In the wake of such signal loss, an abundance of replacements have flooded the market with certain technology labels, such as “data management platforms,” losing favor among some, given the perception that they are associated with third-party data.

In parallel, overlapping technologies are entering the fray with more than a third of all marketers piloting new technologies last year for this reason, according to a survey by Gartner. Additionally, the same survey depicted the average respondent as allocating a quarter of their entire marketing expenditure on such technologies last year. Further still, disagreements remain as to what actually constitutes de rigueur technologies, think “customer data platforms” or “data clean rooms.”

For instance, it was only recently that the IAB Tech Lab issued a series of tech standards of data clean room technologies for public comment — see more here — with the trade body hoping its latest initiative will promote interoperability among the current vendors pushing their wares on the market. Many hope it will prevent a scenario whereby a new product category is dominated by the industry’s Big Tech players, such as Alphabet and Amazon.    

It’s a scenario that is challenging marketers, not to mention publishers, as the skillsets required to operate such utilities, not to mention the legal basis they have for using any available technologies, are not always readily available.

Anthony Katsur, CEO of IAB Tech Lab, recently told Digiday the current paradigm presents marketers with a “conceptually complicated challenge,” particularly as they seek to ensure that consumer consent is honored throughout their supply chain.

“There are more vendors than ever before that you’d have to interconnect with,” he commented, adding the contemporary marketing stack requires a “portfolio approach.”

Katsur further commented, “Things like your CDP have to connect with no less than half-a-dozen vendors, then you have to ensure your supply-side platform has an integration with your demand-side platform, and ad server, on the other side.”

On top of this, more centralized technologies such as CRM systems, DMPs, and data clean rooms (whatever the industry eventually agrees they are) also have to be taken into consideration.

It was observing the current dynamic take shape over the past three years that led MadTech Advisors CEO Bob Walczak to conceive of and launch his MadTech Connect. An offering his consultancy claims can help companies laden with otherwise ungainly tech stacks integrate between platforms.

“So far, most connection between platforms and audience enrichment, attribution and targeting etcetera …read more

Source:: Digiday