“Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman
This Month’s Update:
While there is no doubt that the evolution of “Big Data” has been transformative in the way companies do business every day and how customer expectations have changed as a result, I do have doubts around the effectiveness on how companies have harnessed the value offered by big data in the realm of marketing and customer management. Improvements have certainly been made, but there still remain vast opportunities to take things even further. From an academic perspective, the “Brand” companies have embraced the principles of One to One Marketing first introduced by Don Peppers and Martha Rodgers so long ago. The challenge is one however that has existed so equally long ago… how do we balance the cost of precision vs. the opportunity of scale.
At the onset the cost of precision was realized in the lack of technology to effectively execute one to one marketing or what has since evolved to CRM or now People Based Marketing (PBM). One quick view of the marketing and advertising technology landscape suggests that many people and firms have invested in technology that more cost effectively executes PBM and for quite a while now, companies have invested in these technologies, believing that the marketing dilemma had been solved and the money would start flowing in. But something happened along the way and the money has not come the way everyone hoped. So what did happen? I would posit that people confused the idea of precision with another term… accuracy. Accuracy both in matching data attributes and signals to the correct person and accuracy in consistently applying person level messaging across media.
The biggest threat to accuracy of course is if a defined “individual” you market to is real or not. The level of false or AI driven interactions online is only increasing every day. The second threat is the black box approach of many ad tech vendors, who are compensated on a volume-based approach and will therefore do everything they can to increase customer matches and expand audience scale to “look a likes” in an effort to increase their revenues at the expense of brand marketer performance. The solution to all of this is for brands to demand greater control and visibility into their customer interactions through their ad and mar tech partners. As the world of marketing continues to shift to a greater DTC approach and omnichannel marketing is the path to success, brands need to lead, not follow in the marketing process.
Privacy highlights:
Lawmakers from both parties appear ready to introduce bills that could begin the process of weakening the Big Tech monopolies and break Google’s (and the other big techs) stranglehold on the advertising business. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), supported by the likes of Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), is looking to introduce a bill in the next few weeks
that would bar tech giants like Google from controlling multiple parts of the online ad supply chain, enabling them to extort larger than fair fees to execute online ads.
The big news around privacy, however, has been the recent actions on the part of the US government to ready the US digital infrastructure for any potential cyber-attacks, and the associated warnings to US businesses, that might result follow Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) recently introduced legislation requiring all critical infrastructure owners and operators to notify CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) of ransomware payments within 24 hours and of substantial cyberattacks within 72 hours.
Coming out of last month’s National privacy Day, here is a summary of activity in the US as compiled by The National Law Review:
Several privacy laws will go into effect within the next 18 months in California (the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), which is effective on January 1, 2023), Colorado (the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), which is effective on July 1, 2023), Virginia (the Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA), which is effective on January 1, 2023), and New York (the Employee Monitoring and amendment to the New York Civil Rights Law), which is effective on May 7, 2022. In addition, privacy rights legislation is under consideration in the following states: Alaska, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
In the EU, the National Law Review offers:
2022 will see a wave of data protection legislation, including the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, Data Governance Act, ePrivacy Regulation, NIS II Directive (Security of Network and Information Systems), Artificial Intelligence Act, and the Data Governance Act.
We encourage you to also visit our content blog where you can get the latest news and thoughts on industry issues. While you are there, please also check out our website to gain a clearer understanding of Identity, Data, and all the services we have to offer.
Should you look for more help on these topics, please reach out and we would be happy to help. Email us at connect@adstradata.com.
Our insights are again only a small fraction of what is being shared out there. Here are some other interesting articles and opinions we thought to share to both inform and inspire discussion.
It is certainly a confusing topic to fully understand, what is 1st Party Data, what is 2nd Party data and what is 0 party data. Dan LeBlanc does a nice job trying to detail out the differences of 1st and zero party data here. Brands ability to control their data is the way back to taking control from the likes of Facebook ( masking now as Meta).
Understanding First vs Zero Party Data
With all the flow of data these days, it is important to get a handle on who are the better players in the data space going forward. Many of the names are not the ones you would typically expect… We of course like #19. Seems like folks out there are noticing.
The Top 25 Data Software Companies of 2022
While they haven’t announced a clear timeline, it appears Google is well on their way to follow Apple’s recent changes to their iOS software and begin to implement equivalent changes on their Android platform.
And back to our “In case you missed it”, we wanted to share our CPO Jason Bier’s recent piece in AdExchanger that suggests that 3rd Party cookies might not be going away as quick as we all think given the anti-trust activity that is going on and what we are seeing happening in Europe. He’s not saying we can keep our heads in the sand here, but we can say the sky might not be falling as quick as we thought.
Don’t count 3 Party cookies out just yet
We can all use a little positivity and fun in life. Here are some of the recent items we wanted to share with everyone:
Since 1970, Black History Month serves as a celebration highlighting the momentous achievements of Black people in the United States. From trailblazing music genres and movements that influenced government policies to the creation of new vernaculars, powerful messages delivered by abolitionists, and soulful artistic expressions, here are 17 terms Black history helped define.
17 Terms shaped by Black History
Clearly we are not out of the woods completely Covid-19 wise, but there is a lot to be hopeful about with the rapid decreases in infection rates that we have seen in the last week or two. Let’s all stay smart and safe, but let’s also get on with reconnecting with a more normal life. You can check in with the NY Times to find the map of changes in restrictions and see when and how we are getting back to a world of personal interaction.
Looking for a little daily inspiration. Nothing like a daily visit to or email from Inspiring Quotes, a great site that shares great uplifting quotes and articles and games that you can play. Have fun.
It is always a wonderful sight to see the next generation step up within their communities, working to make all our worlds a better place to be.
NY Teens become EMTS to solve shortage
A Moment of Reflection:
As I write this monthly update, it is hard not to stop and reflect on the events transpiring in Eastern Europe right now. While Covid has taken a toll on all of us across the world, the people of Ukraine are experiencing something that none of us should ever have to. Their courage and resilience is one that we should pause to honor and allow to inspire us all. While they may be a world away from most of us, our thoughts and support are with them.
If you know anyone directly affected, we suggest you reach out, offer an ear, and see how you can help. If you just simply want to help, try supporting one of these organizations focused on humanitarian relief:
- Humanitarian list put together by Razom, and one put together by TIME.
- CARE: distributes urgently needed emergency supplies such as food, water, hygiene kits and cash to cover daily needs
- GlobalGiving:the largest global crowdfunding community connecting nonprofits, donors, and companies in nearly every country.
- International Rescue Committee: respond to the world’s worst humanitarian crises & help people to survive, recover, and gain control of their future.
- International Medical Corps: an organization aiming to help people in crisis by providing lifesaving emergency health services, and promote self-reliance through training.
- Nova Ukraine: a non-profit dedicated to raising awareness about Ukraine and providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
- Ukrainian Red Cross: an organization of 600 staff, 3000 volunteers and 283 branches — that for 103 years has helped those that need it most.
- USA for UNHCR: protects refugees and empowers them with hope and opportunity.
Thanks to Maryam Banikarim at Nextdoor and NYCNext for compiling this list, and feel free to listen to her Key Note speech at this week’s RampUp.
We continue to strive to provide useful, fun, and actionable info that can help us all in some way. Feel free to share feedback and ideas and we can share them with this community. As always, be healthy and happy.
