Virgin Australian acquires analytics firm Torque Data
Torque Data was founded in 2001 and delivers predictive analytics, intelligent campaign automation and data visualisation services to clients across a range of different industries through its team of data modellers, analysts and campaign managers.
Earlier this week, the Velocity Frequent Flyer business also confirmed Karl Schuster as its new CEO, set to take over on 1 October 2015 following his role as president of Asia Pacific for AIMIA.
The acquisition was driven by the company's aim of creating a world leading customer loyalty program by expanding the business' data analytics and campaign automation capabilities so as to deliver more value to members and partners, Virgin Australia Group CEO John Borghetti said in a statement.
"Today's announcement is another important step in the strategy to achieve this vision," he said.
"The acquisition also provides another revenue diversification opportunity for Velocity and the Group, as it will enable the business to offer data analytics, campaign automation and consultancy services to third parties."
Torque Data CEO Oliver Rees said the company was thrilled to be joining the Velocity Frequent Flyer business.
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"Velocity has a strong growth trajectory and has been recognised around the world for its innovative initiatives in the loyalty space.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for us to grow Torque Data's capability to service our existing clients while adding value to Velocity and the Virgin Australia Group."
Virgin Australia's decision to acquire Torque Data comes shortly after rival airline Qantas announced successful expansion in its own customer analytics capabilities through its Red Planet data management business, launched out of Qantas' Frequent Flyer business last September.
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The B2B practice, launched by Qantas off the back of its customer loyalty program in September last year, provides media buying, analytics and research services to clients and program partners, as well as internal business units.
During Qantas' Investor Day in Sydney in May, the airline said its work undertaken on an early bird marketing campaign to increase flight bookings using Red Planet's customer targeting capabilities resulted in individual campaign results showing 19.3 times the improvement in terms of ROI.
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