Weischer takes a strategic stake in Erason

The Weischer media group is taking a strategic stake in Erason, combining its expertise in media and mobility data with the AI-powered market research platform AIlon (*1). In doing so, Weischer aims to address one of the advertising industry’s biggest unresolved challenges: a significant proportion of advertising in Germany still fails to achieve its objective. Above all, because it does not reach the right people.

Through the partnership, Weischer is combining its expertise in where, when and through which media channels people can be reached with AIlon’s ability to precisely understand who these people are and what matters to them. “We understand activation across all media channels like no one else. From Out-of-Home and Cinema to Social and CTV, we know where and how to genuinely reach people,” says Udo Schendel, Managing Director at Weischer. “Erason provides the missing piece of the puzzle: understanding who these people are and what they are genuinely interested in. Together, we are bridging the gap between these two worlds – a logical next step for our entire group.”

The problem: wasted ad spend is primarily a relevance issue

Up to 56 per cent of Germany’s advertising budget – equivalent to €24.7 billion – is considered avoidable wasted ad spend (*2). Alongside technical issues such as bots and fraud, this primarily refers to advertising that reaches people but is simply not relevant to them. “At its core, relevance is a matching problem: we often know too little about who is actually behind a target audience,” says Niklas M. Mrutzek, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Erason. “AIlon connects what market research tells us about people with what actually happens in campaigns, closing precisely the gap that has so far resulted in wasted ad spend.”

(*1) Spelling: capital “AI” + lower-case “l, o, n”
(*2) Source: How to reduce wasted ad spend using first-party data

Much like many international companies are increasingly investing in data companies, Weischer is now taking this step in the German market. The existing collaboration – including the further development of AIlon using Weischer’s geographical and location data – is thereby being taken to the next level.

The solution: intelligence, trust and effectiveness

Weischer and Erason have already been working successfully together for several years. With this strategic investment, the two partners are significantly deepening their collaboration. Three areas are at the heart of the partnership:

• Intelligence: a deeper understanding of target audiences through AI-powered market research
• Trust: transparent and traceable use of data rather than black-box targeting
• Effectiveness: campaigns that deliver measurably better performance

Specifically, AIlon combines survey-based market research with real campaign and behavioural data. Its SYNQ module also enables customer data – for example from CRM systems, market studies or campaign tracking – to be consolidated in individual data hubs and linked with AIlon’s data models. This approach enables complex target audiences to be operationalised 70 per cent faster, delivers click-through rates that are two to three times higher and reduces cost per action by 30 to 50 per cent.

A new partner, not a new competitor

Weischer explicitly sees itself as a partner, not a competitor to existing agencies and networks. They will continue to have access to validated audience intelligence and activation technology, without having to make their own development investments and without exclusivity towards other market participants. The partnership is also intended to create direct added value for advertisers and agency partners rather than calling existing relationships into question. “We do not want to take anything away from anyone, but rather give everyone involved greater substance,” Schendel emphasises. “Whether you are an agency network or an advertiser, working with us gives you access to a level of data intelligence that was not previously available – without having to make your own investment.”

Outlook: a shared data foundation for the entire group

Looking ahead, the combined data and technology expertise is set to be used across the entire group – from Weischer.OOH, Weischer.Cinema and Weischer.Connect to The Ranch – to enable a more precise understanding of target audiences and more effective campaign activation. “Our ambition is clear: within a few years, no campaign at Weischer should be planned without AIlon,” says Udo Schendel.