Major changes to consumer tracking and consent-first policies have led to the degradation of the third-party ecosystem that has powered media buying for two decades.
In fact, 64% of advertisers recently shared that Apple ATT, which requires user permission to track their behaviours, is hurting their results. Now is the time for brands to run, not walk, toward first- and second-party data strategies. This will be key to uncovering valuable and useful insights.
This helps to explain why data clean rooms (DCRs), which enable collaboration between brands, are quickly becoming an avenue to discover interested high-value audiences. Recent predictions indicate that 80% of advertisers with media buying budgets over GBP$700m will use DCRs by 2023, estimating that there are currently between 250 to 500 data clean room deployments that are either active or in various development stages.
However, despite their swift rise to fame, DCRs not exactly the ‘superhero’ that can save marketing strategies in the face of a looming recession like some in the media have made them out to be. At least, not on their own.
DCR, CDPs and the ‘healthy’ martech mix
Generally speaking, a DCR is a secure and compliant data-sharing solution that a brand can leverage to learn more about another brand’s customer data. It fosters collaboration among brands similar to the way platforms like Google and Facebook have long provided, enabling them to form audiences, advertise and gain insights into their direct user base.
However, while a DCR is good at what it does, matching audiences and allowing brands to find the segments they want to target; it’s a moot point if the data it’s fed isn’t in a workable state in the first place. A DCR cannot provide value without trustworthy, unified data.
After all, good data powers good marketing. If the data on both sides is unreliable and outdated, then neither brand will get the results they desire. ‘Garbage in equals garbage out,’ and no amount of marketing or money will change that.
That’s where a customer data platform (CDP) comes into the equation and second-party data collaboration can be maximised.
Second-party data and data collaboration scenario
A brand turns to a partner in its ecosystem to ‘fill the gaps’ where it lacks the data needed to thrive. Consider this:
Company A is a clothing manufacturer that specialises in brightly coloured tropical shirts and thongs. It wants to reach audiences that are about to embark on a sunny holiday.
Company B is a travel agency that helps customers book and plan their journeys. Company B can choose to work together with Company A by collaborating on parts of its first-party data, so Company A can display complementary offers for its signature clothing to those who are about to take a relaxing holiday.
Second-party DCR examples:
- Partnership with external brands to provide innovative customer experiences and grow loyalty
- Working internally within a multi-faceted enterprise with disparate sub-brands
- Alliances with publishers, advertising partners, programmatic ecosystems, retail media networks and social media platforms to deliver better advertising outcomes
- Retail & CPG. Working with a supply-chain partnership to increase the effectiveness of brand and performance marketing with stronger insights, accurate targeting, measurement and attribution
- Co-marketing partnerships
- Customer and market overlap analysis in merger and acquisition situations
The future of data clean rooms
As the advertising technology ecosystem evolves, organisations and brands must rethink how first-party data is integrated due to third-party identity graph and cookie deterioration, government legislation and the increasing consumer demand in a privacy-first data world.
For marketers, that means building a flexible foundation to unify, activate and acquire new and existing customers based on a consistent view of their first-party data. With this, navigating the complex MarTech landscape is simpler than you think.
About Amperity
Amperity is the leading customer data platform provider that helps companies use data to improve marketing performance, build long-term customer loyalty and drive growth. Amperity’s flagship enterprise CDP is used by many of the world’s best-loved brands, such as Alaska Airlines, Endeavour Drinks, Kendra Scott, Lucky Brand, Planet Fitness, Seattle Sounders FC, Under Armour and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. For more information, please visit amperity.com or follow @Amperity.
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