Identity and data create a solid framework for marketers to build winning strategies, but the actual execution requires more than those two components. Data bolstered by identity is best used with technology that can activate and measure campaigns with it.

In a new article from Digiday, Rob Webster, a former senior executive with GroupM who now leads an AI consultancy called TAU Marketing Solutions, highlighted the importance of bridging those gaps for better outcomes.

“It’s all about match rates [between advertisers’ desired audience and a media owners’ registered users],” he said, adding that Epsilon is seen as a “pace-setter” when it comes to advertising offerings.

He goes on to question how Epsilon is so far ahead of the pack, but the reality is that our activation layer is what sets our data and identity apart—and it makes our measurement even better. We’re able to optimize every step of the process because we can build, launch and measure campaigns.

A first-party data foundation

First-party data is a powerful tool. Brands understand the importance of it, especially in lieu of third-party identifier deprecation and privacy regulatory changes. But many brands know they can do more with the data they already have.

A solid data strategy starts with a basic question: what is the current state of my data collection today? Some brands will have a lot of data at their fingertips, while others may need a way to collect more data or augment the data available to them.

• Build: Things like loyalty programs and (email, app, SMS, for example) are great ways to begin building that rich first-party data.
• Collect: Find the right solution to collect your data in a privacy-safe environment, like a customer data platform (CDP).
• Augment: For brands without a lot of first-party data, a clean room solution serves as a great tool for augmenting your data by enhancing it with partner data in a privacy-safe, secure space.

But this is just the foundation. Once you have data, you want to make sure you can actually use it.

Identity resolution creates a clear picture

First-party data can tell you a lot about your customers, but alone, it won’t tell you everything. Consumers live in and outside of your owned channels. A holistic understanding of their preferences, behaviors and attributes create a clearer picture of who they are and what they want, including what channels most resonate with them and which devices they use.

Connecting these behaviors allows marketers to tailor their experiences and messages based on what consumers actually like and respond to. Identity resolution can help by cleaning, aligning and enriching first-party data to fill in data gaps, including connecting an individual person to multiple devices and emails.

This helps brands do more with their data by often doing less. It reduces over-frequencing and identifies the best opportunities for media spend. It can also reveal customers who love you that aren’t in your file and identify messages and formats to engage consumers on an individual level, meaning they’re more likely to act.

Knowing what makes a customer tick creates a deeper relationship with them. But how are you using that knowledge?

Activating your first-party data

Strong data – that connects directly to activation channels - allows marketing to perform more effectively. It gives marketers concrete building blocks on an individual and aggregate level, tailoring tactics to actually deploy strategies and campaigns.

What often happens, though, is brands are using disparate tech solutions that may have data and identity with one (or multiple) partners, and then use other partners for the activation step. Although this is common practice in the industry today, it can degrade the quality of the campaign because the activation platform can’t reach the identified people, or maybe it can reach them, but it can’t connect the success of a campaign back to those individuals. This makes the connection between a brand’s data collection and management strategy and their media activation partner critical.

To solve for this, more brands are adopting a connected tech stack. They are choosing martech and adtech solutions designed to work together, wherein martech builds the foundation for campaigns and adtech deploys them.

Interconnected tech creates a centralized system for all of your marketing and advertising to feed off. All activations come from the same dynamic data—which reduces fragmentation and maintains data fidelity—and ultimately offers holistic collection that can be unified on a person-level through identity resolution.

You’re creating a closed-loop system that continually learns and evolves as your customers and brand do, too. And with things like AI and machine learning, you’re simultaneously building strong predictive models that anticipate your customers' needs. This not only helps you engage your customers in more meaningful ways, but it also elicits stronger customer affinity for your brand.

Measurement matters

Measurement is the bread and butter of a marketing campaign. When fueled by strong data and identity, and activated through a single source of truth, brands can rest assured that their measurement is accurate and granular. When using martech and adtech in conjunction with things like AI and machine learning, you're enabling your data to continue to get better.

You can measure true campaign performance and adjust your strategy to meet your goals. And, with closed-loop reporting, those insights go back into your first-party data. That means as your customers change, you change with them. You can see a person's preferences and needs as they evolve, and because of that, you can reach them in the right way every time.

Holistic solutions are built for this type of feedback loop. As campaigns progress, marketers get feedback on success and can apply insights back to their data and adjust the strategy in the future.

Questions to ask your vendor:

• Can my martech/adtech solutions enhance my existing first-party data to build more robust insights?
• Is there a solution I can use if I want/need to collaborate with trusted partners on data?
• Do my martech solutions plug directly into my media activation solution? Is there an option to provide both as part of the same tech stack?
• For media activation tools, what channels can I currently use for ad campaigns? And how well does my current first-party data match to people that can be reached on those channels?
• Is my attribution and measurement connected back to my original data and identity?

Finding solutions that are designed specifically to work together can be a game-changer. Higher performing ad campaigns require not only a strong adtech solution for deployment, but martech solutions that can set a brand in the right direction on day one.

With Epsilon, you can build a real connected tech stack across data, identity, activation and measurement.  powers our martech and ad tech tools, helping our clients reach more in-market customers and activate high-performing media campaigns. And you can have confidence in your data security and fidelity.