To deliver cost-efficient, effective marketing campaigns, brands often need to take a fresh look at the types of data they collect, what it’s telling them and how they work with it. As we move towards a world where audiences have more control over their privacy, it’s time to explore the differences between data categories and what the future holds.
What’s so good about cookies?
Many businesses have built their marketing strategy around using third-party data, derived from cookies, to produce insight about their target audience. From the information these cookies provide, marketers can interpret users’ website interactions such as browsing activity, purchases and preferences. After analysis, marketers serve ads and content relevant to their target audience’s interests.
All is well and good so far. A smart data-supported marketer now has a base-level intelligence platform from which to make crucial decisions and tweaks to improve lead gen performance, the business’s productivity and hopefully get that bonus.
But the future for using this type of data is limited. According to research by Pew Research Centre, 79% of adults report being concerned about the way their data is being viewed and used by companies, while 81% think the potential risks of data collection by companies, outweigh the benefits.
Calling time on cookies
This increased feeling of mistrust is one of the main reasons why Google said they’re not going to offer any level of user identity for ad tracking on Chrome i.e. cookies. They announced they will be phasing them out by the end of 2024. Originally they were going to end the use of cookies by the end of 2023 but recently announced they have pushed it back to the end of 2024 “in response to feedback from the industry”. This follows initiatives already taken by Safari and Firefox, who stopped using cookies a while ago. But with Google’s Chrome having 65% of the global browser share worldwide, it’s their announcement that has led to the cookie crumbling fear among digital advertisers.
DIDs and how they’re used
While the use of cookies is commonplace in a marketer’s toolbox, there is another way to access insight into consumer behaviour – Device IDs or DIDs. DIDs are a string of numbers that identify individual devices and give real-time insight using device-based interactions.
Understanding information such as an individual’s downloads, in-app purchases, geographic region or subscription fees, presents excellent insights into these potential consumers and which ads or content they’re likely to enjoy.
The big advantage that DIDs have over cookies came to light with the increase in mobile usage. While cookies are ideal for monitoring behaviour on websites, DIDs can monitor customer behaviour on apps. With 92% of mobile usage time spent on apps or games, DIDs have a distinct advantage in our mobile-first world. Added to which DIDs last the lifetime of the device, while a cookie is typically around for just 30 days.
A dramatic drop in DIDs sharing
But there is a spanner in the works for the future of DIDs. Previously with Apple’s Device IDs, known as IDFAs, the permission was automatically set to ‘opt-in’ when the device left the factory. Not only that, the access to turn DIDs ‘off’ was buried deep in the settings so it wasn’t common knowledge that consumers had control over who tracked their activity.
With the launch of Apple’s iOS 14 however, allowing actions to be tracked through DIDs is now something that users need to actively opt-in to. When users open a new app, they’re given the choice to opt-in or opt-out of being tracked, allowing users to take control of their privacy.
According to CNET, since the launch of iOS 14, it’s estimated that just 5% of iPhone users in the US share their DID. Before the update, the number was as high as 70%.
Getting to know DAD
With Google’s cookie announcement and Apple’s iOS 14 opt-in policy for DIDs, marketers are finding new approaches to their digital strategy. Welcome to the bright future of DAD or Directly Addressable Data, also known as PII (Personally Identifiable Information) data.
Defined as information that leads to identifying a specific individual, this rich data is the future for building lasting relationships with consumers. Details such as email, date of birth, driver’s licence number, debit card number, name and address are all considered DAD.
The enormous advantage of understanding your audience at an individual level is being able to serve ads and communication they actually want to see and have given marketers permission to do so. Using this type of data can give your audience a much better and deeper brand experience to stand out against ads that are obviously designed for a mass audience and can be mostly irrelevant.
But due to the very nature of the information gathered, this data can be tricky to obtain and difficult to get the required level of permission to use the data as the individual’s control over the data naturally increases at this level.
A win win situation for everyone
With growing concerns over how individual data is being gathered and used, never has it been more important to think about how your ads are seen across your chosen media channels. Serving irrelevant ads or using retargeting methods for example will only add to the already established fears over how much an individual can trust a brand and how they are using the data.
Creating a smaller but richer database of individuals who have a positive experience with the brand, encourages longer and deeper relationships for the future, based on trust and respect.
Your data collection strategy
Now is the time to invest in collecting a database of DAD data to underpin all your future campaigns and develop a closer relationship with your customer base. Understanding their needs and expectations will lead to better customer interactions and long-term brand loyalty.
Promotigo has a range of digital experiences to collect consumer data which are quick and easy to implement and deliver compliant first and zero-party data. Through gamification, our experiences entertain and create that all-important good first impression of the brand while collecting information to increase engagement. This first step is crucial to building a sales pipeline worth nurturing and learning from, it’s human-based tech for an increasingly cold digital world.
Wouldn’t you rather know your prospects better?
If you’d like to talk to anyone about how our experiences help create DAD data, please email info@promotigo.com.
