Commerce media. Sounds slick, but for most airlines and banks, it has been a buzzword that never quite cleared the runway. Then along comes Dfinitiv Inc., a company whose name is as sharp as the problem it is cutting into. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Englewood, New Jersey, this isn’t some me-too SaaS shop chasing trends. Under the watch of Co-Founder and CEO Joseph Fitzgerald, a guy who went from co-founding ManageIQ to steering Red Hat’s Management Business Unit for nearly a decade, Dfinitiv is building the connective tissue between loyalty, commerce, and media.
Their flagship product, SmartCXP™, is a mobile-first, composable platform that doesn’t just power loyalty programs, it monetizes them. Airlines, banks, travel brands, these aren’t just customers, they’re sitting on gold mines of first-party data and customer engagement. SmartCXP™ lets them cash in by embedding offers, branded content, and partner promotions directly into everyday interactions. Not tomorrow. Not in some pilot program. Now.
The tech is more than window dressing. Experience layers with swipeable rewards, shoppable videos, and contextual commerce journeys. SmartLink™, their proprietary deep-linking engine, turns customer intent into precision-targeted moments, whether you are scrolling an app, tapping an ATM screen, or sitting in seat 14A wondering if that in-flight offer is actually worth it. Every click, swipe, and tap gets tracked to prove ROI in real time. This is commerce media that knows how to count.
And that’s where United Airlines Ventures saw the opportunity. On August 6, 2025, UAV took an equity stake in Dfinitiv. Amount undisclosed, but the move speaks louder than any number, United’s MileagePlus and Kinective Media platforms are prime territory for SmartCXP™ to flex. When Andrew Chang, Head of UAV, points to Dfinitiv’s cross-industry versatility, it is not just a compliment, it is a blueprint for expansion into financial services, hospitality, and beyond.
For Joseph Fitzgerald, this is not just a funding round, it is a strategic relationship. United brings the reach, the customer base, and the operational footprint. Dfinitiv brings the tech, the agility, and the ability to turn loyalty into an everyday engagement channel that drives revenue. It is a partnership that could redefine how non-retail brands think about advertising dollars and customer touchpoints.
The commerce media market is projected to hit $169.6 billion globally in 2025, with non-retail expected to surge past $10 billion at a 35.1% CAGR. Dfinitiv isn’t just chasing that growth, they are positioned to capture it, one personalized, monetized customer moment at a time. And in this game, moments are the new currency.
