Nectar has brought together its loyalty programme and B2B agency i2C to help brands better understand, reach and engage with their customers, and give a clear view of exactly who their customers are and what they buy.

The offering from Sainsbury’s loyalty platform, dubbed Nectar 360, claims to offer loyalty, insights and data-driven marketing services and promises it will “deliver value to both sides”.

For 19 million customers, this means receiving more personalised offers and rewards from brands. For Nectar’s 400-plus clients, this means having access to a broader set of data and wider suite of channels, which aims to help them engage customers in a more targeted way.

This means that, for example, a brand like eBay, which has been a partner of Nectar for a number of years, can see how its customers interact across Sainsbury’s businesses, including what they are buying. eBay customers, meanwhile, can expect to receive offers via Sainsbury’s channels.

A proposition with Sky, meanwhile, means customers are able to spend their points through Sky Store, as well as earn points if they take out certain Sky services such as broadband and TV.

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“Bringing it together as one marketing agency aligns the best of those worlds,” Nectar 360’s managing director James Moir tells Marketing Week.

“It’s relevant for customers because we have made sure we’ve found exactly the right audience; it’s great for brands because they can now reach their customers in a new way. We’re able to talk to specific groups of customers that would find that relevant through the Sainsbury’s channels and store estates.”

Nectar 360, which has a 250-strong team at launch, has access to 19 different media channels, including Sainsbury’s online and the Argos website.

Since relaunching last year, the digital Nectar platform has attracted more than 3.5 million unique users. Nectar says around 10,000 shoppers are signing up every day, but Moir is realistic that it won’t get all 19 million of its customers to make the transition.

“We will continue to drive awareness of the proposition,” he says. “We will also continue to invest in the app to keep it interesting and engaging for customers.”

Elsewhere, with Google’s third-party cookie ban set to come into play next year, Nectar is looking to build its own digital advertising platform.

“If you look at ad tech today, we really are going to have to go through some very significant changes, especially with some of the recent announcements,” Moir says.

“We have to take that incredible first-party data we have and work with brands and agencies to use that in the right way to be able to serve up more relevant, targeted and personalised advertising to consumers.”