Acceleration Partners’ Publisher Spotlight is an ongoing series where members of our Publisher Development team shine a light on innovative publishers from across the world.
This month, Michelle Morgan, Associate Director, Publisher Development at Acceleration Partners, chatted with Elery Pfeffer, Founder and CEO of Nift Networks.
What sparked the idea for Nift?
Only 20% of potential customers are actively searching for new businesses to try. With Nift, business owners can reach the other 80%, who convert to paying customers 8x more than those brought in by Google Adwords. These are customers you’d never find via search engines or social media, who convert at up to 20%. The idea for Nift was to create a way for consumers to try out new businesses they were not even considering, by using Nifts—neighborhood gifts.
At Nift we see ourselves as matchmakers building the largest network of great customers, neighborhood businesses and online retailers. Our invitation-only network is growing fast, and currently boasts 3.7M consumers and 4,000+ businesses across the United States. Together, we’re giving millions of people gifts they love while bringing in the customers our member businesses want.
What are the key benefits for partnering with Nift?
It’s really about access to a huge untapped customer base proven to convert. Our consumer base of 3.7M is made up of shoppers—not bots, competitors, researchers or window shoppers. These customers are not available via search engines and they complete purchases 8x more often than customers from Google Adwords.
Our patented matchmaking technology (US Patent: 10,346,868), uses algorithms and millions of data points to identify and drive the right “first time shoppers” to ecommerce stores. It’s a key reason why Nift customers spend more and return several times throughout the year.
How is Nift able to target in store as well as online shoppers?
Nift’s invitation-only network includes 3.7M consumers. When these customers join the network, they’re asked to share the neighborhoods where they live and work, their email address, and preferences about the kinds of businesses they’d like to discover.
Members can also answer self-guided questionnaires about their life, sharing details as specific as the name of their dog and secret spending sprees. Using this information, a brand’s desired audience settings, and millions of additional data points, Nift’s patented matchmaking technology goes to work to find and deliver the perfect customer for each business. Customers only get matched with businesses they’re interested in, and businesses only get matched with customers they’d like.
How can an advertiser partner with Nift?
Getting started with Nift is quick and easy. There are no technical integrations and our dedicated team will personally set up an account in minutes. Remember that consumers join Nift to discover new businesses. To encourage them to take the risk and try a new product or brand for the first time, businesses incentivise consumers with exclusive offers. We present these offers as gifts. During the initial setup call, we help businesses craft their gift to ensure the economics work substantially better than offers distributed through other acquisition channels.
Next, we help businesses choose categories to bid on (similar to bidding on keywords), set a maximum bid price and a monthly budget. Brands can cancel at any time. There are no commitments or setup fees. We also work with affiliate programs to process payments. Once a campaign is set up, Nift begins working right away. It’s not surprising to see same-day sales.
What kinds of brands do your users generally gravitate towards?
Winc, Chewy, Purple Carrot, Harry’s Shave Club, Laura Geller, Care/of, Plant Apothecary, Saucey, and Julep are just some of the brands our 3.7M customers gravitate towards. Affluent and ready to try new things, Nift members “exercise for fun” (67%), “binge watch shows” (46%), buy themselves flowers (9%) and vitamins (15%), say they “invest in looking good and feeling great” (72%), even if that means primo desserts and candy (34%).
Due to recent restrictions on movement, our audience has dramatically increased their demand for online shopping options. They are buying vitamins, cosmetics, shoes and clothing, enjoying meal delivery kits and wine subscriptions, finding gourmet products for their pets and gifts for themselves and their families—with up to 20% completing a first-time purchase at that business thanks to Nift.
Anything notable you want to share about Nift?
Nift reaches the 80% of potential customers that can’t be found through search engine or social media advertising. Our invitation-only network includes over 3.7M active consumers ready to be introduced to their next favorite brand. We use machine learning and AI to match our brands with their ideal customers, and customers with their ideal brands.
We use search data and cookies to deliver first-time customers, and convert at 8x the rate of the average Google Ad across the board. Regardless of conversion, we provide lead information and opt-ins for marketing for every customer, making Nift a truly unique offering for today’s modern brands. Learn more about Nift at w ww.gonift.com/forbusiness/online.
