Home Platforms Cardlytics Bought Dosh To Get To Gen Z

Cardlytics Bought Dosh To Get To Gen Z

SHARE:

Cardlytics bought DoshCardlytics dropped $275 million on Dosh Monday to access Gen Z and millennial consumers – who don’t bank the way older generations do.

Both companies are similar, delivering personalized offers (Cardlytics also uses these insights to build analytics based on consumer purchase behaviors). But Dosh works with banking upstarts like Venmo, Betterment and Ellevest while Cardlytics works with hundreds of the biggest banks in the United States, addressing a total of 163 million consumers.

But the younger crowd doesn’t use the same banks their parents do, said Cardlytics CEO Lynne Laube.

Dosh started out as a cash-back savings app that amassed “single-digit millions” of customers, Laube said, before realized it could quickly scale by partnering with banks.

Cardlytics now has the opportunity to experiment with new ideas and offers on Dosh’s small customer base – a direct-to-consumer testbed. The offers that work will be used by its larger, more risk-adverse, bank clients.

Because Dosh was originally designed as a cash-back app, not as a big bank partner, its tech prioritized agility over adherence to strict banking regulations. So its younger code base, not just its younger clientele, is also appealing to Cardlytics.

For example, Dosh uses machine learning to influence offers. If someone doesn’t respond to 10% off, for example, it increases the discount, or swaps the offer out for a new one. Cardlytics can use these test-and-learn scenarios to help its biggest banking clients.

Dosh has also tried a few things Cardlytics hasn’t. For instance, it’s worked with small, hyperlocal advertisers, an area Cardlytics wants to test itself. Dosh also knows how to drive engagement with consumers by redeeming an offer proactively on behalf of a consumer. And, Dosh experimented with offering travel booking, another intriguing product feature to Cardlytics.

For advertisers, the Dosh acquisition expands Cardlytics’ reach of Cardlytics, especially with younger consumers.

Dosh’s 84 employees will all join Cardlytics, and the strength of its team sweetened the acquisition – it was partially an acqui-hire, Laube said. Not even recent freezing weather and power outages derailed the Texans from closing the deal: “There were people negotiating from their car,” she said.

Must Read

Comic: Gamechanger (Google lost the DOJ's search antitrust case)

DOJ v. Google: How Judge Brinkema Seems To Be Thinking After Week One

Where the DOJ v. Google ad tech antitrust trial stands after one week’s worth of remedies arguments.

Swish, A Company That's Bringing Programmatic to Product Sampling, Announces Seed Funding

Swish, a startup that partners with retailers to provide product full-size CPG samples to people doing their grocery shopping online, announces $2.3 million in seed funding.

DOJ v. Google: During Opening Arguments, The DOJ And Google Battle Over An AdX Divestiture

Court is back in session. And the fate of  the open internet is in the balance.

Privacy! Commerce! Connected TV! Read all about it. Subscribe to AdExchanger Newsletters
Chris Mufarrige, director, Bureau of Consumer Protection, FTC

FTC Consumer Protection Chief: No Easy Answers On Privacy, ‘Only Trade-Offs’

Privacy isn’t black-and-white, says the FTC’s Chris Mufarrige, promising evidence-driven consumer protection cases under the Trump administration.

How Encryption Keys Could Resolve The TID Furor

Rather than sharing universal TIDs that any DSP or curator can access, Raptive says publishers should instead share encrypted TIDs with an encryption key provided only to trusted demand-side partners.

Clear Channel Brings Mid-Flight Measurement To Its OOH Network

Clear Channel will provide advertisers weekly, mid-flight reports on outcomes driven by its inventory in order to bring OOH measurement closer to the speed of digital.