We spoke with industry leaders from Ampersand, Basis Technologies, Captify, Cuebiq, CvE, Fetch, Madhive, MiQ, and Samsung to gather insights on how innovations in data and identity are creating stronger consumer connections.
Here are five key insights to consider.
1. Build on trust with first-party data
Stricter privacy regulations and growing customer expectations mean businesses must rethink how they gather and use data. A robust first-party data strategy centers on gathering high-quality data, such as behavioral and transactional data. By using behavioral, lifestyle, and purchasing data, brands can craft personalized strategies that align with their goals. This approach balances effective targeting with building trust and complying with privacy rules.
Integrating identity solutions like Unified I.D. 2.0 (UID2) and ID5 into existing data strategies improves interoperability across platforms while keeping user privacy intact. These tools help create more effective campaigns.
“We’ve been preparing and leaning into educating our clients around the value of first-party data. These are very important and primary considerations in any of our campaigns.”
April Weeks, Basis Technologies
2. Align metrics with business goals
To demonstrate clear value, campaigns need to tie their outcomes to broader goals. Relying only on click-through rates or CPMs won’t cut it. Metrics that measure meaningful results, like driving sales or increasing customer retention, provide greater transparency than surface level data, like clicks or impressions.
A continuous feedback loop between targeting and measurement ensures campaigns can be refined to better align with business objectives. This feedback helps marketers understand who they are targeting and how those audiences are driving key business results. Shifting focus to metrics that resonate with stakeholders ensures that marketing efforts are evaluated based on their true contribution to the company’s objectives.
“The television industry has access to more data than ever before, and at Samsung Ads, our ACR technology helps us provide valuable insights about what content and ads are being viewed. This abundance of data enables us to support clients in aligning their campaigns with business objectives effectively.”
Justin Evans, Samsung Ads
3. Personalize experiences to boost engagement
Personalization drives stronger customer relationships by delivering tailored experiences to individual customer needs. Using data-driven insights to fine-tune offers and messaging makes interactions more relevant, strengthening brand loyalty. Combining behavioral, lifestyle, and transactional data provides a comprehensive understanding of the customer journey and ensures each touchpoint feels personal.
Testing and iterating on personalization strategies also helps identify which data and approaches yield the best results. Scaling these efforts means customers receive the right messaging at the right time, and businesses see better outcomes.
“Every business should be building a data strategy that thinks about the different versions of data that exist and how they bring that together. They don’t necessarily need to own all of it but have a clear rationale and strategy about where you’re using which data sets.”
Paul Frampton, CvE
4. Utilize advanced measurement tools for smarter decisions
Improving the effectiveness of campaigns starts with using sophisticated measurement tools to gain actionable insights. Using analytics like brand lift studies, foot traffic analysis, app download tracking, incrementality, and share of search allows marketers to understand the full impact of their efforts.
With these resources, teams can pinpoint what’s working, make real-time adjustments, and refine their approach. This adaptability ensures budgets are used as effectively as possible.
“We are playing a leading role in democratizing new tools for local advertisers. By mimicking the marketing funnel mentality, we’ve introduced solutions ranging from measuring brand lift to tracking foot traffic and app downloads.”
Luc Dumont, Madhive
5. Adapt quickly to stay competitive
The only constant in advertising is change. Adapting quickly to new technologies and consumer behaviors keeps businesses competitive. A culture of agility fosters innovation, making it easier to respond to industry shifts and discover new opportunities.
Companies that anticipate change and invest in modern data solutions position themselves for long-term growth. Whether it’s adjusting to privacy updates, exploring emerging tech, or staying flexible, businesses must continuously invest in adapting their platforms and strategies.
“Falling behind is not really an option. There’s always a change in advertising and in data where there’s a new horizon. The people who stay close to that and innovate will always follow it.”
Amelia Waddington, Captify
Shaping the future
Building meaningful consumer connections requires advertisers to combine robust data strategies with flexibility and innovation. By focusing on these five considerations, marketers can adapt to today’s challenges while preparing for what’s ahead.
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One of the biggest challenges marketers face when planning digital advertising campaigns is getting an adequate number of impressions that yields measurable results at the lowest possible cost. As agencies, operators and advertisers are increasingly challenged about media budget, it is more important than ever to plan campaigns that generate enough information at the lowest possible cost. Through our design, deployment and measurement of advertising on a variety of platforms, Experian has developed best practices when planning digital advertising campaigns. We share some of these here, to help marketers with future campaign planning to maximize marketing effectiveness at a minimal cost. Using Path to Purchase to Determine the Right Number of Touch Points The Path to Purchase Funnel provides a framework to determine the number of touchpoints required to turn a prospect into a buyer. There are various phases the consumer goes through at each contact, and these phases dictate the number of touch points (or ‘touches’) required to induce a purchase. In the table below, we’ve described what these phases are, and the number of touch points required for those phases. The required number of touches will vary greatly among marketers, who must consider the expected time for a prospect to make decisions, competition in the marketplace, the novelty of the offer, and the level of engagement of the audience. For example, 15-second or 30-second audio and video ads played during scheduled breaks in programming may require more repetition than an ad played at a moment of high engagement, such as when the user interacts with the app, or during a “pre-roll” advertisement view prior to streamed content. Determining the Target Number of Impressions Needed to Persuade The next step involves determining how many exposures will be required to get the impressions or touch points needed to satisfy the consumer’s path to purchase. Let’s say a marketer has decided that four impressions are enough to make the case for the consumer to purchase, and that the marketer plans to reach 1 million prospects during the campaign. Perhaps the most intuitive solution is to provide four impressions for each reached prospect, such that 4 million impressions would be served during the campaign. However, during a normal digital campaign, some prospects will have zero impressions while others will have many. Because of this, we recommend planning to reach a target fraction (typically 80%) of the audience to receive the required number of impressions for purchase. The following table shows the predicted percent of audience exposed by average number of impressions served. Factoring Advertising Half-Life into Impressions Required Advertisement decay, or the fading consumer memory that reduces ad effectiveness, should also be factored into determining the right number of impressions for a successful campaign. For example, if a campaign length is planned to be 6 weeks, but the half-life of the advertisement is only three weeks, then more impressions would be needed to attain the number of touches required for the path to purchase. When planning campaigns for our partners, we adjust the target mean exposure frequency by the square root of the proportion of campaign length over advertisement half-life. For example, assuming a 3-week half-life and a 6-week campaign, we should multiply our target 5.5MM impressions by to get 7.78MM impressions. In the table below, we’ve demonstrated several scenarios of varying advertisement half-life. Other Considerations During Post-Campaign Analysis Once the campaign is completed, Experian recommends analyzing the distribution of impression frequency to determine how closely the actual impression frequencies matched to what was predicted. If frequencies do not align with the predicted, check to see if these assumptions are met: Make sure that advertising impressions are independent of each other. If rules are in place such that a prior impression affects the likelihood of a subsequent impression, this can affect the impression frequency. Check that the entire targeted population is on the ad platform long enough to be available for targeting. Some campaigns may have been instructed to be deployed in phases, which could limit the number of impressions to be delivered. Confirm that exposures can only occur one at a time, so that the impressions are deployed at distinct time intervals, giving the consumer the opportunity to view the advertisement Planning a successful campaign is critical for a test-measure-learn environment for an agency, operator, platform or advertiser. While initial up-front costs can be expensive, the long-term value to the business is significantly greater if tests are designed and administered appropriately. As a result, spending a little extra time thinking about your consumer’s path to purchase, exposure frequency, and the half-life of your advertisement can pay significant dividends in developing your digital advertising strategy.
To our valued customers and partners,It’s been an exciting week here at Tapad! As announced in a press release this morning, Tapad is now a member of the Experian family. We’re thrilled to continue to grow as a leader in identity resolution under the umbrella of a global expert in data, analytics and technology. Tapad and Experian are deeply connected by our commitment to serving the needs of our customers; and with a focus on quality of the data we provide, we have a common goal for the future of identity in the advertising ecosystem. As part of this announcement, we wanted to assure you, our valued customer, that we remain deeply committed to serving you today just as we always have. Nothing will change in your daily operations with Tapad. Experian immediately recognized that the success and growth of Tapad was directly tied to the strength and depth of its team members. As such, the acquisition will not result in any changes to day-to-day contacts at Tapad, or processes with weekly graph deliveries and other product support. Experian’s faith and investment in Tapad’s future and the future of identity resolution underscores what we’ve always believed our products could achieve and that we will be able to continue serving brands, advertisers, publishers, and the advertising and marketing ecosystem for years to come. On a personal note, I am excited to be transitioning my role as Chief Operating Officer of Tapad to the General Manager position of a global business that’s achieved exponential growth over the past several years; culminating in this strategic acquisition that will no doubt bring even more value to our customers in the future. We remain committed to open communication and welcome any questions you may have. Thank you, Mark Connon | General Manager, Tapad
Addressable TV has been through a transformation in the past year. Streaming content has become the most coveted space for creators and advertisers with the rise of new apps and platforms; but the influx of stay-at-home orders around the country have shifted television viewership as we know it, and streaming apps are popping up in droves to take advantage. So, how can you? With no shortage of opportunities to advertise on addressable TV and CTV, how does it fit into the media mix? And furthermore, how can you attribute this household-level device into your overall strategy? Tying it all together Layering addressable TV within digital ad campaigns couldn’t be easier today — but applying the right targeting and cadence between all of your digital efforts; and tying them together in attribution takes the right kind of data. Marketers can use CTV identifiers coupled with other device identifiers available in The Tapad Graph to not only target impressions but also map addressable TVs within the consumer journey; and unify strategies between household decision makers to better personalize messaging. Let's get to work, together At Tapad, we provide actionable insights for marketers to deliver better ad experiences to their consumers through identity resolution. Interested in learning more? Contact us today at sales@tapad.com for a more personal conversation about your identity strategy. 1 The Trade Desk Q2 2020 Earnings Call Transcript, August 2020; 2 iSpot Report, via Deadline, July 2020; 3 Flixed.io, January 2020