In this special episode of The MadTech Podcast, ExchangeWire COO Lindsay Rowntree is joined by Rob McLaughlin, founder & CEO of AUDIENCES, and Sandy Ghuman, senior product manager for customer data & transformation at easyJet.

Rob founded AUDIENCES to pioneer in-cloud privacy-first data activation, bringing experience from Sky and Barclays. Sandy provides the brand perspective, drawing on her work from Silverbullet, Sky, Experian, Yell, and easyJet. In this reunion, they look at the challenges of activating first party data, from complexities to cultural silos, and how brands can turn their data into meaningful signals.

Challenges of First Party Activation

The industry has evolved greatly over the years, with a focus on improving data quality and investing in martech and ad tech. Many of the challenges of first party data stem from that marrying up of data and technology, resulting in activation often still being siloed and user-driven.

"Data and access still sits in different teams, technologies don't always sync with each other, and brands aren't working cross-functionally in a seamless way. So all of that provides a lot of friction to actually being able to understand your data, leverage the insights that you've got, and push those out into being able to connect with the customer in the right way." —Sandy Ghuman

In the last two decades, there have been massive changes in the scale, collection, and management of data, along with regulations around privacy and security. That "deadly cocktail", as well as old cultural views and tech debt of legacy systems, can get in the way of transformation. However, data is the core ingredient through all of it, and the principles around it remain unchanged.

Outcomes-first and ownership

Following data collection, the task of ownership and responsibility starts with the customer and business outcomes. These factors decide the data, insights, and platforms that brands need. Rather than seeing data as an end, marketers should focus on customer-orientated objectives and use data reflexively.

"No campaign was ever shelved because the data or the audience selections or segments weren't ready. The media always went out the door. And that's why – and we see it all the time – brands and data providers need to curate their data in advance, have it prepared, ready." —Rob McLaughlin

Cultural silos can hinder this. Bridging data and marketing functions requires a shared language for communication. This aids in creating an understanding of how they can mutually benefit each other. Data specialists play a vital role in translating complexities into business outcomes and value for marketers and product owners.

Adding value to data & signals

Data is information – meaningful signals on customers and prospects that enable brands to meet their objectives. More important than having full access is how brands can combine those data signals, simplify it, and provide the most relevant experience to the end user.

With the growth of omnichannel, there is a greater need for cross-functional and cross-channel thinking. But in order to turn data into valuable signals, the schemas of each channel should be respected (eg. postcode for dOOH, MAIDS for programmatic). This maintains the individuality of the various specialisms rather than making them conform to one another.

Near-future possibilities

Despite the challenges, it's an exciting time for first party data activation. In the next few years, Sandy sees the industry moving away from siloed user cases and tapping into the art of possible life cycle and customer journeys. She advises that companies think about what will give the biggest uplift and to bring cross-functional teams strongly together.

Rob believes that brands and advertisers have the opportunity to go from being just data owners to "data exploiters", turning data into deliverable signals. He advises they treat data like the commercial advantage that it is – one that allows them to access scale in media – and to look for the simplicity, not the complexity.