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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It’s October, and you know what that means; leaves are changing, sweaters are being pulled out of the closet, pumpkin-flavored items are taking over coffee shops. For many marketers, this is the most exciting (and stressful) part of the year. Holiday marketing is ramping up, and it will only increase in intensity as the weeks go on. Luckily, we’re hard at work here at Experian, analyzing data from past holiday seasons to bring you the insights you need to make your holiday marketing programs successful. We’ve examined search and email behavior to compile a list of the most important days to email and trends that will help you delight your customers from now until the New Year. You can access all of these insights in our Holiday 2015 Marketing Insights Calendar, which covers marketing trends from October through December. Holiday marketing tips for October With Halloween fast approaching at the end of the month (and Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Cyber Monday not far behind), marketers should use October to solidify their plan for the holiday season. Here are three things you can do to optimize your impact this month: 3 ways to optimize your holiday marketing programs in October Target reactivation campaigns to last year’s holiday-only shoppers to maximize active subscribers this season Perform a data cleanse and email verification to ensure message delivery. List health is key to a successful holiday season, and now is the time to double check. Consider offering Halloween-specific products for the little ones. Costumes for newborns and toddlers are on the rise, so don’t forget about the youngsters! Want more holiday marketing insights? Don’t miss our upcoming webinar, Check your list twice: Last-minute marketing strategies for the holiday season.
Remember when email took the world by storm, replacing a significant portion of “snail mail”? The shift didn’t happen overnight; it took time for the public to understand, trust and embrace the new technology. Advances in digital marketing may move quickly, but we in the industry cannot expect to change user behavior overnight. Consider that email has traditionally been a “one click” or “single action” environment. When a new idea such as kinetic email challenges this convention, there are ways to effectively strategize its use in your campaigns and properly introduce its features to your audience. Kinetic email – the evolution of responsive design You may have heard the energetic term “kinetic” being bounced around – appropriate since movement is the main idea behind this advancement in email communication. But to fully understand its appeal, we need to look back at another technological breakthrough. Once the mobile boom occurred a few years ago, email designers saw the writing on the wall – or perhaps we should say “on the screen” – and responsive design was born. It was finally possible for content and layout to resize to the screen of the device on which it was viewed. In designing those layouts for mobile screen sizes by manipulating the CSS, developers eventually discovered that content in the email could be interactive and dynamic. This capability was coined “kinetic.” Kinetic email design acts as the next stage of responsive, giving the user multiple ways to interact with the content and layout before he or she takes a committed action. Why is it desirable? Studies in user behavior tell us that the average viewer spends 3-15 seconds looking at an email communication, with the average Apple user spending even less – only 0-3 seconds. Obviously, there’s a huge advantage in holding someone’s attention, and if used cleverly, kinetic design can help in that regard. It can also remove steps to purchase because they’re being completed within the email rather than on the website. Within the email, subscribers may be able to view color and size choices, or choose between perks such as free shipping or a percentage off their order (we’ll dig deeper into those possibilities in a follow up blog post). This creates a more interactive atmosphere, and that’s a good thing. Still, you must bear in mind that too many steps provided by kinetic design can be overkill. You don’t want to add more work for the viewer; complicating what was once a simple action can turn off your audience, so be smart about its application. Does it make sense for your brand? The key is to determine whether or not kinetic capabilities complement your brand. What do you offer? Who is your customer base? Remember, an email marketer needs the user to interact with the email; they won’t just hover or toggle instinctively. Will your customers stick around to watch, explore or play? Carefully consider products/images/topics that will offer an engaging experience. It has to result in more than just a “wow” response; in needs to encourage transactions. It can also be difficult to predict response since this sort of breakthrough is likely more exciting to those of us on the development side than it is to the end consumer. To prepare your customers for the novelty of kinetic email, you could notify them in advance. However, a smarter way to approach the introduction might be through the use of simplified tabs and navigation. Too many options would start to look like a full blown site – unnecessary. Is kinetic email the future? It’s a bold innovation for sure, but it’s still too early to determine its value to email marketers. To be truly valuable, it must consistently get people interested in making a selection – and a carousel of pretty pictures only goes so far. A savvy email marketer knows that flashy functionality can be an attention-getter, but it must be used when and where it makes sense. Aim for a smarter execution to make the most of a kinetic set up. Want to learn more about the latest trends in email design? Watch the video recording from our recent webinar, Digital Eye Candy: Email Creative Strategies that Wow!