Weighing In on the Catalog Co-op Databases '06

As this issue went to press in June, ALC had just launched PerformanceLink, an open-source, 30-million-name, multichannel co-op. PerformanceLink segments data based on much of the information used by the other co-ops, such as transactional and product level data.

Why enter the crowded field? "There's been a huge demand for new name acquisitions," says ALC database project director Mark Hammar. It includes customer data not just from catalogers, but also from magazine publishers, book publishers and other direct marketers. Additionally, the database includes multichannel information, such as whether a particular name or household is likely to purchase via a catalog, Internet or retail channel, he says.