This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on June 18, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Star Media Group Bhd’s news website The Star Online has partnered India-based marketing technology company Netcore Solutions, which will help the Malaysian media entity embrace artificial intelligence (AI) marketing by delivering personalised brand campaigns to improve user experience.

Netcore said in a statement yesterday its AI-powered behavioural analytics and multichannel customer engagement suite Netcore Smartech will help The Star Online overcome technological limitations, thereby creating a robust automation process to drive hyper-personalised marketing campaigns at scale.

“The objective is to ensure that The Star Online users receive content recommendations on their preferred channel and time, thereby boosting customer engagement and retention. As an established and trusted news source, it is vital for The Star Online to reaffirm its position as the preferred source of news and content, further customising the advertising experience for every user. This is only possible by creating a holistic view of the customers’ life cycle and then targeting them based on their time, channel and device of choice,” Netcore said.

Star Media digital product and analytics senior general manager Freddy Loo said in the statement the group’s intent is to improve communication with its readers.

“The idea is to listen to them, understand their behaviour, and then deliver based on these needs and behaviours. We want to create a seamless journey for our readers where they receive news articles on their preferred channel and time. We are optimistic that Netcore Smartech will take us one step closer to creating that experience for our consumers,” Loo said.

Netcore group chief executive officer Kalpit Jain said personalised communication is the best way to engage with a user today.

“Not only does it build a better journey for the customer, it also helps in enhancing the brand’s identity. Our aim is to help The Star Online embrace the goodness of AI marketing by delivering personalised brand campaigns, thereby building a robust customer journey and improving user experience,” Kalpit said.