“You have to be creative, but also serious; tactical, but also strategic. Strategic, but also Brian in HR has a better idea of a product launch,” said Handley. “The list goes on, and it’s too contradictory and too hard. B2B marketers are often measured by a set of impossible standards, and we’ve always been at the forefront of change. With ridiculous algorithms, fractured audiences and disruptive AI, I’ve come to realize we’re entering a great B2B Renaissance.”

As marketing shifts away from their tried-and-true tactics, Handley continued by highlighting two startling statistics that outline two major influences behind the Renaissance:

• 95% of buyers aren’t even in-market, and those that are remain anonymous throughout almost the entire journey; and
• When they are ready to buy, 90% already know the vendor they’ll ultimately choose before they start reaching out.

Further outlining the changing dynamics of the B2B environment was Ruth Stevens, President of eMarketing Strategy, with her keynote, “What’s Working In B2B Marketing: New Developments, New Tools & New Techniques.” To kick off her session, Stevens outlined four major factors driving change in B2B today:

• The return of events post-Covid;
• The differing expectations between generational buying groups;
• The increasingly digital preferences of buyers; and
• The declining influence of sales and increasing influence of marketing.

“B2B E-commerce has taken the lead as the most effective sales channel,” said Stevens. “It’s rated No. 1 by 35% of buyers, ahead of in-person sales (26%), video conferences (12%), email (10%) and phone (8%).”

With digitalization and self-service journeys at the forefront of most #B2BMX sessions, the overarching theme across the three-day event revolved around optimizing content and strategies to engage with the chronically online buyer.

Focusing On Brand Experiences To Promote Familiarity

In the digital world, brands that create emotional connections will undoubtedly come out on top. Echoing Dan Gingiss’ day-two keynote, Handley explained that marketers’ traditional focus on highly measurable tactics has left much to be desired brand-wise.

{loadposition GIAA}“We’re over indexing on short-term pipeline and not thinking enough long-term about those emotional connections that we’re building,” she explained. “And when I say brand, I don’t mean just your logo or your look; it’s about your feel and how people are thinking about you. When I think about brand, I think about the Double D’s: Distinction and differentiation.”

Adding to the list of D’s was Dana Harder, Partner and Co-Founder at Unreal Digital Group, in a content panel discussion. She noted the importance of discoverability — particularly in the era of stealth, anonymous buyers.

“If you were to start searching for yourself and your brand on generative AI tools and start having conversations with your clients about it, you’ll be surprised to find out you’re not there,” explained Harder. “You’ll see other companies coming up that might not be in your industry at all, or your competition, and you’re still not here. From a content perspective, that’s going to mean creating more content — it pains me to say it, but you’re going to have bring some product and brand content back in the mix to come up where people are searching.”

Leveraging Real-World Customer Insights To Inform Content Creation

To create content that hits on the Triple D’s (and I’m not talking about Guy Fieri’s show), first- and zero-party data are essential. Sarah Sehgal, Director of Demand Generation for OpenSesame, noted that marketers likely have prospect information at their fingertips.

“Every marketer has excellent access to zero- and first-party data,” said Sehgal. “Zero-party data, specifically, comes from people raising their hands and intentionally sharing information, while first-party is coming from whatever platforms you have on your website that connect into our CRM or marketing automation tool. To generate more first-party insights, you need to go into those systems to segment and activate your audience by action to unlock that type of engagement.”

Sehgal also mentioned that marketers often tend to overcomplicate things, so she encouraged them to embrace simplicity. Taking it one step further was Handley, who added that the best company voices are simple, engaging and even a little weird. With that in mind, Handley noted that a company’s voice isn’t about grammar or punctuation — instead, it’s about their personality on the page.

“The weirder you are in B2B marketing, the more that you will be remembered and the more your content will connect with those around you,” said Handley. “Weird gets a bad rap and people make it seem like a bad thing, but it’s real. It tells the truth, it’s memorable and entertaining, and it stands out from the crowd.”

To learn more about the intricacies of crafting compelling buying experiences, make sure to head over to our recap of the event’s first two days and revisit the third-ever Campfire session.

Feeling some FOMO from missing out on the 2024 B2B Marketing Exchange? The #B2BMX team is already hard at work putting together their next event, B2B Marketing Exchange East, taking place from Oct. 1 to 3 in Alpharetta, Georgia. See you there!

The post #B2BMX Day 3 Recap: Unraveling The Marketer’s Paradox To Enter The B2B Content Renaissance appeared first on Demand Gen Report.

But before practitioners can start executing their 2024 strategies, they need to understand the data that’ll most benefit their business, as well the results they want to see from each dataset.

“There are so many different pieces of intent data — there’s first-party, there’s data from pools and there’s your own data,” said Sarah Sehgal, Director of Growth Marketing at business training platform OpenSesame. “Marketers first need to define what they want their data to look like, and then understand why they want their data to look that way. It’s easy to get distracted and overwhelmed, so you need to focus on your KPIs, what you’re trying to do with your business and pull in the data that will help drive that.”

This report will analyze the current trends in database and contact acquisition strategies, with a specific focus on the increasing role first-party data plays in the current climate. Leveraging new research, specific topics of discussion will include:

• The steps organizations are taking to get ahead of the third-party cookie “apocalypse;”
• How practitioners are bridging the gaps in their database strategies to ensure more accurate and actionable intel;
• The most popular places to store data and the departments that (should) have access to it;
• The top challenges marketers face with all aspects of data, with commentary on the factors impeding data strategies; and
• The specific areas where practitioners are investing to improve their database strategies and contact acquisition.

Preparing For The Upcoming Cookie Demise

With about five months until the privacy hourglass runs out of sand, just 17% of marketers no longer rely on third-party cookies — meaning that the 83% still leveraging that data source are in for a rude awakening. Despite the complexities associated with third-party alternatives, the shift toward opt-in collection processes will ultimately benefit both sides of the buying journey.

Manu Mathew, CEO and Co-founder of brand customer network and engagement platform Cohora, explained that third-party data often restricts brands from interacting with customers meaningfully, because that data is often given to marketers in segments instead of at the individual level.

{loadposition GIAA}“By and large, when a consumer allows third-party data gathering through cookies, they don’t know what they’re consenting to or how their data might be used,” said Mathew “Eighty-six percent of consumers care about data privacy, demanding transparency and control over how businesses use their data, and 47% of the respondents have switched companies due to poor data policies and practices. Because of this, brands are now pushed to find ways to access zero- and first-party data sources that foster a transparent relationship between brands and consumers.”

With that in mind, 61% of practitioners plan on slightly to greatly increasing their budget allotment toward database strategies to onboard more first- and zero-party sources. When asked their top reasons for investing in better data collection processes, survey respondents pointed to:

• Better insights to personalize content and messaging;
• Better data coverage of target accounts for ABM initiatives;
• Deeper intelligence to tie intent signals to specific contacts; and
• Better data to expand total addressable markets and identify new prospects.

Using Alternatives To Generate Better Data

In the current tumultuous work environment, data is at high risk of decaying or growing stale — specifically, 64% of respondents said their No. 1 data challenge in maintaining database quality is old or outdated data.

Other challenges included lack of time and resources to implement an effective process, no standard operating procedure for marketing/sales to keep data up-to-date and not enough data on current customers. To help remedy struggle No. 3, the most effective tactics for acquiring prospect and customer data included:

• Website-based registration forms;
• In-person events and trade shows;
• Content download/offer forms on dedicated landing pages; and
• Subscription databases.

With opt-in information becoming the new currency for marketers, zero- and first-party data will be the cashflow that supports practitioners’ initiatives. Although these data sources might be more difficult to collect — as they require more cooperation from the buyers themselves — it’s ultimately more valuable.

“Direct ownership of zero- and first-party data allows a company to have a much more personalized and intimate relationship with their customers, since they have insight into an individual customer’s interests and preferences,” said Mathew. “In turn, this enhances the overall customer experience by personalizing every step of the journey, not just the initial offer.”

Arguably, the most structurally sound method of ensuring data is easily accessible and useful is to create a single source of truth that both sales and marketing teams can access.

“You need to create a culture of open and honest communication,” said OpenSesame’s Sehgal. “When there are issues with data, you want everyone to feel comfortable to ask those questions and create the space where you can acknowledge, ‘Hey, it’s not all perfect — how do we work together to figure out the nuances and work this out?’”

Conclusion

By exploring these innovative approaches, organizations can harness the power of willingly shared information to build more personalized and ethical customer relationships. Establishing cohesive communication and collaboration among different departments ensures a unified approach to data management, maximizing the effectiveness of database strategies. The integration of alternative sources and internal alignment will remain foundational for success in leveraging databases for sustainable growth and enhanced customer experiences.

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“Historically, brands have relied on third-party data like cookies to track website visitors, improve user experience and collect data for personalization techniques in their marketing efforts,” said Manu Mathew, CEO and Co-founder of brand customer network and engagement platform Cohora. “For better or worse, this is simply how it’s been done for years. Stringent legislation promoted by privacy concerns have left major browsers to phase out support, leaving publishers to face potential losses of more than $10 billion, as reported by the Interactive Advertising Bureau.”

As Chrome plans to extend those restrictions to 100% of users by Q3, only 8% of marketers feel fully prepared to adapt to the changes, while 22% indicated they are mostly prepared. For the 70% who haven’t prepped their alternate strategies, the clock is quickly ticking.

“Marketers may feel unprepared for the phase-out of third-party cookies for various reasons,” explained Carol Howley, CMO of email signature management platform Exclaimer. “The heavy reliance on these cookies for tracking user behavior, targeted ads and campaign measurement is a huge challenge. A lack of familiarity with alternatives adds to the sense of unpreparedness, as some marketers struggle to understand and implement new technologies or strategies.”

The Impact Of The Phase-Out On Marketers & Buyers

With about five months until the privacy hourglass runs out of sand, just 17% of marketers no longer rely on third-party cookies — meaning that the 83% still leveraging that data source are in for a rude awakening.

“The phase-out will have significant implications for marketers, especially those still heavily reliant on tracking user behavior for advertising and analytics purposes,” said Howley. “This will have potential impacts on advertising, analytics, personalization and privacy efforts. It will become more difficult for advertisers to track users across different websites, limiting the precision of targeted ads. Additionally, tracking and attributing conversions will become more complex.”

Despite the complexities associated with third-party alternatives, the shift toward opt-in collection processes will ultimately benefit both sides of the buying journey. Mathew explained that third-party data often restricts brands from interacting with customers meaningfully, because that data is often given to marketers in segments instead of at the individual level. On the flipside, prospects and customers benefit from more control and ownership over their purchasing process.

“By and large, when a consumer allows third-party data gathering through cookies, they don’t know what they’re consenting to or how their data might be used,” said Mathew. “Eighty-six percent of consumers care about data privacy, demanding transparency and control over how businesses use their data, and 47% of the respondents have switched companies due to poor data policies and practices. Because of this, brands are now pushed to find ways to access zero- and first-party data sources that foster a transparent relationship between brands and consumers.”

Analyzing The Alternative Data Sources

As first- and zero-party data bubble up to take the wheel, marketers need to increase the incentives and benefits of information sharing for prospects. Because of this move toward alternative data sources, marketers will be forced to become more creative and in-touch with their customers.

“Marketers need to look for alternatives and create a plan that will move the needle for their business,” said Howley. “This is an incredible opportunity to shake up marketing and do better by your customers and prospects.”

She continued that marketers can explore the possibilities around AI and machine-learning as effective third-party stand-ins. She continued that predictive analytics and customer behavior models built from on-site interactions can replicate the personalized experiences that once hinged on cookies. However, leveraging these tools requires tight internal alignment.

“Collaboration will become an indispensable tool for marketers,” explained Howley. “Strategic partnerships will create paths for shared benefits and strengthened brand identity while preserving user privacy. Marketers will see that the best way to foster trust will be 1:1 communication.”

How To Leverage Alternative Resources For Increased Personalization

With opt-in information becoming the new currency for marketers, zero- and first-party data will be the cashflow that supports practitioners’ initiatives. Although these data sources might be more difficult to collect — as they require more cooperation from the buyers themselves — it’s ultimately more valuable.

“Direct ownership of zero- and first-party data allows a company to have a much more personalized and intimate relationship with their customers, since they have insight into an individual customer’s interests and preferences,” said Mathew. “In turn, this enhances the overall customer experience by personalizing every step of the journey, not just the initial offer.”

Additionally, Howley explained that content-driven strategies will be marketers’ biggest support in their strategy for collecting first-party data. In fact, 62% of marketers plan to increase their database investments in the new year. When it comes to the top reasons for investing in data collection and enrichment practices, 73% of practitioners want to generate better insights to personalize content and messaging.

“We’re now in the era of focusing on creating a strong human-centric brand and the personalization of content at scale,” Howley. “We need to craft every message, every campaign with the individual in mind. The future belongs to brands who adapt and venture down new paths in data management and customer engagement. Marketers have an opportunity to not just adapt, but to thrive and redefine the marketing playbook in a post-third-party cookie era.”

The post Analyzing The Impact Of Google Chrome’s Third-Party Cookie Phase-Out appeared first on Demand Gen Report.

AUDIENCE is designed to leverage a combination of job roles, functions, firmographics and specialized technology intelligence, such as past purchases and installs, through BlueWhale’s partnership with HG Insights to create highly customized campaigns. To help users rely on their existing advertising infrastructure, BlueWhale also invested in third-party audience integration tools. 

“Our tradition of and commitment to delivering tangible ROI for our demand generation customers is constant, reliable and very well-known,” said James Oberhausen, President and General Manager of BlueWhale Research, in a statement. “With the launch of AUDIENCE, we are delighted to offer more opportunities for our clients and agency partners to enjoy the dedicated service and positive outcomes that are characteristic of BlueWhale’s offerings. Digital advertising teams are a new focus for us in our customer base and agency partnerships. Our attention to this important and complex function in marketing and broader go-to-market organizations promises to deliver tremendous value for everyone in 2024 and beyond.”

The post BlueWhale Research Launches Digital Programmatic Display & Social Audience Solution appeared first on Demand Gen Report.

Sendoso, a sending platform, and Alyce, a corporate gifting platform, entered an asset purchase agreement that will combine the personalization power, automation capabilities, smarts and global scale behind the two strategic gifting companies.

Kris Rudeegraap, CEO of Sendoso, explained in a blog post that the company will infuse its AI functionality into Alyce’s recipient-first personalization capabilities to:

• Automatically trigger personalized smart sends based on sending data and social signals;
• Customize the recipient experience; and
• Incorporate strategic gifting into campaigns on a global scale.

“We built this category and now, after learning from hundreds of thousands of users and tens of millions of gifts sent, we’re building the future of AI-enhanced, hyper-personalized gifting,” wrote Rudeegraap in the post. “From one-person startups to Fortune 100 enterprises, we have a solution for every team and company size. We’ve joined forces to create the largest and only gifting solution you will ever need, with the most robust gifting dataset and the security, privacy, governance, scale and service levels you require.”

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Specifically, the innovations include:

• Campaign Outcomes, which allows customers to pick their ideal campaign outcomes and then utilizes Demandbase’s Demand Side Platform (DSP) to optimize each impression and campaign strategy;
• Campaign Influence Metrics that reportedly make it easier to review B2B-specific influences, such as increases in website engagement, pipeline and revenue;
• Creative Library Enhancements that provide digital marketers with more control over their creative assets to create and launch native, video and connected TV campaigns within the campaign builder; and
• Job Level and Job Function Exclusions designed to prevent impressions from being served to people outside of the buying group, regardless of their intent level.

“While our expert teams will always be here to partner with customers on successful campaign strategy, we have also always had a significant AI component behind our DSP and are excited to offer more self-serve capabilities,” said Gareth Noonan, General Manager, Advertising at Demandbase, in a statement.

The post Demandbase Reveals AI-Powered Advertising Innovations appeared first on Demand Gen Report.

A Resurging Marketing Channel

Direct mail, often considered a traditional marketing tactic, has experienced a resurgence in recent years. According to RR Donnelley’sDonnelley’s (RRD) Modern Marketers Report, 42% of consumers expressed an increased interest in receiving direct mail compared to the previous year. Among younger age groups, particularly those aged 18-26, there was a notable enthusiasm for direct mail, with 61% expressing agreement. This shift in perception highlights the untapped potential of direct mail for hyper-personalized marketing journeys.

One key strategy that sets the Arbor Day Foundation apart is keeping a priority on direct mail in an era dominated by digital clutter. In a landscape where email inboxes are flooded with promotional messages and social media feeds are laden with ads, direct mail stands out as a tangible, trustworthy channel for communication.

A Legitimate & Personal Channel

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of customers report feeling overwhelmed by digital brand communications, specifically via email. At the same time, nearly half (46%) are more cautious about sharing personal data online. With the overpowering nature of email communications and growing concerns with online data privacy, the opportunity for direct mail to emerge as the go-to trustworthy and personal channel is here.

It’s this perception that has helped to support the marketing needs of the Arbor Day Foundation. We’ve heard directly from the foundation’s members that they appreciate legitimate, physical pieces of information they can keep around and revisit. The Modern Marketers Report confirmed this, showing that 47% of customers also noted a preference for direct mail due to their appreciation for having a tangible copy of information for reference, in addition to finding it easier to remember than email and enjoying the excitement of opening physical mail.

By leveraging direct mail’s hyper-personalization capabilities, the Arbor Day Foundation also ensures that its message reaches donors in a way that resonates with them on a personal and local level. Direct mail recipients can see and hear what is going on in their immediate area as it relates to the foundation’s goals and activities.

Cutting Through The Noise

As RRD and the Arbor Day Foundation continue to collaborate, direct mail holds strong as a marketing channel that cuts through the noise. Recognizing its members are bombarded with messaging all day every day, the Arbor Day Foundation knows the importance of meeting them, as well as potential members, where they want to be met. The nonprofit’s success underscores the importance of this tactic in maximizing marketing program return on investment, especially in today’s unpredictable economic climate.

Digital channels often dominate the marketing conversation, but mediums like direct mail that emanate trustworthiness and personalization remain a force to be reckoned with in the marketing landscape. And for nonprofits like the Arbor Day Foundation, it’s a go-to method for reaching their mission-driven goals.

Tim Pietrini is the VP of Strategic Development at RRD, a provider of marketing, packaging, print and supply chain solutions. Prior to his current appointment, Pietrini served as the company’s Marketing Strategist.

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The company seeks to help B2B businesses turn ads into sales multipliers by:

• Running person-based ads in sync with sales;
• Gaining transparency between sales and marketing; and
• Tracking revenue impact from the first touch to a closed deal.

The Lowdown

Influ2 V2 represents an advanced stage in the evolution of the company’s unique technology, designed specifically to align the B2B marketing and sales teams around crucial metrics, such as pipeline generation and revenue, and precisely attribute the marketing influence. With this release, Influ2 intends to establish itself as a comprehensive solution for end-to-end revenue marketing.

Back-Of-The-Box Details

Influ2 V2’s revenue reporting capabilities work to bridge the gap between GTM leadership needs and demonstrate the impact of marketing activities on revenue generation. By consistently tracking the impact from first touch through to a closed deal, marketers can continually optimize their campaigns to improve the revenue impact of their advertising efforts. This empowers businesses to measure and analyze the alignment between marketing and sales, ensuring that both teams are working in sync toward common revenue-centric goals.

Who It’s For

Recognizing the importance of marketing and sales alignment, Influ2 V2’s privacy-first technology facilitates and accelerates ongoing collaboration between departments to drive increased conversions by turning ads into a sales multiplier. Marketers can prioritize prospects for sales based on the individual’s engagement with the advertising campaign and provide guidance on the specific advertising messages that resonate with each target buying group and key decision makers. This ensures targets are engaged as people with real interests versus as faceless organizations. Both sales and marketing can track contact-level intent through integrations with CRM and other systems.

What It Solves

With Influ2 V2 multi-stage journeys, marketers can customize outreach strategies based on individual engagement to move prospects through the buying journey. Marketers can create rules based on metrics like number of impressions, clicks, sales outreach and more that customize the prospects’ experiences. This personalized approach ensures that each customer receives the right messaging at the right time, maximizing engagement and conversion rates.

What Makes It Special

Influ2 V2 includes several core features: Cohort designer, multi-stage buying journeys, a sales priorities dashboard with contact-level intent and revenue reporting, which connects marketing influence to sales results.

Contact

Influ2
1250 Borregas Avenue #44
Sunnyvale, CA 94089, USA
Phone: 1 (408) 675-9057

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The Importance of Data-Driven ABM

According to Gartner, the typical buying group for a complex B2B solution involves six to 10 decision-makers, each armed with four or five pieces of information they’ve gathered independently and must reconcile with the group. This is where data comes into play: Marketers need data to not only identify the accounts actively in-market, but also to prioritize the buying group members within these trending accounts who are researching and engaging with relevant content and messaging. By utilizing data analytics tools and technologies, marketers can improve targeting efficiency by focusing on the accounts aiming to purchase a solution and the buyers with significant involvement in the decision-making process.

What’s more, data-driven ABM enables marketers to monitor the effectiveness of their campaigns with greater accuracy. By measuring success based on real-time pipeline impact, marketers can determine optimization opportunities faster based on multichannel engagement.

The Role Of Personalization In B2B Marketing

While personalization was once considered a “nice touch,” it’s now a marketing standard: McKinsey research revealed that 80% of consumers are likelier to purchase from brands that offer personalized experiences. By creating personalized experiences and content, marketers can establish a deeper connection with their audience, increase engagement and drive conversions.

Personalization goes beyond simply addressing a customer by their name; instead, it involves tailoring the entire customer experience to match their unique preferences, pain points and interests. This can be achieved through various tactics, such as personalized email marketing, targeted content creation and customized product recommendations. It also involves an engagement strategy that delivers content and messaging that speaks to their specific and individual pain points at each stage of the funnel.

This is where an account-based strategy comes into play — by personalizing campaign strategy at every stage of the sales cycle, marketers can increase conversion rates by choosing content and messaging that uniquely meets buying committees with the information needed. According to Forrester, 56% of marketers validate this approach, saying personalized content is key to a successful ABM strategy. The beauty of ABM lies in its ability to understand an account and engage with them at a level that demonstrates empathy in a way other B2B tactics can’t. By delivering tailored content and messaging to specific segments, marketers can increase the likelihood of engagement and conversion.

Implementing Data-Driven Personalization Strategies

To effectively leverage data and personalization in ABM, marketers must adopt several key strategies to create more targeted campaigns that resonate with their audience and drive results:

1. Break Down Data Silos

With nearly half of organizations (47%) pointing to siloed data as their biggest barrier to gaining buyer insights, marketers need to deconstruct these data silos with tools and ABM platforms. The best systems combine an organization’s first-party customer data with their proprietary historical performance data.

2. Develop Accurate Buyer Personas

By creating detailed buyer personas, marketers can better understand their audience’s motivations, pain points and preferences. Using first-party data in combination with third-party data sources such as intent, technographic and historical engagement helps marketers develop stronger buyer personas.

3. Design Personalized Content & Messaging

Serving generic, broad and impersonalized content to any single decision-maker typically won’t move the needle. Marketers should consider engaging with other teams — such as sales and customer success — to better understand target accounts.

 4. Implement A Multichannel, Full-Funnel Strategy

Buyers don’t typically spend all their time researching solutions on one site. To effectively engage accounts, marketers must surround all buying committee members with personalized information through a multichannel approach. When used with a multichannel approach, a full-funnel strategy provides potential customers with a comprehensive and consistent experience throughout the buying journey, from initial awareness of a problem to post-purchase engagement.

5. Continuously Measure & Optimize

Data-driven personalization strategies must be constantly measured, tested and optimized for optimal results. Instead of looking at vanity metrics like impressions, open rates, site visits and downloads, focus on data points that help drive improvements over time. This could be the changes in pipeline volume, velocity and the measurable value an account provides.A/B testing can also compare different personalization approaches and determine which strategies are most effective.

Today’s buyers have all the power and require much more personalized and relevant experiences throughout the buying journey. By embracing data to develop more targeted and personalized campaigns, marketers will stay ahead in the competitive landscape and maximize their marketing ROI.

Vin Turk is the Chief Operating Officer of Madison Logic, an account-based marketing platform.

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Data pricing for audience augmentation and ad targeting is still stagnating where display inventory was more than a decade ago, when publishers could create a rate card using best guesses and competitive intelligence. Programmatic advertising emerged and inventory pricing evolved significantly. There was a period where good inventory was commoditized as part of a drive towardscale, and now we’re in a period where inventory is priced somewhat in line with its perceived value. 

I predict data is on a similar path.

No More Data Abuse

Throughout the inventory pricing roller coaster, the data itself was priced with a fixed CPM. While inventory has matured and programmatic bidding has proliferated, one fact holds true — only one ad can be placed per impression. 

On the other hand, hundreds of different brands can buy the same data and use it ad infinitum. Because of this ability for data to be used repeatedly, it has been misused and incorrectly valued. The lag of reporting and lack of control and insight over data use and pricing has led to some ridiculous situations.

Media buyers target using disparate data sets and don’t use any universal frequency cap. They amass data into target audience groups that are preposterously huge, much larger than the real population of soccer moms or sports fans that they are targeting. And when competitors use the same data to target the same audience, they gain absolutely zero competitive advantage.

By now, many media buyers have gotten a bit smarter about how they use data for targeting, efficiently breaking things apart into multiple attributes, evaluating data partners across multiple audiences and organizing them so that each one is its own tactic, with tens, if not hundreds, of rows or micro targets to test and optimize. But the price and value of data still exists in some realm outside of how it’s actually used and how frequently.   

A Change In Data Prices

Interestingly, the demise of third-party cookies has led marketers to take data more seriously. B2B marketers plan to increase their use of zero-party data by 30%, and first-party data by 26%. The increasing focus on their own data will bring the value of data in general into focus. Marketers already realize they aren’t going to be able to rely solely on their own data and are starting to scrutinize their data partners in new ways. 

There are a few changes coming to data that will create the opportunity for it to behave more like programmatic inventory, where it’s priced based on the market, with special deals and pricing on the side. As more brands accurately test and measure the performance of different data sets, they’ll be more confident about buying what works. Good data, from companies who take privacy and content seriously, will be in higher demand, and data providers can confidently change their prices based on the market response. 

What’s more, just like media buyers pay a premium to ensure that their competitors can’t advertise near them on a page, it’s likely marketers will also pay a premium to limit who else has access to data to ensure they have unique insights. Just like today’s programmatic guaranteed and PMP deals for inventory, it’s likely there will be similar deals for data — like getting “first dibs” on people who are shopping for a new car. 

A New Era Of Data Pricing

The changes in advertising influenced by the shift from third-party to first-party data open the door for a few different changes to data pricing, such as:

1. More bulk deals with agencies. Most holding companies have close relationships with data providers already. It’s possible that agencies continue with bulk deals to get data at a discount and then work with their clients to price the data in a way that works for them. This works best for big data sets that are used at scale across a lot of brands.
2. Dynamic bidding on data that’s more like today’s programmatic inventory market. The only difference is that until now, inventory was scarce and data was not. But there is the potential of adding scarcity to the market. If good data is used by too many companies, it’s possible that marketing performance goes down, creating a need for a mechanism to limit the number of companies that can buy it, thus increasing the price.
3. Cost of media model through programmatic channels. While it won’t work for all cases, applying pricing to data based on the cost of media could become more popular with advertisers who want to use audience targeting at scale in a way that’s affordable by capping the cost of data to the price of the media buy. 

The majority of marketers — 70% — said that consumer data is the lifeblood of their organization, and the move to identity and first-party data gives marketers more control, insight and confidence to fine tune the way they use data. Smart marketers will get ahead of the curve and start forging the right data partnerships early, lock in good prices and gain access to the data that delivers the best performance before the coming surge in demand for the good stuff. 

Ben Goldman is the SVP of Business Development for Anteriad, a provider of full-funnel marketing solutions.

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