efficiencies in data management.

“The excellent support we received and still are receiving from the Infor Support team encouraged us to explore the other hospitality solutions Infor has to offer,” comments Camille Oostwegel, owner & managing director of Oostwegel Collection. “Now we’ve implemented Infor’s full suite of solutions, we can effectively and efficiently manage the guest experience at every touchpoint. The multi-property functionality gives us full control and visibility across the entire business at any moment in time.”

Infor has worked alongside partners Adyen and Annoncer to deliver additional, integrated capabilities to Oostwegel Collection. Adyen will provide end-to-end payments capabilities, data-driven insights, and local payment methods in a single global solution for the group, simplifying payments that are underpinned by watertight security and a single support team for the entire payment process. Annoncer’s advanced kitchen display system (KDS) and intuitive interface will enable seamless digital communication between the dining rooms and kitchens of the group’s many restaurants, meeting the high standards of top chefs and restaurant managers, supporting everything from diner profile information to allergy requirements and even employee breaks.

The Oostwegel Collection project team worked alongside the team at Infor to ensure the smooth implementation of the solutions to suit the particular needs of all the hotels and restaurants in the group.

“We were impressed by the dedication of the Infor team. Everyone really did everything in their power to get things right first time,” comments Pascal Penders, Oostwegel Collection project lead. “The Infor expertise was invaluable and the Infor team prepared and managed the entire implementation process. We’re already seeing the benefits of having an integrated solutions platform across the organisation and are looking forward to what else we can achieve over the coming months.”

 

“As Oostwegel Collection has demonstrated, choosing a single vendor for a suite of solutions is proving to be the ideal approach,” comments Stan van Roij, VP of sales for Infor Hospitality. “Our market-leading solutions deliver the functionality needed to enhance the guest experience at every opportunity, as well as the crucial business insight that hospitality businesses need to stay one step ahead in such a competitive market. We work alongside our customers to ensure our systems address the specific challenges they face, delivering excellent solutions underpinned by experience, expertise and outstanding support.”

SevenRooms, a guest experience and retention platform for the hospitality industry, announced its agreement with Marriott International to become a preferred restaurant technology provider. SevenRooms is currently live across 25 countries at Marriott brands including W Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Sheraton, JW Marriott, Le Méridien, Westin, Marriott Hotels, Renaissance Hotels, EDITION Hotels, The Luxury Collection and Gaylord Hotels. This will unlock additional opportunities at the more than 8,500 Marriott International properties worldwide.

SevenRooms is a data-driven guest experience and retention platform focused 100% on building operator-focused tools. The platform offers solutions to global brands that not only increase revenue generation, but help them build long-term relationships with guests. 

For restaurants, bars, and other F&B outlets in Marriott-branded hotels, the SevenRooms platform offers a suite of tools to help drive incremental revenue, increase operational efficiencies, and offer exceptional guest experiences. Through SevenRooms’ Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Marketing Automation capabilities, Marriott’s hotels are not only able to cultivate meaningful, direct relationships with guests, but access a 360-degree view into the guest journey to foster deeper guest loyalty.

"We’re thrilled to collaborate with Marriott International as a preferred restaurant technology provider, helping them deliver more personalized experiences for their guests around the world,” said Joel Montaniel, CEO & Co-Founder of SevenRooms. "Today, consumers expect more out of their F&B experiences whether they’re staying local or traveling abroad. They want to engage with hotels, restaurants and bars on their own terms, and are increasingly discovering and booking where to eat and drink across an array of channels. With SevenRooms, operators have access to tools that help them reach these guests while driving operational efficiencies by connecting F&B into their overall hotel strategy to generate revenue and increase profitability. Our suite of products not only helps operators of Marriott-branded hotels provide guests with exceptional experiences that enhance positive sentiment and drive increased loyalty, but enables them to do so at scale, automatically. We look forward to working with Marriott as we enable them with technology to build longer-lasting, more profitable relationships with their guests.”

Marriott International properties can now incorporate much of SevenRooms’ suite of tools and solutions, including Customer Relationship Management (CRM), on-premise table management, waitlist management, marketing automation, email marketing, order management and review aggregation. 

“Marriott's hospitality roots began in restaurants, and we want to provide exceptional, unforgettable restaurant experiences for our guests,” said Matthew Von Ertfelda, Senior Vice President, Food & Beverage at Marriott International. "With SevenRooms, we’re not only able to provide guests with the experiences they crave, but we can leverage a robust suite of tools to help turn one-time guests into lifelong guests.”

 

Tillman Digital Cities (TDC), a developer, owner, and operator of in-building connectivity infrastructure and solutions in the United States, announced a partnership with Penn Entertainment, Inc. to improve in-building LTE and 5G cellular coverage and capacity within Penn Entertainment casinos, hotels, and gaming properties. 

The partnership extends nationally with Penn Entertainment. TDC’s solution leverages the SOLiD ALLIANCE 5G Distributed Antenna System (DAS) platform to provide advanced cellular voice and data services for patrons. Additionally, the neutral host network infrastructure will support all mobile network operators as well as FirstNet, the national public safety network. The initial deployments are now live at Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas and Argosy Riverside Casino in Riverside, Missouri. 

“We’re excited to partner with Penn Entertainment and bring our top-of-the-line connectivity to all of their locations across the U.S.,” said TDC Chief Operating Officer Joel McIntyre. “TDC’s solutions for connectivity enable Penn Entertainment to better serve their employees and guests, creating a more seamless digital experience.”

TDC’s solution enables Penn Entertainment to offer guests unrivaled connectivity with next-generation wireless infrastructure, and powers its modernized “3C” (Cordless, Cashless, and Contactless) global iGaming and sports betting strategy.

"We're committed to enhancing every guest experience,” said Carlos Figueroa, Vice President of Infrastructure for Penn Entertainment. "This was a key factor in our decision to work with Tillman Digital Cities. TDC cares deeply about the customer experience, which enables our venues to offer exceptional hospitality and consistent, best-in-class connectivity service to our guests."

“Seamless connectivity is the lifeblood of today’s hospitality experience, and we are gratified to support TDC in the delivery of this amenity for Penn Entertainment’s patrons,” said Scott Deweese, SVP and GM, SOLiD Americas.

Founded in 2020 and based in New York, TDC is a one-stop-shop provider for in-building connectivity and “network as a service” infrastructure. TDC works directly with all constituents, including mobile network operators, real estate owners, and enterprise customers, to design, install, optimize, and maintain in-building networks and infrastructure.