Category: NetAcuity

For decades, marketers have relied on postal codes as a core component of location-based targeting. While this level of data has delivered meaningful insights and campaign results, today’s competitive digital landscape demands even greater precision. That’s why Digital Element continues to innovate, expanding the boundaries of IP geolocation with the launch of IRIS  – France’s standardized geographic unit – now available through NetAcuity’s Alternate Area Database.

What Is IRIS?

In France, IRIS (Ilots Regroupés pour l’Information Statistique) refers to statistical blocks used by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) to collect and analyze data. Each IRIS zone contains approximately 2,000 residents and is designed to represent a coherent area from a demographic and urban planning perspective. While postal codes in France can be large and sometimes inconsistent, IRIS zones offer a standardized, fine-tuned way to understand population characteristics and trends at the neighborhood level.

Think of IRIS as France’s equivalent to Australia’s SA1 or Germany’s PLZ8 regions—purpose-built for statistical analysis, yet perfectly suited for marketers seeking smarter geolocation targeting.

More Granularity, Same Commitment to Privacy

By integrating IRIS into the Alternate Area Database, Digital Element enables businesses to map IP addresses to these smaller statistical units. This upgrade delivers sharper geographic resolution than traditional postal codes, unlocking new levels of campaign precision and audience understanding—without sacrificing user privacy.

IRIS areas are small enough to deliver actionable insight but aggregated enough to ensure individual data remains protected. This makes them ideal for privacy-compliant demographic profiling, content localization, and fraud prevention.

Why It Matters for Your Business

• More relevant targeting: Deliver messages tailored to hyper-local communities
• Smarter planning: Understand audience distribution and behavior across smaller, more meaningful areas
• Greater campaign ROI: Boost conversion rates by aligning offers with the real-world context of your audience

Whether you’re managing digital advertising, localizing content, or conducting market analysis, IRIS gives your team a deeper, more accurate picture of the French market.

Now Available in NetAcuity

IRIS is now available through NetAcuity’s Alternate Area Database and can be licensed on its own or alongside any of Digital Element’s 18 other databases for maximum insight.

And this is just the beginning. Following the successful rollout of SA1 in Australia and now IRIS in France, Digital Element will soon be adding PLZ8 regions in Germany to the Alternate Area Database—further expanding global access to hyper-local IP intelligence.

For a deeper dive into the launch of IRIS and what it means for location-based data innovation in France, be sure to check out our official press release. It highlights how IRIS complements our Alternate Area Database strategy and what’s next as we continue expanding across global markets.

Ready to go deeper with your location targeting in France?
Learn more about the power of IRIS and how it can enhance your marketing, analytics, and security strategies by reaching out to support@digitalenvoy.com.

Since commerce has gone online, marketers have relied on IP addresses for targeted marketing campaigns. In today’s competitive marketplace, the ability to target marketing efforts with precision is more critical than ever.

Since 1999, Digital Element has been helping marketers target their audiences precisely by postal code globally. This level of detail not only enhances the effectiveness of marketing campaigns but also drives higher conversion rates and better ROI.

While postal codes are granular, advertisers are always eager for even more precise data to gain deeper insights and improve performance of their targeted campaigns, and Digital Element has the answer.

A Deeper Understanding of Your Marketing Campaign

For census purposes, many countries have created a set of alternate areas, aside from postal codes. For example, in Australia, there are Statistical Areas (SA1) defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), that were created to aid in the collection and analysis of statistical data.

SA1s are designed to be relatively small and uniform in terms of population size, typically containing between 200 and 800 people with an average of 400 people per SA1. The SA1 level is the smallest unit in the hierarchy of statistical areas used for census data collection and dissemination. Other countries like Germany (PLZ8) and France (IRIS) have their own similar standardized geographical units.

In Australia, traditional postal codes can be broad and cover multiple towns with large populations. There are approximately 3,333 postcodes, but with SA1s, this quantity of distinct statistical areas expands to 61,845.

For example, one postcode in the metro Sydney area could contain as many as 40 SA1s.  Each SA1’s smaller size allows for more precise targeting and better insights, which is invaluable for various applications. With SA1s, each area is small enough to offer precise data while still being large enough to protect individual privacy.

This balance makes SA1s ideal for detailed demographic analysis and targeted applications. By focusing on smaller, more defined geographic units, companies can deliver personalized content that resonates with the right audience, at the right time, in the right place.

Introducing NetAcuity’s Alternate Area Database- Even More Granularity without Sacrificing Privacy

Digital Element is taking IP-based location targeting to the next level with the introduction of its new Alternate Area Database.

This innovative feature maps IP addresses to individual SA1s in Australia, providing more precise geographic data by aggregating IP addresses from specific areas smaller than  traditional postal codes. By leveraging these detailed geographic boundaries, companies can enhance the granularity and accuracy of location-based data without compromising privacy.

The Alternate Area Database can be licensed as a standalone product or in conjunction with NetAcuity’s 18 other databases for more detailed insights.

Looking Ahead: Expanding to France and Germany

The introduction of the Alternate Area Database in Australia is just the beginning. NetAcuity plans to extend this feature to other regions, including Germany and France. In Germany, the focus will be on PLZ 8 regions, and in France, the IRIS system will be utilized. These expansions will further enhance the granularity and accuracy of IP geolocation, providing valuable insights and targeting capabilities across Europe.

Revolutionizing IP Geolocation for Smarter Marketing

NetAcuity’s Alternate Area Database is a game-changer in IP geolocation, offering detailed geographic insights that empower businesses to make more informed decisions.

Whether it’s for precise ad targeting, in-depth demographic analysis, or enhanced cybersecurity, the ability to map IP addresses to smaller, more accurate regions like SA1s unlocks new potential while maintaining alignment with Digital Element’s privacy-centric approach. As NetAcuity expands this feature to other regions, the possibilities for leveraging precise geographic data will only continue to grow.

For more information on Alternate Area Database’s capabilities check out this guide, or reach out to support@digitalenvoy.com to learn more.