Why advertisers demanding higher-quality data and transparency will transform media buying

Matt Frattaroli, vice president, digital platform and agency partnerships, Alliant

In a year of economic uncertainty and the rapid evolution of advanced technologies, data’s position, value and pricing remain top of mind across the advertising supply chain.

Ideally, agencies, buying platforms, media owners and data companies directly benefit from the value they add to digital advertising, with brands deploying high-performing, accurately-targeted campaigns.

However, it appears the system is broken. The way digital ecosystems operate is disincentivizing brands and agencies from working to understand data quality and value. Quality data requires investment from both providers and buyers. And in this critical year, the value of audience data needs greater understanding and support.

Successful brands treat data as foundational — and not as a commodity

In cases where the market isn’t delivering the value or confidence that brands deserve — and audience data is no exception — making strategic decisions about data investments means buyers must understand not only the market and pricing but the value of high-quality data. This insight will impact their media spend and outcomes.

Many media professionals claim their planning and buying processes are data-driven, yet audience decisions are often considered an afterthought. Even in some audience-first approaches, specific data selection is attached to a media buy at the last second, handled by a buyer looking to ensure campaign delivery. This treats data as a commodity — a raw material thrown into the media machine to ensure maximum spend for a brand.

However, treating data as a commodity is neither effective nor accurate. An actual commodity can be sourced from anywhere, with providers chosen almost exclusively based on price and availability. This may work for plywood but not audience data. To ensure successful execution, strategic brands see data as the foundational piece of their campaigns — not a supplemental afterthought.

Greater transparency in media buying is helping brands procure high-quality data

Data isn’t bought and sold in a free market, and that’s damaging to the digital ecosystem. For data to be effective and add value, coverage, match, quality and compliance must be factors in brand choice.

Advertisers have been pushing for greater supply path transparency for years. In this environment, the core elements influencing data purchase decisions would be visible to buyers, enabling them to make well-informed decisions. So, advertisers are getting as close to data sources as possible and demand more transparency in the market to enable decisions that align with their campaign goals, budget and strategic data choices. This includes a focus on compliance and limiting their dependency on third-party cookies.

The most common way brands purchase third-party audience data is via media buying platforms, which removes the ad buyer from the data selection process. However, this is having a massive ripple effect. While many data providers are capable of direct deals, custom audience builds or agency-wide integrations, they are also forced to package their product like a commodity, offering off-the-shelf segments that are assumed to meet the general needs of marketers. This approach also involves a hidden …read more

Source:: Digiday