Forrester Research provides solutions on how to tackle the challenge of data deprecation.
The industry is currently witnessing the introduction of alot of new regulations by governments and companies. Browser updates from tech giants like Google, government regulations on consumer privacy, user-consented data sharing by Apple, etc. These initiatives lead to data deprecation. Data deprecation is the reduction in consumer data available for use in data-driven marketing.
Data deprecation will hamper many popular marketing tactics by restricting the consumer, audience, and marketing performance data that fuels marketing strategies. According to a new study by research and advisory company, Forrester, 73% of brand respondents are concerned about increasing privacy regulations and how it will disrupt business operations. With new features that allow consumer the right to decline sharing any information, 70% of respondents are worried that consumers will decline sharing information for marketing purposes.
But while marketers are wallowing in their sorrow, publishers see this as a golden opportunity. This is a window of hope of publishers to not only work better with their brand clients and advertisers(50%) but also figure out ways to monetize their first party data.
How are brands reacting to the changes right now?
Brands are shifting their strategies in the face of data deprecation. While publishers have expressed the upside of this deprecation, only 39% of brand respondents say they use publishers’ first-party data in half or more of their marketing campaigns today.
These respondents are getting a head start on pivoting from third-party cookie-dependent strategies to more ethical and sustainable approaches.
What are publishers doing?
Publishers realize they will play an important role in the future of customer data-driven marketing. Right now, publishers are recognizing the need for additional technology to ensure they collect data compliantly and use it appropriately to derive and leverage audience insights in an effective, ethical manner. Nearly 40% of publishers realize they must solve for impacts to data collection, monetization, compliance, and legal/regulatory risk.
The first-party data of publishers will be a key source of customer insights for brands. Publishers are working hard to build out their data monetization capabilities, keen to supplement their subscription and/or ad revenue through brand partnerships. 95% of publishing decision-makers report having started building their first-party data monetization strategies already, though just 28% are ready now with an established, implemented strategy.
Out of the 59% of brand leaders who have adopted publishers’ first-party data to fuel their marketing strategies, 36% are still building their strategies, and just 23% have created a formal strategy today.
Opportunity
Customer data is the fuel for a brands’ modern marketing efforts, but brands have treated data ethics as an afterthought, creating creepy and even harmful experiences as a result. Data deprecation is both a reflection and warning of the fact that brands can’t achieve their marketing goals at the expense of customer trust. Brand decision-makers recognize this, as their top three priorities cover improving marketing efficiency (36%) customer trust (36%) and satisfaction (33%).
Even publishers see customer trust as a major driver of their future strategies which is why they're prioritizing on improving customer satisfaction and trust ahead of traditional revenue drivers like increasing subscriptions or building and monetizing first-party data strategies.
Brands and publishers can tackle data deprecation through direct relationships that enable broader customer insights and additional revenue opportunities. 80% brand leaders report having direct relationships with at least one publisher today while 48% have developed five or more such direct relationships already.
Publishers are working hard to build out data monetization strategies to increase subscriptions and gain more first-party data. These strategies let them build better audience-driven insights across anonymous first-party data sources and can strengthen brand relationships.
