Optimove tracks the behavior of Facebook app users and targets them with enticing offers (exclusive)

Optimove is announcing an online tool that lets marketers track the behavior of their Facebook app users and target them with special campaigns so that they stick around longer.

The Tel Aviv, Israel-based company can combine its tools with Facebook Custom Audience to create powerful retention campaigns. Optimove has created an applications programming interface (API) that developers can use to observe customer behavior with their apps and then use that information in a smarter way. It segments customers into behavioral groups and predicts what they will do next. That, in turn, makes it easier to tailor marketing campaigns for users on a more granular level.

“This is an important step forward in transitioning the use of paid online advertising from being exclusively used for customer acquisition to making it an effective and measurable channel for customer retention,” the company said in a statement.

The tool is for marketers, customer relationship management managers, and retention experts at online businesses. It allows them to launch customer data-driven campaigns that can improve the return-on-investment for marketing campaigns. It doesn’t use any customer-identifying data, which reduces privacy concerns, but it can track the behavior of Facebook app users in a near real-time manner.

That allows it to target customers with the most relevant daily messages and incentives. The tools that Optimove provides for its customers include email, text messages, push notifications, on-site banners, in-game ads, call centers, and Facebook Custom Audiences.

Optimove says its tools are adaptable and scalable across industries. It is used by game companies such as Caesars Interactive’s Playtika, but it isn’t limited to game companies. It uses a mathematical approach to customer modeling. The marketer can craft a retention plan for each customer. Each campaign is like a marketing experiment, with the results indicating the financial impact. Pricing is based on the number of customers.

Self-funded Optimove was founded in 2009 and has 35 employees. Rivals include firms like Ninja Metrics and Playnomics. On an enterprise level, rivals include IBM’s Unica, Teradata, and Adobe Marketing Cloud. Optimove received three research grants from Israel’s Office of the Chief Scientist.

The founders are Pini Yakuel and Shachar Cohen, who met at Tel Aviv University. Yakuel was studying operational research, and Cohen was completing his doctorate in data mining.

Besides Playtika, customers include Bwin.Party, 888, La-Perla, and Navabi. The company has gained traction in the online gambling market, but it is moving beyond that base.

“This new extension of our software is exciting to marketers for a number of reasons,” Yakuel, chief executive, said in a statement. “It is really the first time that marketers can show a specific creative or campaign to certain segments of their customers on a paid advertising channel and accurately measure the uplift. When marketers understand the power of combining Facebook Custom Audiences with predictive customer micro-segmentation and automation, retention marketing will never be the same again.”