Direct data activation delivers multiple benefits over external data onboarding.
Thriving in times of change means embracing it. To succeed in today’s hyper-dynamic environment, marketers must adopt key strategies to contend with evolving challenges. Depreciation of third-party cookies and the rise of GenAI and paid media networks are all new factors demanding due consideration.
by Peter Ibarra
To navigate these changes, keep in mind three imperatives:
First-Party Data For The Win
First-party data, metrics derived directly from customers and users, is preferable to third-party data for its obvious greater accuracy. Knowing the actions, tendencies and preferences of those who interact directly with a brand can deliver a huge edge to savvy marketers in enhancing customer experiences, boosting engagement and driving sales.
However, making full use of first-party data means gathering it from every touchpoint to best inform advertising campaigns. Marketers must take advantage of an integrated solution that collects and unifies data from both online and offline sources and cleanses it, removing duplications and outdated entries.
Cleansed, unified data enables organizations to enjoy the privacy protections of powerful, open-source identifiers like UID 2.0. Third-party vendors can’t deliver the high-quality data that these systems require. To better promote privacy and ensure customer trust, businesses must access consolidated, fully scrubbed first-party data sets.
Embrace Direct Activation for Accuracy, Agility, and Audience Engagement
Avoid distortions and inaccuracies that come with data onboarders. Supplementing internally generated data with third-party sources may seem like a quick and easy way to expand datasets. However, organizations that go this route risk marketing misfires, wasted media expenditures and lost sales opportunities due to degraded, inaccurate information. Further, data onboarding may take up to two weeks to fully integrate into ad platforms, hindering marketers’ ability to hone and optimize campaign effectiveness.
Direct data activation delivers multiple benefits over external data onboarding. Forward-thinking marketers enjoy the security, privacy, quality and speed of direct activation. Keeping in-house, first-party data pristine ensures customer profiles are current to real-time data, facilitating greater audience engagement.
Through activating data directly, organizations can bypass the pitfalls that come with external data sets. Direct activation provides direct data access, giving marketers invaluable agility to adapt strategies and ad campaigns to compete and win in today’s digital marketplace.
Empowering Marketers with AI
Predictive AI gives user organizations key advantages in identifying high-value customers and creating matching profiles. Advertisers are better equipped to plan ad spending, tailor sales offers, and build a quality customer base.
AI also enhances the ability to measure and optimize campaign effectiveness. Detailed metrics and big-data visualizations give marketers invaluable insights into campaign performance, audience segmentation and media ROI.
The emergence of Natural Language Processing (NLP) makes AI accessible to non-technical staff, allowing plain-language commands and complex queries without the need for assistance from IT or data analysts. Simply by asking questions such as “Which campaign had the highest Facebook engagement?” or “Which paid channel offers the best ROAS?” marketers can quickly retrieve the actionable insights they need.
Thriving in Today’s World of Paid Media
As the marketing and advertising landscape continues to transform, the need to adopt effective data onboarding strategies will continue to grow. Brands that thrive while others get left behind are those that fully engage first-party data over external, lower-quality sources.
Successful marketers are those opting for direct data activation and embracing the power of predictive AI to make every media dollar work its hardest and outcomes their best.
Peter Ibarra is a seasoned professional with a passion for working at the intersection of innovation, impact, and responsibility. With a strong background in connecting people and teams with an organization’s strategic goals, Peter has built an impressive career in advertising technology and customer data platforms. Peter serves as the Head of AdTech Solutions for Amperity, a customer data platform that uses AI to deliver a comprehensive and actionable Customer 360. In this role, Peter leads Amperity’s product strategy across digital media, Retail Media Networks, second-party data collaboration, adtech partnerships, and post-cookie first-party activation.
