The marketing landscape is undergoing a profound transformation. It’s driven by two major forces: the collapse of the third-party rental market and the dynamic realm of data privacy.
This generational shift demands that marketers abandon reliance on traditional customer identification, retention and acquisition methods. Instead, they face the urgent task of swiftly constructing a robust foundation of first-party data. This is vital to ensuring they continue to deliver meaningful ROI on every paid campaign in this new era.
CMOs and the paid media pinch
The cohesive fabric of customer identity, interwoven through third-party sources, is losing strength as identities become superficial, duplicated and fragmented. The status quo of digital marketing is no longer working the way it used to. As a result, CMOs are feeling the paid media pinch.
Let’s break it down:
- The data rental market is collapsing, threatening almost every form of online behavioural advertising: The third-party data that the ad ecosystem was built on is collapsing. The only reliable data left for marketers to base their strategy on is their own first-party data and publisher’s data, sourced directly or via second-party marketplaces.
- The media buying ecosystem is experiencing a reset: Even as effectiveness goes down, costs are still high. The bidding language DMPs/DSPs/ad servers use to communicate in real-time with each other is broken over concerns about customer data leakage.
- Identity resolution across channels is more and more challenging: It’s a consequence of the deterioration of third-party data and Apple IDs, and it results in far lower match rates when trying to acquire new customers.
Sure, paid media channels like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc., can effectively reach current and prospective customers. However, the most effective way to use these channels going forward is with first-party data, which results in higher match rates and future-proofing benefits. Your existing customer data allows you to target consumers with relevant content that will increase organic interaction and make them less likely to view the ads as spam. Win-win.
Embracing privacy by design with first-party data
Progressive digital marketers are actively distancing themselves from inferring behaviours, context and intent through invasive and questionable tracking mechanisms. Instead, they’re deploying ‘privacy by design’ within a first-party data strategy. This ensures that data collection is based on consent and usage is transparent to consumers.
To gather valuable insights, they are implementing tactics that encourage customers to willingly share their data in exchange for meaningful perks or benefits. Compelling calls-to-action (CTAs), such as captivating offers, exclusive content or personalised recommendations have the ability to inspire action and foster engagement.
Importantly, one critical provider capability emerges as a game-changer – a unified customer profile. Acting like the brain and memory of the modern digital marketer, a unified customer profile holds immense value. It merges identified first-party data into one coherent source of truth that reflects all customer online/offline touchpoints and interactions with a brand, both current and historical. This is especially crucial for larger retailers whose majority of transactions still happen offline or in stores.
Leveraging a unified customer profile, marketers can:
- Gain a complete and accurate understanding of customer behaviours, preferences and needs
- Develop increasingly personalised and relevant marketing strategies that enhance customer experiences and build relationships, which boost lifetime value
- Mitigate risks, costs and time associated with third-party data assets
- Measure activation impact on KPIs
By having control of their customer data, brands and agencies can pursue customer-centric planning, mapping and sequencing paid media interactions to consumer journeys down the funnel. Unifying online and offline data sources also increases first-party data signals.
Unlock the first-party data advantage
A significant rupture exists in the value exchange between brands and consumers. With heightened expectations, consumers now demand improved transparency in the utilisation of their personal data. If these expectations are not met, they are likely to reconsider engaging with a brand.
Consequently, paid media teams that embrace a first-party data strategy, constructed upon unified customer profiles and implemented in privacy-safe manners, have the potential to generate higher revenue by providing enhanced customer experiences. By prioritising the responsible and ethical use of data, these teams can foster trust, loyalty and satisfaction among their customers. This leads to increased profitability and business success.
Unlike other approaches that use fixed and brittle matching rules, Amperity’s patented, AI-powered identity resolution and unified customer profiles build a complete view of customers. The solution increases match rates, drives suppression and retargeting and generates high-value audience segments.
This foundation allows digital teams to quickly build targeted segments, directly activate with leading ad platforms. Furthermore, they can effectively measure the impact of digital ads across online and in-store purchases.
Superior data equals superior results
Amperity’s paid media campaigns have proven to be a game-changer for customers, yielding remarkable outcomes that leave a substantial impact on their bottom line. Leveraging its industry-leading ad connectors and patented unified customer profiles, renowned global brands have witnessed match rates as impressive as 85% across vital channels. Even more, they’ve also improved return on ad spend (ROAS) by up to 5X and experienced up to 90% faster activation time for new campaigns.
With Amperity for paid media campaigns, major brands such as Alaska Airlines, Reckitt, SPARC Group and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts are experiencing increased return on investment (ROI). Let’s take a closer look:
- SPARC Group, a long-time Amperity customer, experienced a 5X ROAS, using predicted CLV (customer lifetime value) for segmentation.
- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts saw double-digit growth in ROAS in activated targeted audiences.
- Alaska Airlines experienced a 21% cost savings in paid channels.
- Reckitt, a global Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) company, has seen a 30% improvement in match rates and significant uplift of seed audience size, leveraging its customer data in Amperity.
It’s evident that a paradigm shift is necessary to break free from the constraints of the old and embrace innovative strategies that resonate with today’s consumers. Failure to adapt to this new reality risks continued underperformance and a widening gap between marketing efforts and business goals.
Amperity delivers the data confidence brands need to unlock growth by truly knowing their customers. We help brands build a first-party data foundation to fuel customer acquisition and retention, personalise experiences that build loyalty, and manage privacy compliance. Using patented AI and ML methods, Amperity stitches together all customer interactions to build a unified view that seamlessly connects to marketing and technology tools. More than 400 brands worldwide rely on Amperity to turn data into business value, including Alaska Airlines, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Endeavour Drinks, Planet Fitness, Seattle Sounders FC, Under Armour and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. For more information, visit amperity.com or follow us on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
