At A Glance
M3 MI's MARS Consumer Health Study empowers healthcare advertisers to create personalized campaigns by offering nuanced audience insights. By layering behavioral and engagement attributes, MARS enables accurate targeting, driving stronger engagement, improved ad recall, and measurable campaign outcomes across connected TV (CTV), social, and display channels.In our Ask the Expert Series, we interview leaders from our partner organizations who are helping lead their brands to new heights in AdTech. Today’s interview is with Dan Lynch a Senior Manager, Insights and Analysis at M3 MI, the company behind the MARS Consumer Health Study and MARS Audiences.
Audience impact across health vertical
Which healthcare advertisers see the greatest impact from MARS audiences? Could you share an example of how health marketers have successfully utilized your data to achieve specific campaign goals, such as patient engagement, awareness, or adherence?
We’re seeing a clear shift in healthcare advertising away from generic, one-size-fits-all campaigns. With MARS, advertisers from pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter (OTC), health insurance companies, and hospitals are seeing the greatest impact by defining highly specific patient and caregiver personas and using those insights to build personalized media plans and deliver unique messaging by segment. As a result, our partners are seeing stronger engagement, increased ad recall, and more effective outcomes because they’re speaking directly to what matters most to each audience.

Media agencies who utilize the MARS Consumer Health Study to build their strategic marketing plans are seeing a great impact by then taking those strategic targets and activating them. Those who are not activating those audiences are really missing out on bringing their strategy to consumer screens.
Building stronger health campaigns with advanced segmentation
What key health-related audience segments does MARS offer?
While other competitors may offer caregiver segments by condition, we go further by layering engagement levels, such as caregivers actively involved in medical decisions or those who regularly discuss care with physicians. Similarly, for patients, we don’t stop at identifying over 60 health conditions; we add behavioral dimensions like whether they’re proactive in managing their health or primarily doctor-led. These nuanced attributes allow advertisers to craft personalized campaigns that resonate on a much deeper level. We can also look at patients that are willing to pay more for an Rx not covered by their insurance, which has been a trend with GLP-1s.

How can health advertisers use these segments to craft more personalized and effective campaigns?
Advertisers can use MARS’ advanced segmentation to move beyond simple demographics or condition-based targeting by layering behavioral and engagement attributes for greater relevance and impact. With MARS, a single condition can be the starting point for building multiple test-and-learn audiences to identify prime prospects. For example, GLP-1 patients have diverse treatment journeys; some pay out-of-pocket due to lack of insurance coverage, others switch brands for cost savings, and some purchase directly through patient websites. Each of these scenarios represents a distinct audience that can be created using MARS data, enabling highly personalized activation strategies.

Data sourcing and quality
How does MARS source and curate consumer data relevant to health audiences?
Our audiences are survey-based, first-party data built from the MARS Consumer Health Study and Kantar’s trusted LifePoints Panel. We do not use medical claims, insurance data, or personal health records; our data is 100% self-reported. The study has over 5,000 different healthcare data points used to create syndicated and custom audiences. Our syndicated audiences are curated based on marketplace trends (e.g., we’ve added more information on GLP-1s), client feedback for enhancements to the MARS study, and reaching audiences medical claims data cannot (e.g., caregivers, treatment satisfaction, act based on healthcare advertising).
What data quality standards do you follow, and how do you ensure consistency and reliability, especially for sensitive or regulated health-related data?
M3 MI is part of M3 Global Research which is committed to transparency and high-quality data with ISO (International Organization for Standardization) certifications. These certifications demonstrate that our research practices align with international regulations.
In a crowded data marketplace, what unique attributes set MARS apart, particularly for health advertisers?
We don’t just identify patients or caregivers, we uncover their motivations, preferences, and behaviors, enabling advertisers to build highly targeted and meaningful audiences that competitors simply can’t replicate.

The MARS Consumer Health Study offers an extensive range of data for audience building, spanning healthy living profiles, OTC, vitamins, and prescription purchasing behaviors, as well as media consumption habits and lifestyle activities.
How MARS ensures regulatory compliance
What measures does MARS take to maintain data privacy and regulatory compliance?
We take a privacy-first approach to exceed all Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) regulations. Since the data to build our audiences is self-reported via the MARS Consumer Health Study, we do not use PII data. We also take the following steps to maintain data privacy and compliance:
- State regulatory compliance: We proactively exclude survey respondents for audience seeds from certain states with consumer privacy laws that preclude audience data use
- Consent and transparency: Survey panelists are required to double-opt-in to all data usage terms before participating in the MARS study. Our panel partner’s privacy policy clearly explains use cases such as look-alike modeling and audience creation.
- Privacy-safe modeling: Data is scaled using propensity models built from an offline, people-based national consumer database. All seed survey data is removed from final models to eliminate any risk of re-identification, ensuring respondents are never targeted directly based on their survey responses.
Click here for full details on M3 MI’s privacy policy
How do these efforts help advertisers navigate an evolving regulatory landscape while ensuring ethical standards?
By relying solely on double opt-in, self-reported data, and removing identifiers, we guarantee that our approach is 100% privacy-safe and compliant. This gives advertisers confidence that our audiences are built on ethical, transparent practices without compromising consumer trust.
Success stories
Could you share a recent success story where a health advertiser achieved significant campaign improvements using M3 MI’s MARS data? What were the key factors behind that success, such as ROI, engagement lift, or conversion rates?
One recent success story involved a diabetes medical device advertiser trying to breakthrough in a cluttered marketing landscape. Their initial broad, non-personalized media campaign delivered lower than expected digital engagement. To address this, the company conducted segmentation research and identified three distinct patient personas. However, the research lacked actionable media insights and a way to effectively reach these personas in the digital world.

That’s where MARS data came in. Using the MARS Consumer Health Study, M3 MI mapped the existing personas to uncover each group’s unique media habits. These insights enabled the media agency to design tailored strategies for each persona. Additionally, M3 MI built custom, propensity-modeled persona audiences for activation across CTV, social, and display channels, ensuring precise targeting and personalized messaging. This strategic shift to personalized persona marketing transformed the campaign from a one-size-fits-all approach to a patient-first model. The company saw a significant lift in website engagement and a measurable increase in ROI.
Resources to maximize your campaigns
Where can readers find additional resources, case studies, or insights to learn more about MARS audience solutions?
Interested healthcare marketers can explore additional resources by visiting our Audience Solutions page. There, they’ll find a comprehensive overview, a detailed taxonomy of syndicated audiences, and other helpful materials. For personalized support or further information on customized audiences, they can also reach us directly at info@M3-MI.com.
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About our expert

Dan Lynch
Senior Manager, Insights and Analysis, M3 MI
Dan Lynch is a seasoned leader in strategic marketing insights and activation with over 20 years at healthcare focused media agencies. At M3 MI, he helps pharmaceutical companies, media partners, and agencies leverage our syndicated research to address critical business needs. Dan is also a lead of the MARS addressable audience initiative, applying his expertise in developing unique audience personas from our data and activating them across programmatic channels.

About M3 MI
M3 MI, a division of M3 USA, is the leading provider of unbiased syndicated research for the healthcare industry. We specialize in media measurement, advertising intelligence, and audience insights and activation. Leveraging robust datasets, rigorous methodologies, and decades of healthcare expertise, M3 MI delivers a deeper understanding of patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals, their behaviors, attitudes, media habits, and communication preferences. These insights empower marketers to make informed, data-driven decisions.
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Gaming companies sit at a unique crossroads: they’re part entertainment powerhouse, part tech platform, part media company. Whether you’re publishing blockbuster titles, running a mobile game network, or building immersive in-game ad experiences, you have access to vast amounts of player data—and massive potential for growth. What's standing in the way of growth and loyalty Video game publishers and platforms are increasingly turning to data to understand, engage, and retain their players. But that’s easier said than done. Here are the top challenges they face: Data lives in silos. Gaming companies often collect data across multiple platforms—console, PC, mobile—but can’t stitch together a full view of the player across devices and titles. Identity is hard to resolve. Players interact across games, apps, websites, and platforms. It’s tough to connect all those signals and create a consistent, personalized experience. Privacy is non-negotiable. Regulations are tightening. Any solution must not only be powerful—it must be privacy-safe. Ad performance is difficult to measure. It’s often unclear which campaigns are driving engagement, conversions, or purchases—especially across fragmented digital touchpoints. How Experian can help you win with data and identity Experian helps gaming companies stop leaving value on the table. We turn scattered player data into a single, unified view—giving you the foundation to better understand and engage your players. Our approach: Organize, enrich, activate 1. We clean and unify your data We help you build a solid identity foundation by resolving messy, duplicate, or outdated records across systems. That means your player data from mobile, console, PC, and web all connects—giving you a clear view of how your users engage across games and platforms. 💡 How it’s working: A global interactive gaming company is partnering with Experian to unify and enrich player profiles across systems—boosting the performance of both player engagement campaigns and in-game monetization strategies. 2. We deliver deep customer insights With Experian, you go beyond surface-level data. We help you understand player behaviors, financial attributes, interests, and lifestyle factors—fueling more personalized experiences, smarter segmentation, and better monetization strategies. 💡 How it’s working: A major game developer used Experian’s data enrichment tools to gain deeper insights into player behavior and financial attributes—enabling more personalized in-game offers, smarter audience segmentation, and stronger player retention. 3. We enrich profiles and help you activate across channels We enhance your player records with hundreds of attributes—so you can create custom segments that work. Then, we help you activate those audiences in real-time across digital, social, and programmatic platforms. 💡 How it’s working: A global gaming publisher used Experian to build custom audiences and activate across programmatic channels, driving higher in-game engagement and ad ROI. Turning audiences into ad revenue In addition to improving their own player marketing, gaming companies are unlocking a second growth engine: ad revenue from non-endemic brands. Much like retail media networks, game publishers and platforms are realizing the value of their audience data. From airlines and automakers to QSR and CPG brands, advertisers are taking notice of the high-value, high-intent audiences inside game environments. But to attract that ad spend, publishers need to offer more than impressions—they need precise audience targeting, cross-device identity, and reliable measurement. How Experian helps drive better ad performance To appear authentically to a gamer, you need to know who they are and what they care about. Experian helps marketers understand a person’s behaviors and preferences to enable relevant, personalized advertising. And since nobody wants to see the same ad ten times during a session, we help manage ad frequency across devices and placements to protect the player experience. Our approach: Extend reach, measure results 1. We expand your digital reach Experian makes it easier to find and connect with your players wherever they are—across devices, platforms, and publishers. We help you build scalable audiences you can reach programmatically and with precision. 💡 How it’s working: Unity, a leading gaming platform, is redefining the way marketers reach their audiences across major and emerging channels. They’ve tapped into Experian’s syndicated audiences to gain player insights and help advertisers connect with gaming audiences across mobile, web, and connected TV (CTV) based on behaviors and preferences. 2. We help you measure what matters Whether your goal is app installs, in-game purchases, ad engagement, or player retention, we help connect the dots. You’ll know which campaigns are driving action—and where to double down. 💡 How it’s working: A leading global game publisher is working with Experian to enrich player profiles, build and activate audience segments, and measure how campaigns drive in-game engagement and purchases—giving them a clearer view of ROI across digital channels. Why choose Experian Whether you’re trying to build stronger player relationships or turn your audience into a high-performing advertising engine, Experian gives you the data and identity foundation to make it happen. We help you: Organize and clean your player data Resolve identities across digital touchpoints Enrich your data with deep, actionable insights Build and activate target audiences Measure impact across the player journey Let's power up together We’re already supporting leading brands across the gaming ecosystem—from global game publishers and mobile app developers to in-game ad networks and gaming platforms. And we’re ready to help more companies harness the full power of their data. Get in the game with us 🎮 Latest posts

As a programmatic media partner for marketers and agencies, MiQ’s mission is to ensure their clients’ media investments are spent on the right audiences in the right environments. MiQ needed a stronger way to unify audience insights, increase scale, and improve efficiency amidst signal loss. To meet this challenge, MiQ integrated Experian’s Digital Graph into their Identity Spine, creating a more comprehensive view of their clients’ target audiences and ensuring their data-driven solutions remain effective, regardless of the signal source or identifier in use. What is Experian's Digital Graph? Experian’s Digital Graph is like a puzzle, connecting billions of digital identifiers to create a complete view of consumers. As signal loss makes targeting harder, our Digital Graph helps marketers stay connected by linking cookies, mobile ad IDs (MAIDs), hashed emails (HEMs), IP addresses, connected TV (CTV) IDs, and universal IDs, like Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) and ID5. We put the pieces together, matching first-party data to a variety of digital IDs for better targeting, measurement, and cross-device insights—so you don’t have to. Challenge: Strengthen targeting capabilities amidst signal loss MiQ needed to stay agile in its strategy and partnerships to ensure digital connectivity amidst ongoing signal loss. To maintain campaign performance and scale, MiQ sought privacy-first partners they could integrate into their Identity Spine. MiQ’s primary objectives included: Strengthen audience targeting across all digital environments, with or without cookies. Reach target audiences in privacy-compliant ways. Maintain or increase the scale — even as reliance on cookie-based targeting declines. The solution: Integrating Experian's Digital Graph into MiQ's Identity Spine MiQ incorporated Experian’s Digital Graph, licensing HEMs, UID2s, and third-party partner cookies, into their proprietary Identity Spine. MiQ’s Identity Spine seamlessly connects over 60 cookieless data feeds and 25 ID solutions. “Experian’s Graph has bolstered our already comprehensive, multi-ID Identity Spine with incredible data on cross-device ownership and cross-channel behavior.”Georgiana Haig, Strategy and Partnerships Director, MiQ Results: MiQ expanded the reach and scale of their Identity Spine The integration of Experian’s Digital Graph with MIQ’s Identity Spine enabled marketers to find, grow, and measure customers across screens even as signal loss evolves and traditional identifiers fluctuate. The integration allowed MiQ to: Create a unified view: MiQ now has a unified view of its clients’ target audiences, enhancing their audience understanding with the addition of 6.5 devices to each matched IP address, enhancing scale and targeting capabilities. Increase scale: By matching first-party data to multiple universal IDs, MiQ expanded its reach across devices, contributing to a 51% increase in seed audience reach and and a 64% increase in reaching using universal IDs. Improve efficiency: The combination of Experian’s data with MiQ’s Identity Spine improved cross-device ID resolution, leading to more accurate measurement and reporting with a 70% match rate in associating MiQ-provided IP addresses with universal IDs. Stay connected to your audience despite signal loss with Experian MiQ’s Identity Spine stays strong through their partnership with Experian, keeping audience targeting effective even as signal loss changes the landscape. Download the full case study to learn more about how Experian’s Digital Graph enabled MiQ to strengthen audience targeting despite ongoing signal loss. Download the full case study Contact us About MiQ MiQ is a global programmatic media partner for marketers and agencies, with 19 offices across Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region. They specialize in connecting data from multiple sources to solve business problems for their clients. They are award-winning experts in data science, analytics, and programmatic trading, focused on ensuring clients’ media investments are spent on the right audiences in the right environments. To learn more, please visit www.wearemiq.com. Latest posts

Summer may be vacation season for consumers, but it's go time for marketers. Between holiday weekends, travel season, and changing shopping habits, the pressure is on to deliver campaigns that land and convert. If you're feeling behind, you're not alone. Many marketers face the same challenge every year: How do you actually use the customer data you have to fuel high-impact, seasonal marketing? And how do you ensure your brand shows up in front of the right people in the right place before the competition beats you to it? That’s where Experian comes in. With Experian’s advanced Audience solutions, you can get ahead of the trends, connect with vacation-ready shoppers, and optimize performance across digital, TV, and retail media using customer data for seasonal marketing. Capitalize on vacation excitement to drive sales and growth Summer travel often triggers a surge in pre-trip spending. Surveys show that 82% of consumers plan to travel this summer, and according to Fortune, today’s travelers spend thousands of dollars on things like luggage, apparel, and recreation gear before they even leave their homes! But while consumer demand is heating up, so are the challenges. Marketers are navigating a turbulent economic environment shaped by shifting demand curves, tighter budgets, the rising cost of goods, and supply chain disruptions caused by newly imposed tariffs. These pressures are forcing teams to rethink everything from product positioning to pricing strategies. In this climate, it’s more important than ever to maximize performance, reduce waste, and stay laser-focused on reaching high-intent audiences likely to convert. Using customer data for seasonal marketing helps brands predict and capture demand with precise, relevant targeting. Whether your customers are planning a trip to the beach or hiking the Rockies, timely messaging and audience alignment can drive engagement and conversion. Experian Audiences power effective audience strategies But even the most compelling campaigns can fall flat if you're working with incomplete data, outdated segments, or generic targeting. Consumer data providers like Experian can help you fix that. Our Audience solutions help you go beyond assumptions and truly understand who your shoppers are, what they’re planning, and how they behave, so you’re ready to get in front of their summer plans. Six steps to creating a successful seasonal marketing campaign When you’re ready to turn summer intent into strategy, Experian Audience solutions help you translate vacation-driven behaviors into high-performing campaigns. Each product in the Experian Audience suite supports a specific stage in seasonal marketing planning and execution. 1. Define your goals Before diving into channels and creatives, get clear on your customer database marketing goals. Are you trying to increase online purchases? Drive in-store traffic? Expand brand awareness? Use Syndicated Audiences to set fast, focused goals. If you’re short on time, Experian’s 2,400+ Syndicated Audiences give you a head start. These pre-built, behavior-based segments — from luxury travelers to seasonal sports enthusiasts — help you quickly identify who to target, where they spend time, and how to message to them. With segments ready to plug into 30+ activation platforms, you can ensure quick, confident activation. 2. Decide what data you need and which audiences to target Using customer data for seasonal marketing means mapping behavior to intent. This core tactic in customer database marketing can help you drive deeper engagement. Our data solutions simplify the process, whether you’re starting with limited data or already know your best customers. If you’re starting with a list, Enrichment can append lifestyle, income, and travel preference data to help you understand what motivates your existing customers. If you don’t have a list, Marketing Attributes gives you full control when building new audiences or lookalikes based on relevant seasonal traits like beach vacationers or frequent CTV watchers. 3. Identify key holidays and events Summer is full of shopping triggers: Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, and countless local and regional events. However, not every customer behaves the same way. Use Enrichment to understand when your customers are most likely to act. By comparing your first-party data to broader market segments, you can time promotions more strategically. For instance, enrichment might reveal that outdoor gear buyers convert in early June, while luxury travelers plan closer to July. 4. Activate across digital, TV, and retail media Summer shoppers don’t stick to one screen. They’re streaming TV, reading travel blogs, browsing retail apps, and catching up on email — often from a beach chair or airplane seat. That’s why omnichannel delivery is a must, and it’s where consumer data vendors like Experian can help you reach your audience across channels with targeted messaging for key holidays and events: Syndicated Audiences simplifies omnichannel activation with built-in integrations to 30+ leading activation platforms. These pre-mapped segments let you deliver consistent messaging across the places where your audience is most engaged. Looking for privacy-forward reach? Contextually-Indexed Audiences are segments built by linking real-world behavioral data to the types of content those audiences typically consume online, allowing you to activate based on content instead of identity while offering a more contextually relevant experience. Using customer data for seasonal marketing, Experian maps real audience segments across web and app environments — like national park guides and travel blogs — for ID-free precision targeting in a cookieless environment. 5. Track and evaluate performance Don’t wait until the end of the campaign to make changes. Experian’s measurement tools help you track performance in real time, so you can optimize early and often. Measure how well specific audiences — enriched, syndicated, or contextual — are performing across platforms and use those insights to shift spend toward top performers. 6. Optimize and refine your strategy After the season ends, it's time to take what you’ve learned and build smarter for the next push. Use Outcomes to analyze: Who converted Which segments underperformed How your customer base compares to the broader market How your audience evolved Which campaigns drove meaningful adoption These insights can then inform your next round of audience building, so whether it’s back-to-school or a holiday, you’re already ahead. Example 1: The beach vacation shopper To illustrate Experian’s Audience solutions at work, let’s say a high-end swimsuit brand wants to reach women over 30 planning beach vacations to Florida, Hawaii, or Mexico. However, their CRM only includes basic transaction and purchase details and offers little insight into who their customers are. Audience solution: Enrichment Using Experian’s Enrichment solution, the brand could layer on lifestyle, income, and travel preference data to turn shallow profiles into rich audience segments. With a deeper understanding of their shoppers, the brand could develop a targeted messaging strategy by destination, build high-performing lookalike audiences, and confidently activate across channels. Example 2: The European traveler As another example, suppose a footwear brand wants to reach millennial travelers heading to Europe between May and August. They specialize in stylish, comfortable walking shoes that are ideal for travel but lack the technical in-house resources to build custom segments. Audience solution: Syndicated Audiences Using our Syndicated Audiences, the brand could easily tap into pre-built segments tied to leisure travelers, international shoppers, and comfort-focused footwear buyers. With plug-and-play access to over 2,400 verified audience segments, the brand could quickly layer this targeting into their programmatic and paid social campaigns without requiring custom development. And with fast speed-to-market and improved message relevance, the brand could launch cross-channel campaigns just in time for peak summer travel planning. Example 3: The outdoorsman Consider a camping tent company that wants to reach families planning summer trips to national parks, campgrounds, or RV resorts. They don’t have much first-party data to work with, but they know their audience is online, researching their next adventure. Audience solution: Contextually-Indexed Audiences With Experian’s Contextually-Indexed Audiences, the brand could target people actively reading content about outdoor travel (like hiking tips, campground reviews, or road trip itineraries) without relying on cookies or IDs. They’d be able to activate contextually relevant audiences mapped to sites that outdoor enthusiasts frequent and drive site traffic with strong click-through rates. Example 4: Big-box retailer launching summer gear Imagine a national retailer preparing to promote summer essentials like patio furniture, grills, fitness gear, and travel accessories. Their goal is to build predictive models for their summer product demand and reach new customers most likely to buy before they even search. Audience solution: Marketing Attributes With Experian’s Marketing Attributes, the retailer could license over 5,000 lifestyle, demographic, and behavioral variables to enrich internal models and uncover high-indexing consumer groups, such as outdoor entertainers or health-conscious families. This data-powered insight would help them predict demand and identify audience segments worth testing across media channels. The team could find new, qualified segments ideal for email and CTV activation and get a head start on the season, eventually increasing ROI on their summer campaign spend. Talk to Experian about your summer campaigns today Using customer data for marketing doesn't have to be overwhelming, especially when you have access to a trusted consumer data provider and plug-and-play audience tools for every stage of the funnel. Whether you’re working with a robust CRM or starting fresh, consumer data vendors like Experian can help you reach the right audiences with speed, accuracy, and confidence. Our advanced tools are designed for both advanced marketers and teams just beginning to explore consumer database marketing. No matter your goals, Experian is here to help you build an audience strategy that performs. Contact us today Latest posts