Thriving in the age of privacy regulation: A first-party data strategy

Abstract

This paper reviews the recent legislative and policy changes in the area of consumer data privacy and their impact on the effectiveness of the most popular tool for tracking customers — the third-party cookie. With third-party tracking rendered mostly ineffective, the authors present the case for marketers to implement a stronger first-party data strategy to fill the gaps left by these changes. First-party data strategies provide significant advantages over third-party techniques, including broader controls for customer data capture and the ability to generate a deeper understanding of customer behaviour and intent; they are also easier to integrate into the marketing analytic and operational process. Additionally, the authors outline the advantages of a first-party data strategy for implementing real-time identification and tracking of customers — something that third-party strategies cannot deliver. All of this can be achieved while staying in compliance with changing regulations that control the timing and use of customer data. Increasingly, the future of customer digital marketing is private, respectful, in real time and first-party.