A Big Data-Driven Federation within the Technology Space: Zeta Interactive

Headquartered in New York City, NY, Zeta Interactive employs more than 600 professionals across the Globe. The Company operates ‘Centers of Excellence’ in NYC, Silicon Valley, London, and Hyderabad, India and also has satellite offices in Boulder, Boston, Scottsdale, Bristol, UK and Middlesbrough, UK.

The adoption of big data will become a key basis of competition and growth for several individual firms. From the standpoint of competitiveness and the potential capture of value, all companies require taking big data seriously. In most industries, established competitors and new entrants alike will leverage data-driven strategies to innovate, compete, and grasp value from deep and up-to-real-time information. Zeta Interactive is a Big Data-driven Marketing company that uses actionable data, insightful analytics and proprietary technology to acquire, engage and retain customers for Fortune 500 and Middle Market brands.

David A. Steinberg and John Sculley co-founded Zeta Interactive in 2007, and ingeniously built an unparalleled Big Data marketing platform that creates a ‘mark’ cutting across all business trends. David A. Steinberg, CEO and Co-Founder at Zeta, previously founded InPhonic, the largest seller of wireless phones and communications products and services on the Internet, with annual revenue in excess of $400 million. John Sculley, a Board Member and Co-Founder at Zeta, is a legendary marketer and business executive. He is the former CEO of Apple Inc and Pepsi-Cola. “Zeta has been built on the belief that Big (and Fast) Data will disrupt how brands break through and connect with consumers,” says John. Zeta is capitalizing on the rise of Big Data which will drive new waves of innovation and productivity growth. Clients have a seemingly endless appetite for data-driven marketing and nearly 80 percent of Zeta’s growth in 2014 came from existing clients with less than 1percent client attrition. Since client feedback is core to the scoring methodology for Gartner and Relevancy Group, it is unsurprising that both rate Zeta highly.

Pre-Eminent Solutions
New technologies and capabilities are introduced not only to sharpen Zeta’s differentiation in the marketplace but also to deliver scalable, repeatable results for clients. Zeta’s focus has been on servicing sectors that rely on the most complex, data-driven analytics and KPIs. Such clients are often characterized by a complex sales process and a high lifetime value per customer. These verticals include: Telecommunications, Home Services, Education, Financial Services, Travel and Insurance. As data-driven marketing has been embraced by a wider range of industries, Zeta’s target verticals has expanded to include Automotive, CPG and Retail. Zeta’s offerings map to the Customer Lifecycle. For example, one of their products, Zeta Enterprise, delivers world-class CRM solutions through a Gartner Magic Quadrant Marketing Cloud. Zeta Enterprise’s expert delivery of “Precision Marketing”, (the alignment of individual, message and channel) is driven by a robust set of Strategy, Analytics, Data Management and Technology Services capabilities. Another of Zeta’s second-to-none offerings is ZetaXchange, which is a People-based Marketing Platform that synthesizes Zeta’s proprietary data with actionable data from second and third parties, combines it with real-time analytics, and delivers pinpoint messaging through all addressable digital channels. Another of the solutions offered by the firm is Zeta Actions, which is a comprehensive Customer Acquisition solution that encompasses all digital marketing channels – Email, Display, Social, Search and Mobile – and capitalizes on Zeta’s proprietary database.

All of these offerings are part of Zeta’s Marketing Cloud – which sits at the convergence of data, analytics and technology. John states,

“Zeta’s differentiation comes from a deep understanding of marketing strategies and tactics with the operational scale to execute large, complex, cross-channel, and cross-lifecycle campaigns.”

Few other companies exist that can rightfully make a similar claim, and as David points out, “companies with operational capabilities tend to lack sophisticated technology; those with sophisticated technology tend to rely on a self-service model for marketers to manage campaigns on their own.”

Zeta’s primary challenge is related to managing growth; finding and retaining top talent and ensuring a consistent standard of products and solution delivery at all levels. Zeta Interactive is a Customer Lifecycle Marketing company that uses a Digital Marketing Cloud powered by proprietary data and machine learning to acquire, engage, and retain customers for leading brands. The company’s positioning is centralized on Zeta’s unique ability to market to consumers at each stage of the Customer Lifecycle.

Some of Zeta’s ‘big’ clients include American Express, The Travelers Companies, US Airways, Quaker Oats, IGN, Wynn, Sony, ConEdison, ADT, Chase, Sprint, University of Phoenix, Quicken and GE.

Zeta Growth
Zeta is at the leading edge of the Digital Marketing Cloud, but keeps its eyes peeled towards the future. As David foresees it, “Driving incremental efficiency and effectiveness in the current business while extending the cloud into new touchpoints, geographies and verticals will be the focus of Zeta for the next 3-5 years.”