Marketers face hurdles in leveraging first-party data

Cint and Lotame have released a joint report highlighting significant challenges faced by marketers and agencies in leveraging first-party data to reach consumers directly.

Entitled 'The State of Data Collaboration: A Global Perspective', the report underscores the difficulties marketers and agencies encounter in the landscape of pervasive data challenges and ongoing investments in marketing and data technology. It reveals that 70% of those surveyed acknowledge the critical importance of utilising first-party data.

The survey, conducted across multiple countries, identifies the leading challenge as finding quality data enrichment and collaboration partners. Closely following this is the limitation of first-party data collection in providing a comprehensive picture. To address these issues, more than half of marketers (53%) and agencies (50%) intend to utilise artificial intelligence.

A significant reliance on third-party cookies for consumer identification persists, with nearly a third of marketers (32%) and over a fifth of agencies (21%) entirely dependent on them. To compensate, a mixed approach to identity solutions, using an average of 2.6 and 2.9 solutions by marketers and agencies respectively, is becoming prevalent.

The research further notes a predicted decline in programmatic spending, with 55% of marketers and 45% of agencies expecting a decrease. Additionally, future advertising budgets are anticipated to be equally divided between closed platforms, also known as 'walled gardens', and the open web.

Laura Manning, SVP, Measurement at Cint, comments, "This research offers a deeper view of how marketers and agencies are navigating the current advertising challenges. The findings reveal a range of strategies being adopted, but the primacy of first-party data remains, even if it is now problematic to ensure that data is totally fit for purpose as 98% of marketers and agencies say they encounter barriers in data orchestration and utilisation."

"As the industry continues to evolve, we see a growing emphasis on innovative solutions to enhance audience targeting, personalization, and overall data orchestration and activation – and the research certainly suggests a willingness to invest in this as 99% of respondents plan to adopt new marketing technologies and 96% plan to adopt new data technologies."

Andy Monfried, CEO of Lotame, adds, "The landscape is undergoing yet another significant transformation, as marketers continue to recognize the blockers to engaging prospects amid an addressability gap. Orchestrating and activating data remains a major struggle for marketers and agencies, both inside and outside their organizations. However, they are finally overcoming this barrier through a combination of technology and shift in mindset. Rather than becoming mini walled gardens, marketers and agencies are realizing that a rising tide lifts all boats and are embracing a collaborative approach to data — enabled by data collaboration platforms."

'The State of Data Collaboration: A Global Perspective' offers detailed insights into how marketers and agencies worldwide are tackling data challenges in the changed context of digital advertising without third-party cookies. The findings from this survey, conducted by Cint, are based on responses from over 1,200 industry professionals across the UK, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Singapore, and North America between June and July 2024. It covers facets such as the state of data use with and without cookies, advertising investment distribution, the evolution of technology stacks, and understanding of data collaboration.