Experian, the credit-reporting company, was significantly ahead of the curve when it comes to in-house advertising.
For 15 of its 25 years in operation, the US unit of the company – which has its global headquarters in Ireland – has boasted robust internal capabilities. Indeed, around three-and-a-half years ago, it was already equipped to handle everything from branded content to audio ads, customer relationship management and social-media.
But its in-house brand custodians were facing a bigger problem at that time, as the company was not in a strong overall position. “Our business model was in decline,” Daren Levis, Experian’s director/brand...