Afterpay Launches Media Network in Australia in Partnership with Yahoo DSP

On September 26, 2024, Afterpay announced plans to launch the Afterpay Media Network in Australia, collaborating with Yahoo’s Demand-Side Platform (DSP). Set to launch in November, this network will provide brands access to Afterpay’s unique shopping insights while ensuring customer anonymity, enabling improved connections with target audiences across various online and physical shopping channels.

Powered by Yahoo DSP, Afterpay’s Media Network utilizes advanced advertising technology to link brands with customers. By leveraging pseudonymous shopping data, advertisers can reach consumers online and in-store, effectively integrating physical and digital retail through Yahoo DSP’s omnichannel capabilities. This allows brands to deliver personalized ads, track sales, measure campaign performance, and refine strategies while maintaining customer privacy.

Afterpay has gained significant traction among Australian consumers, facilitating $13.4 billion in sales and connecting 129,000 merchants with 3.5 million customers in 2023 (Afterpay Economic Impact Report, 2023). Yahoo DSP enhances this initiative by offering privacy-centric identity solutions and advanced AI, enabling advertisers to engage millions of Australians in safe and trusted environments. The Afterpay Media Network, the first finance-driven commerce network in Australia, merges Afterpay’s retail insights with Yahoo DSP’s technology.

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This partnership creates new opportunities for brands to engage customers meaningfully across premium platforms and measure the impact of digital campaigns on customer acquisition, brand loyalty, and sales.

With products available in-store and online, the Afterpay Media Network bridges physical retail and the digital ecosystem, allowing advertisers to measure their campaign impacts across diverse media through Yahoo DSP’s capabilities.

Marni Schapiro, Global General Manager of Advertising & Revenue at Afterpay, stated, “We’re enhancing our onsite ads business by launching an offsite audience extension solution with Yahoo DSP in Australia, enabling advertisers to connect with Afterpay’s valuable audiences. The Afterpay Media Network addresses industry fragmentation, allowing advertisers to reach shoppers across multiple retailers with a single activation and achieve closed-loop measurement linking media exposures to sales outcomes.”

Initially, the Afterpay Media Network will target five sectors: Electronics, Fashion, Travel, Entertainment, and Retail.

John McNerney, Managing Director of Australia and Southeast Asia at Yahoo, remarked, “Commerce media networks are the fastest-growing segment in the industry, and the Afterpay Media Network is a pioneering initiative in this market. Advertisers seek data that helps them reach the right audiences and understand the impact of their digital campaigns on actual purchases. Yahoo DSP is proud to assist Afterpay in unlocking new revenue streams through precise audience targeting and comprehensive campaign measurement.”

A select group of partners, including IPG, GroupM, Omnicom, and Dentsu, will participate in the initial rollout of the network.

Jessica White, CEO Australia of Kinesso, emphasized, “We are dedicated to what innovation in commerce can achieve for our clients and support solutions that engage consumers in a seamless, shoppable manner. The Afterpay Media Network fulfills this promise, and the Afterpay-Yahoo partnership provides a comprehensive full-funnel solution that highlights the branding opportunities commerce offers our clients—not just performance. We are excited to be a launch partner.”

Marc Lomas, Managing Director, Commerce at GroupM Australia & New Zealand, added, “In today’s dynamic commerce landscape, brands require partners capable of delivering precise targeting, engaging experiences, and measurable results. The collaboration between Yahoo and Afterpay offers a powerful combination of audience insights and robust measurement capabilities for advertisers.”

Afterpay prioritizes the trusted relationships between customers, merchants, and its platform. Committed to safeguarding customer information, Afterpay has established guardrails such as multi-factor authentication, encryption, and fraud monitoring. Additionally, it has partnered with LiveRamp to enhance data security. LiveRamp, trusted by over 900 global brands including Disney and Paramount, will utilize its expertise in data collaboration and pseudonymous identity resolution to protect Afterpay’s data while prioritizing consumer privacy. Customers can opt out of sharing their personal information at any time.