Marketers jump into bed to build first-party data-sets

team-2Marketers are increasingly joining forces with complementary partners to combine data from internal and external sources and unlock valuable insights are they strive to get closer to their customers.

So says a new report by LiveRamp, the Summer of Data Partnerships, which has been carried out with research company Censuswide, which explores the role of data collaboration in helping marketers “romance” their audience and examines priorities for marketers in the current climate.

It reveals that 94% of marketing chiefs are eager to collaborate to enhance their first-party data strategies.
Nearly three-fifths (59%) of decision-makers described retail media as “an important part” of their media plan and a further third (34%) described retail media as something that they were “increasingly beginning to adopt”.

This may not come as a huge surprise to many as retail media is forecast to account for 60% of all global ad spend by 2027, and is expected to hit 25% growth in the UK this year, according to GroupM.

The drive for collaboration is being driven marketers being most concerned about “understanding the whole customer journey” (42%), rising from 26% in Q4 2022.

When asked what marketers consider to be the most important “metrics that matter”, brand awareness came out on top (58%), suggesting a shift in the value of brand marketing even during times of economic turbulence.

This was followed by return on ad spend (45%) and category reach (39%) highlighting the importance of providing effectiveness.

When it comes to data maturity, the majority of respondents described their company’s approach to data as “mature” (90%). However, nearly half (49%) said that they could not find audiences to match data-led customer insights “all of the time”, indicating a lack of confidence in turning customer insights into executable campaigns.

LiveRamp UK managing director Hugh Stevens said: “The cost of living crisis is forcing consumers to feel the squeeze on their incomes, ultimately changing their buying habits. So while we’re gearing up for a hotly-competitive summer, marketers are prioritising getting to know their customers better and maintaining long-term, mutually-beneficial relationships.

“Data collaboration is increasingly being recognised as a crucial element in the matchmaking process between brand and customer.

“A well-matched data partnership can provide a huge opportunity for greater addressability and measurement. Those that do not already have a mature data strategy will likely be playing catch-up with competitors. Marketers need to act now or risk falling behind.”

Related stories
Retail media to rescue as Brexit still haunts UK market
Retail media to hit £21bn in drive for first-party data
Tesco reboots media platform for ‘precision at scale’
DunnHumby and Boots strike data deal for ITVX tool
Morrisons launches inhouse agency for brand owners
Sainsbury’s opens ‘self-service’ online ad platform
Boots taps into Advantage Card for data-driven agency