Experian received top ranks for hashed emails (HEMs) and demographic data from Truthset Data Collective
Advertisers, technology partners, and agencies are all chasing accurate data to power their marketing strategies. Turns out, not all data is created equal and unless you’re working with the right partner, high-quality data can be hard to find. That’s because accuracy can vary widely across the industry and the partner you choose is important. A recent study conducted by data validation company Truthset showed that 51% of the data used for ad targeting and audience measurement is wrong, with average accuracy rates ranging between 32%-69% across data providers.
The data quality challenge
The lack of high-quality data poses multiple challenges in the advertising world:
- Wasted ad spend: without accurate data at the start, marketers can’t reach the right audiences, resulting in wasted impressions.
- Privacy and compliance: in an increasingly privacy-centric world, advertisers need to be especially mindful of accurate targeting to avoid putting their brand reputation at risk.
- Poor campaign performance: low-quality data skews metrics and attribution models, making it difficult to measure campaign success and optimize spend.
Low-quality data can come in different forms like inconsistent or outdated information – think demographics (age, gender) and interests (dog versus cat lover) or simply the wrong relationship can be made between datasets. Data records can be incomplete or duplicative and data segments could be misclassified or inaccurate. For example, a kids snack food company may think they’re targeting a 35-year old man, who lives in the suburbs with his young family when in fact it’s a 65-year-old woman who moved to the city after her kids went to college. It’s wasted dollars!
Build the data foundation
Data quality needs to be addressed if advertisers and advertising technology partners want to fulfill consumers’ demand for personalized marketing. Per eMarketer, more than 75% of internet users worldwide said they were willing to share their email address, brand interest, and name in exchange for personalized experiences. Without accurate data, marketers won’t be able to provide the level of personalization that consumers desire.
Validation can help advertisers evaluate third party data and help build trust across the ecosystem. Companies like Truthset review and provide an unbiased evaluation of data fidelity and quality on a regular basis.
“As cookies and mobile ad identifiers continue to phase out, consented, durable identifiers (hashed email, postal addresses) are going to serve as the foundation for identity solutions of the future,” said Chip Russo, President at Truthset. “And the only way to ensure you are transacting on the highest quality identity and demography data is to actively validate the data you rely on with a third party.”
Not all data is created equal: Experian leads the way
In Q3 2023 Truthset reviewed Experian’s marketing data – as well as several other large data providers – and found:
- Experian is the #1 data provider in terms of largest volume of high-accuracy hashed e-mails (HEMs) with demographic data
- Experian ranks #1 in accuracy for 15 marketing data attributes, including but not limited to Age, Gender, Home Owner/Renter, Geography, Education, Presence of Children, and Pet Owner
- Experian consistently has the largest number of HEMs with demographic data that are 90% or more likely to be accurate
“As a member of the Truthset Data Collective, Experian received top ranks across a variety of categories for its data,” continued Russo. “The entire digital advertising world runs on data, but focusing on data accuracy is going to drive the next phase of innovation for the industry, enhancing ROI for advertisers, CPMs for publishers, and relevant experiences for consumers.”
As Truthset’s recent study highlights, the data matched between hashed e-mails and postal addresses is crucial, underpinning everything from targeted ads to TV audience measurement. Highly accurate HEMs linked to high-quality demographic data should be the foundation of any marketing plan. Advertisers are able to overcome the complexities of identity resolution by tying online and offline touchpoints together to deliver a consistent message across channels.
Companies are striving to eliminate marketing waste and provide consumers with personalized marketing and the advertising industry can have confidence that Experian’s marketing data has been externally validated as being highly accurate. The accuracy of our data will power smarter marketing initiatives, like insights, targeting, identity, and measurement.
Let’s start a conversation about how we can fully realize the potential of data-driven advertising together.
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The beginning of any new year brings an influx of gym goers who are committed to working on resolutions. Whether the goal is to work out or be healthier, gyms around the nation see a spike in numbers in the first few months of the new year. Experian examined foot traffic patterns for five gyms nationwide from January to June of 2019 to determine if there were significant trends. Unsurprisingly, there was a spike in visits in January, which correlates with the rise of advertising in the fitness industry during that time. We are all familiar with the ads telling us about the amazing discounts available at our nearest gyms, as well as the constant reminder that it’s a new year so it’s time to reinvent yourself – “New Year, New Me!” Even though the spike in visits in the first couple of months is exciting for businesses, research suggests that these trends won’t continue throughout the year, which means a loss of revenue over the latter half of the year. A loss of revenue is never good, so as a marketer, how can you better understand your new clients and target them when they might be inclined to throw in the towel? Taking a second look at the graph above, you see a spike in visits in late March and early April, before a big drop off in May. We were curious to see what was causing this spike, so we took a deeper dive into the data, looking at both age and gender. What we found was that from January to early March, there was a steady decline in visits, whereas in late March to early April, there was about a 7% rise in visits across the board. What was more interesting than the spike in visits, was the significant drop after the first week of April. We saw a significant 13% drop in visits on average in both males and females of all ages. On the higher end of the spectrum were both males and females between the ages of 19-34 with a 14%-15% drop in visits. While we can speculate on why there was such a drop at this time – right after spring break, etc. – gathering more data about these individuals is essential to building an effective marketing plan to combat this degradation. As a marketing professional in the fitness industry, or someone looking to target a health-conscious demographic, you need to understand your audience – both their visit patterns, as well as their likes and dislikes. Using Experian’s data, you can take a deeper dive to understand your members eating habits. For instance, you can better understand if your clients like to visit health-conscious dining establishments or do they frequent QSR locations like McDonalds. It may seem like common sense, but a successful marketing campaign is rooted in relevant messaging and relevancy is rooted in the ability to understand the target audience. While the goal is to bring new members into your gym or health club in January, the challenge is to keep those new members coming throughout the year, and that’s where there is an opportunity for marketers to better connect with these customers. If you know that people under the age of 34 are at the biggest risk of halting their visits to your fitness location in the middle of April, then you can take the next steps to better understand that demographic so you can activate an effective marketing campaign tailored to their needs before you lose their memberships. The key is to understand who these fitness resolution members are and find a way to target them before their commitment waivers. What works for one location may differ from another, so you have to include other data points in to build a more holistic view of your target audience. At the end of the day, understanding your members is key. Partnering with Experian to take a deeper dive into your members likes and dislikes, as well as their visit patterns can allow fitness locations to have the data and the tools at hand to make the right marketing decisions and deliver an effective marketing campaign, ultimately reducing the membership attrition rate.
Over the past two decades, marketers were consumed with the Millennial generation. Those individuals born between 1980 and 1995 represented a new set of consumers to the market with very different attitudes, behaviors and purchase decision styles than had previously been seen. Marketers invested significant capital to learn about Millennials and transformed their marketing strategy to better reach and attract them. Those that did this successfully were able to grow their business and extend their footprint to a new group of consumers. Now, as we enter a new decade, another generation of individuals is entering into the market and represents the future customer for marketers. Understanding who these consumers are, how to best reach them, and how they make purchase decisions will help marketers reach this new audience and grow their business more effectively. 1. Who is Generation Z? While definitions have varied from different publications, Generation Z is generally defined as consumers born between mid-1990s through early 2010s. Here, we define generations as the following: According to Kasasa, this group represents about 74 million consumers, which is similar in size to other generations.[i] Information on Generation Z is limited since many are still considered minors. However, resources such as syndicated surveys have provided some thoughts about their general attitudes that can begin to provide insight. Key Takeaway: Get to know Generation Z. They are big, they are coming, and they will likely be the future consumer you will need to attract. 2. How is Generation Z Influenced by Technology? Very much so. Generation Z individuals received their first mobile phone at age 10.3 years and spend an average of 3 hours each day on their device.[ii] They have no real understanding of what life was like before the internet. They are active users of smart phones, apps, and social media, and frequently use technology before making decisions. The internet is very important to Generation Z – they meet people, share information about themselves, get their entertainment, relax, and enjoy going online in their free time. Generation Z respondents were more likely than other generations to agree with the following statements: “I like to keep my personal Internet pages updated with information about my life.”“The internet is a good way to meet new people.”“The internet is a main source of entertainment for me.”“Going online is one of my favorite things to do with my free time.” Additionally, the mobile internet, which includes accessing social media and apps through a hand-held device, is even more meaningful to the Generation Z consumer. Generation Z respondents list the following as what the Mobile Internet means to them: “Pure entertainment”“A good escape”“Relaxes me”“Puts me in a good mood”“Keeps me up-to-date with the latest styles and trends” One result of this is how much more connected Generation Z feels with each other, and with celebrities. They actively follow and interact with their friends or celebrities through YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat or other social media tools. As a result, they are much more influenced by celebrities than other generations. Key Takeaway: Generation Z will be a heavy user of technology and are influence by each other and celebrities. They will expect your products to be accessible through mobile devices. 3. What media channels are best for reaching Generation Z, and what are their decision-making characteristics? To improve marketing effectiveness, marketers must know how to reach their consumers. Two significant dimensions of reach are (1) the preferred channel the consumer uses to gain awareness about a product; and (2) the decision-making style the consumer employs. Using Experian’s TrueTouchSM, marketers can learn this and develop a marketing communication strategy for improved reach. Generation Z is much more engaged through digital media. More than 3 out 4 Generation Z respondents listed the following as their preferred engagement channel: Streaming TVDigital DisplayRadio (including streaming radio)Digital VideoMobile SMS More traditional channels such as email, direct mail and traditional newspaper were ranked very low, indicating that reaching Generation Z will require marketers to move away from more traditional media channels to influence these consumers. Decision-making styles were also different for Generation Z. The most frequent Experian TrueTouch Decision-Making Styles among Generation Z respondents were: Brand loyalty was the least frequent response among Generation Z. This indicates that Generation Z may not have an automatic affinity to a brand, and that marketers may have to demonstrate its value to influence these emerging consumers. Key Takeaway: Digital media will be a key for reaching Generation Z, and marketers will have to adapt away from traditional media to influence these consumers. While recreational and “In the Moment,” Generation Z does not have loyalty to specific brands, considers what goes into products, and researches different websites and online reviews before making a purchase. In summary, Generation Z is an emerging group of consumers that will challenge marketers to think beyond traditionally successful marketing tactics. These consumers were born into a digital age, and are heavily influenced by social media, whether it’s recommendations from friends, or celebrities that endorse a certain product. This influence requires marketers to communicate more digitally, and less from traditional media like direct mail, email and newspapers. Finally, marketers will need to be aware these consumers will make purchase decisions based on research from other websites and online reviews, look for new things particularly those made with natural ingredients, and are not necessarily loyal to established brands. Knowing this will help marketers develop strategies and make the necessary investments to reach this group more effectively. [i] “Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z Explained,” Kasasa, July 29, 2019. https://www.kasasa.com/articles/generations/gen-x-gen-y-gen-z [ii] Ibid
Tapad's digital identity resolution offering enables Gimbal's platform to provide expanded insights for campaign optimization to U.S. brand and agency clients NEW YORK, Feb. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Tapad, part of Experian and a global leader in digital identity resolution, announced their partnership with Gimbal, a leader of location-powered marketing and advertising solutions. Gimbal now leverages Tapad's global, privacy-safe digital cross-device solution, The Tapad Graph, to further enhance its footfall attribution solution, Arrival. Arrival delivers dwell-based attribution for in-store foot traffic and by leveraging the Tapad Graph, Gimbal provides customers with a more holistic, attributable understanding of consumers across multiple devices, like desktop, smartphone, and tablet. With this, Gimbal's clients are enabled to make more informed media planning decisions for programmatic activations across the web, and mobile apps. "Today's consumers are utilizing their digital devices for research and comparison shopping before making a purchase. By leveraging The Tapad Graph, Gimbal's clients gain an even more complete view of the consumer decision journey across devices," said Chris Feo, SVP of Global Data Licensing and Strategic Partnerships at Tapad. "With the number of devices per individual rapidly increasing, understanding the customer decision journey is becoming more complex," said Kyle Wendling, SVP of Product at Gimbal. "We're excited to partner with Tapad to continue engaging consumers across multiple devices." To learn more about Tapad and our digital identity resolution products, visit our identity solutions page. About TapadTapad, Inc. is a global leader in digital identity resolution. The Tapad Graph, and its related solutions, provide a transparent, privacy-safe approach connecting brands to consumers through their devices globally. Tapad is recognized across the industry for its product innovation, workplace culture, and talent, and has earned numerous awards including One World Identity's 2019 Top 100 Influencers in Identity Award. Headquartered in New York, Tapad also has offices in Chicago, Denver, London, Oslo, Singapore, and Tokyo. About GimbalGimbal translates location data into intent, measurement, and insights to help organizations transform their businesses, maximize marketing relevance, and humanize messaging for consumers. Gimbal is headquartered in Los Angeles and provides advertising and marketing technologies to the world's leading brands and retailers interested in understanding the physical world. To learn more, visit https://gimbal.com. Contact us today!