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Low-quality data can come in different forms like inconsistent or outdated information – think demographics (age, gender) and interests (dog versus cat lover) or simply the wrong relationship can be made between datasets.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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Tom Rolph, VP EMEA at Tapad, part of Experian, says that ad-sponsored streaming services can be successful if they can deliver a higher quality viewer experience than other streaming services. Last week, Hulu, the streaming service acquired by Fox and now owned 60 per cent by Disney, announced it will be regularising its ad loads. The streaming service will be bringing ad breaks down to 90 seconds in an effort to deliver a better viewer experience. This is a positive move from Hulu and one which other ad-supported streaming services should follow in order to be successful in a competitive market. Previously ad breaks on Hulu could vary wildly, from 180 seconds to 240 seconds, due to existing deals with its three owners: Disney, Comcast and AT&T. Over in the UK, we haven’t suffered from quite as inconsistent an approach as in the US, but there is still viewer frustration with the ad experience on ITV Hub and All4, where the problem tends to be over exposure of the same ad. Therefore, this move to standardise ad break lengths for streaming platforms is one that should be embraced on both sides of the pond. An important shift in this space will be to limit the number of ads during each show, but have better ad targeting to minimise repetitive advertising and increase the ROI of ad spend. All of which can be accomplished by investing in identity resolution products that can support CTV devices. Last year Ofcom found that in the UK subscriptions to Netflix, Amazon and NOW TV have risen above those to traditional pay TV services. With Netflix and Amazon both ad-free and NOW TV only a limited ad funded model, it’s clear that there is a growing appetite for ad-free viewing models. A fact that is only further supported when you consider the role of the BBC and BBC iPlayer. But the picture isn’t entirely negative for ad-funded models. There is demand for great content on ad-funded services in the UK, with ITV Hub boasting over 1bn requests and 540m hours of TV watched. The ITV Hub mobile app has also been downloaded on over 27m devices across the country – with over 22m people now registered to ITV Hub database, including more than half of Britain’s 16-24 year olds. However, to continue to attract and retain younger viewers, the experience will have to improve. There are several areas where ad-supported streaming providers need to improve in order to remain top players in this space: Ad experienceAs explored above, both volume and repetition of ads can be a turn off for viewers, but with Brits already spending a total of £303.16m every month on TV streaming services, according to Finder.com, there is potential for free, ad-funded models to flourish as people hit a limit on what they are willing to spend. There are already signs of improvement with the ad experience, with ITV just signing a deal with Amobee to allow for addressable ads on ITV Hub, while Sky’s AdSmart technology remains best in class and has now crossed over the pond to be used by Comcast stablemate NBC. Server reliabilityA cursory search finds little evidence of ongoing reliability problems with Netflix, but much evidence of problems with ITV Hub and All4, which are both prone to crashing. To compete with bigger players with massive server farms, server capacity needs to be tackled. This is especially true when it comes to live events, where many people will recall ITV Hub’s famous fails during the World Cup. While even some of the larger players have had similar streaming issues (for example, Amazon’s move into live sports streaming when they had to pull UK streaming of the US Open Tennis due to user complaints), viewing experience should be prioritised as the space gets increasingly competitive. Getting the content rightAmazon and Netflix have huge content budgets, but UK broadcasters remain strong in this regard, Channel 4 has enjoyed viewing figures of 7.5m for the Great British Bake Off, while ITV pulled in 13.7m for I’m A Celebrity. By building on UK-specific content that speaks to UK audiences, ad-supported streaming services can continue to pull in more viewers. Mobile accessMore and more Brits are choosing to watch TV content on their smartphone or tablet, according to UKOM-approved comScore data. In fact, 6.5m adults visited the BBC iPlayer app to watch video on either a smartphone or tablet, edging out Netflix which attracted 5.8m Getting the experience right on mobile, with the option to download content so it can be viewed in areas of low or no signal, is key.If UK ad-supported TV stations can crack these key areas for their Connected TV offering then they will be set up to succeed and offer a true home-grown alternative to the US streaming giants. Full article here. Contact us today!
Tapad's, part of Experian, SVP of Identity shows us how marketers might communicate seamlessly through emerging channels like voice, the smart home, and, yes, podcasts.In his relatively new role as senior vice president of identity at Tapad, a part of Experian, Ajit Thupil keeps a close eye on the evolution of marketing as it becomes more intent on using data and identity technology to track ROI. Here he sits with Chris Wood at Tapad’s New York offices to discuss the future of identity. (To capture the inventive atmosphere at this location, the room they chatted in was named after Leonardo da Vinci.) For Thupil, it all comes back to the customer, whether it’s a brand client or a consumer. Brands want measurability and customers demand a seamless experience across the many devices they use in a day. While consumers are understandably reticent about giving up personally identifiable information (PII), current identity solutions use anonymous data profiles to connect the dots at the individual or household level. Given the frequency that users switch devices, along with their tendency to share bigger screens like TVs, there’s no dearth of challenges for this “head of problem solving” to solve. Contact us today!
Joint solution will enhance accuracy and reach across North America, EMEA and APAC NEW YORK, April 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Tapad, a global marketing technology company and leader in digital identity resolution solutions, today announced a new joint capability with Arm®Treasure DataTM , a leader in enterprise customer data management. The partnership combines The Tapad GraphTM technology with Arm Treasure Data's robust enterprise Customer Data Platform (CDP), enabling advertisers in the Arm Treasure Data marketplace to access Tapad's datasets. With the integration of Tapad's Graph and Arm Treasure Data's existing first party data, marketers will be able to deliver scalable, cross-device messaging with precision. In addition, marketers can benefit from anonymous customer journey analysis, audience expansion and online and offline attribution. Arm Treasure Data's APAC market customers will have access to expanded audience reach by leveraging Tapad's global, proprietary datasets. While Tapad will be able to extend its presence into the APAC region, tapping into Arm Treasure Data's existing footprint. "Combining Tapad's Graph with Arm Treasure Data's CDP will enable our customers to make holistic, data-driven decisions that increase ROI," said Chris Feo, SVP of Global Data Licensing and Strategic Partnerships at Tapad. "In combining these two solutions, we can now offer advertisers the value of both technologies to optimize their marketing initiatives and create seamless experiences across multiple devices and channels." "The Tapad GraphTM is a trusted and established platform with a history of innovation," said Stephen Lee, Senior Director, Business Development, Arm Treasure Data. "Integrating Tapad's technology into the Arm Treasure Data CDP will allow for streamlined experiences across markets, achieving global scalable reach." For more information about The Tapad GraphTM, or to request a demo, visit our identity page. Contact us today! About Tapad Tapad, Inc. is a global marketing technology company and leader in digital identity resolution solutions. The Tapad GraphTM, and related solutions, provide a privacy-safe approach to connecting device identifiers to brand and marketer data, thereby allowing for enhanced measurement, attribution, reach and ROI of marketing campaigns. The Tapad GraphTM enables marketers around the world to maximize campaign effectiveness and drive business results. Tapad is recognized across the industry for its innovation, growth and workplace culture, and has earned numerous awards, including the TMCnet Tech Culture Award. Based in New York, Tapad also has offices in Chicago, London, Oslo, Singapore and Tokyo, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telenor Group. About Treasure Data Arm Treasure Data enterprise Customer Data Platform (CDP) unifies data from multiple sources – online, offline, IoT and device generated data – and empowers enterprises to disrupt their markets with superior customer experiences. Our customers are creating transformational customer relationships by connecting the data dots with our CDP. Arm Treasure Data is fully owned by Arm Holdings and has a global customer base of over 300 enterprises including Fortune 500 and Global 2000 companies. Our clients manage over 130 trillion records, resulting in more predictable and profitable business results.