Publishers Should Align to Marketer’s First-Party Data Priorities

A new era is forecasted for data management platforms (DMPs). Marketers are souring on the data warehousing software, turning more to customer data platforms (CDPs) to focus on first-party data.

Publishers are also looking for a successor to what traditionally helped manage and activate third-party data. Like marketers, publishers are asking platforms combine proprietary publisher data and leverage identity-based segmentation.

For data platforms to better serve marketers and publishers, they should deliver audiences aligned to marketer’s increased investment in first-party data and compete with the likes of Facebook and Google.

Further, as data transparency and control now outrank other qualifiers, DMPs routinely focused on cookie-based audiences and third-party data overlays need to branch out for greater transparency, control and compliance.

As publishers reform platform expectations to align with marketing trends, here are a few ways marketers can pressure test their commitment.

Augment identity

While DMP 1.0 specialized in cookie-based data, publishers focusing on identity help drive accuracy, match rates and scale for audiences more comparable to the walled gardens.

More publishers are turning to subscription-based revenue models, benefiting first-party databases and identity backbones. Publishers capture more identity via content and martech partnerships, which help marketers expand beyond Facebook and Google’s reach.

Understanding scale and coverage of publisher graphs across users, channels and devices is key for marketers who want to fulfill budgets and omnichannel initiatives.

What’s in an audience?

Unlike the black-box duopoly, publishers retain flexibility to share details on data source, audience makeup and tactics used to slice audiences. Some publishers, for example, use contextual and behavioral data to segment audiences. A publisher articulate about segmentation practices can help marketers understand how they translate to performance.

Don’t subscribe to first-party alone

Even larger publishers have limited subscriber pools that, when segmented into contextual-based audiences, likely pull only a fraction of large marketers’ budgets. Niche publishers are even more size-restricted.

Most publishers will require outside help to scale their subscriber base. As they move from DMPs, marketers should be tactical in learning what new data or techniques are being used to supplement audiences beyond segmentation.

As advertising remains an important digital revenue stream for publishers, analysts expect new advertising formats and targeting techniques will power more relevant experiences. Open conversations about the data and technology behind these techniques will be key to driving better experiences between marketers and consumers.

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