By investing in a privacy-first data authentication strategy, marketers can better harness the power of their first-party data, which allows them to improve personalization across channels.
–Travis Clinger, SVP, addressability and ecosystem, LiveRamp
With the phasing out of third-party cookies and restrictions on device-based IDs, it’s more important than ever to find improved data privacy-led solutions that enable critical use cases, despite ongoing changes to the adtech landscape on this Data Privacy Day. Travis Clinger, senior vice president, addressability and ecosystem, LiveRamp shares how retailers need to reach high-value audiences, build deep customer connections, and continue to drive their businesses forward in this cookie-less world.
In this edition of MarTalk Buzz, Clinger addresses how marketers can improve return on ad spends and drive outcome-based decisions. He shares how retailers can expand the value of first- and second-party data in a privacy-first way and improve their in-store transactions.
Key Takeaways on How To Harness the Power of First-Party Data:Â
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- Invest in addressable solutions that are omnichannel, interoperable, and not reliant on device-based identifiers.
- Ensure the customer is aware of the benefit they are receiving in exchange for sharing their personal information.
- Put durable, privacy-first alternatives in place before IDFA restrictions are in effect to maintain business continuity across channels.
Here’s the edited transcript from our exclusive interview with Travis Clinger:Â
1. The phasing out of third-party cookies and IDFA restrictions have sparked conversations around the future efficacy of programmatic advertising. What are some actionable ways for marketers to reach high-value customers and measure campaign outcomes regardless of changes to browser policies or privacy regulations?Â
Marketers shouldn’t wait for third-party cookies or mobile ad IDs to be phased out altogether. There is urgency in acting today. Now is the time for marketers to invest in addressable solutions that are omnichannel, interoperable, and not reliant on device-based identifiers, but that can still deliver meaningful outcomes. For example, enabling frequency capping and reducing cost-per-page-view can be done on an omnichannel basis without infringing consumer privacy.
A recent case study shows how Fitbit turned to a leading advertising agency to ensure they would still be able to reach their high-value audiences and measure on the same outcomes when using our Authenticated Identity Infrastructure. The brand was looking to directly match their audience with high-quality publisher inventory without relying on third-party cookie syncs for a seasonal Father’s Day campaign.
As a result, Fitbit saw double the return on ad spend, a 34% decrease in cost-per-page-view and a 13% increase in average order value when leveraging an identity infrastructure versus cookie targeting, demonstrating the power and value of advertising without cookies, and proving that an identity solution can be leveraged today to deliver significantly better returns and efficiencies.
– Travis Clinger, SVP, addressability and ecosystem, LiveRamp
2. Amid lockdowns in the pandemic, ad spends have witnessed a dip in the last couple of months. What are some of the ways in which marketers can improve return on ad spends and drive outcome-based decisions?
Marketing as an industry is often one of the first to be impacted by budget cuts. So now more than ever, marketers need to invest in a privacy-first and Authenticated Identity Infrastructure; make every dollar that is spent addressable, accountable, and measurable; and pursue data collaborations to gain better consumer insights and drive a more personalized consumer journey.
By investing in a privacy-first data authentication strategy, marketers can better harness the power of their first-party data, which allows them to improve personalization across channels while maintaining consumer trust. Beyond ensuring your first-party data strategy operates in compliance with privacy regulations, marketers should also provide consumers with transparency about how their data is being used. This entails communicating a clear value exchange to ensure the customer is aware of the benefit they are receiving in exchange for sharing their personal information.
For example, by providing their email address, users may receive personalized newsletters that alert them of deals, savings, and events of interest to them. As a result, brands are more likely to achieve a favorable outcome, such as higher return on ad spend, in addition to building brand loyalty.
Learn More: Why CDP Based Loyalty Programs are a Win-Win for Marketers: Q&A With SessionM (a Mastercard Company)
3. In today’s economic climate, in which ways can marketers ensure that every dollar is addressable, accountable, and measurable?
Interoperable, addressable solutions that do not rely on unstable identifiers enable better control of inefficiencies to reduce redundancies and maximize every dollar spent. Marketers need durable, privacy-first alternatives in place to maintain business continuity across channels and improve return on ad spends and average order value.
Learn More: 21 Marketing Technology (Martech) Trends for 2021 To Snap Out of Survival Mode
4. How can brands and retailers expand the value of first and second-party data in a privacy-first way? Can you elaborate it with an example of a retailer’s in-store transactions?
Finally, expand the value of first and second-party data through secure, privacy-first data collaborations with trusted partners. The advanced analytics tools a brand, retailer or media network could extract from data partnerships provide unparalleled insights to inform business decisions and unlock outcome-based measurement capabilities.
For example, take CPG brands, which have historically had low visibility into the sales of their products by retailers. By connecting their online exposure data with a retailer’s in-store transactions – that is, point-of-sale data, they can cross-reference with their media campaign results, more accurately assign attribution, and streamline media spend. By safely unifying diverse data sources between natural partners in a secure and privacy-first way, brands and retailers gain a much deeper understanding of who their shared customers are outside the “four walls†of their business.
–Travis Clinger, SVP, addressability and ecosystem, LiveRamp
Learn More: Why CPG Brands Need To Invest in Data Privacy: Q&A With Mark Livingston, Infosys
5. Which best practices should marketers adopt when looking for an alternative to third-party cookies to ensure ad allocation delivers ROI?
To thrive in the future of digital advertising, marketers need to utilize privacy-first identity solutions that are agile and built to scale. Beyond solving for data loss, which is a symptom of cookie-syncing, there is a need for identity solutions that solve the longstanding difficulty in measuring, evaluating, and providing attribution across marketing and advertising campaigns.
This is also true in improving the customer experience across increasingly fragmented customer journeys. Given current economic uncertainty however, marketers cannot afford to settle for solutions that produce soft or nonexistent returns on investment.
Universal IDs and fingerprinting are among those to watch out for. While both have been positioned by some as a silver bullet for replacing third-party cookies, the reality is that both leave much to be desired when it comes to data security and respecting consumer privacy. Both are examples of “what not to do†when it comes to transparently communicating the value exchange to individuals.
– Travis Clinger, SVP, addressability and ecosystem, LiveRamp
6. Which insights should marketers rely on to prepare for their next year’s campaigns? How can brands and retailers plan for and execute an optimization plan that will further drive greater impact during the next year-end’s retail period?
To choose a viable alternative to third-party cookies, marketers should seek a solution that maximizes their reach, while also putting consumer privacy first and foremost, over the long-term to ensure they are adopting the best strategy for their business.
Fitbit is a great example. The health tech brand only has a few major campaigns each year, making it extremely important to test and benchmark results early to leverage learnings throughout the year.
Having unlocked these insights, it is now able to prepare for its next campaign, the crucial holiday retail push, with the confidence that reach will be maximized effectively and efficiently. In addition, by knowing that 100% of its impressions are measurable, Fitbit can ensure that its investments are fully accountable and tied to meaningful results. It can now plan for and execute an optimization plan that will further drive greater impact during this critical year-end retail period.
7. What is your advice for marketers who have not yet solidified their strategy in a post-cookie, post-IDFA world?
The eventual degradation of cookies is something that has been expected for several years, as have been mobile identifiers that share similar privacy concerns.
While Chrome’s 2022 deadline may seem like a world away right now, many marketers don’t realize that 40% of web traffic (on Safari and Firefox) is already cookie-less, a fact that should serve as an accelerant across the industry.
Moving forward, marketers that invest in an ecosystem-wide, people-based identity strategy now will grow faster and find more success in the future cookie-less advertising space.
–Travis Clinger, SVP, addressability and ecosystem, LiveRamp
The same goes for IDFAs. Without them, marketers’ ability to reach customers, suppress advertisers on converted consumers, and measure performance on mobile devices, or connected data based on mobile IDs, will break down. My advice for marketers and publishers is to put durable, privacy-first alternatives in place before IDFA restrictions are in effect to maintain business continuity across channels.
All in all, there is an extreme sense of urgency in today’s digital marketing space to ensure you are putting strategies in place today that will ensure your future success. The marketers who choose to wait will quickly fall behind. It’s important to note that major changes require lots of time for testing and experimentation, no marketer wants to be working on establishing their post-cookie solution once the cookie is fully gone.
About Travis ClingerOpens a new window :
As senior vice president of addressability and ecosystem at LiveRamp, Travis is responsible for leading the company’s global digital advertising ecosystem strategy: leading strategic initiatives, advancing global partnerships, and overseeing the business development and go-to-market strategies for key addressability products and initiatives. Clinger is a co-founder and Board Member of the Advertising ID Consortium, advocating for people-based identifiers to be transacted across the open Internet.
About LiveRampOpens a new window :
LiveRamp provides the identity platform leveraged by brands and their partners to deliver innovative products and exceptional experiences. Powered by its core capabilities in data accessibility, identity, connectivity, and data stewardship, LiveRamp makes it safe and easy to connect the world’s data, people and applications.
About MarTalk Buzz:
MarTalk Buzz is an interview series where marketing leaders and marketing technology companies that are making a difference, connect with us and share their stories. Join us as we talk to them about their product journeys, insights on the categories they serve, what works for them, and some bonus pro-tips.
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