In order to build and maintain reliable connections with their target audiences, marketers need secure identification credentials and access to appropriate “walled garden” and publication networks.
For integrated brand communications to be effective behind firewalls, marketers require identification.
Keeping track of who their customers are is nothing new for advertisers. Forrester predicted in 2016 that “firms planning to link systems of insight and engagement to foster seamless and relevant cross-channel customer experiences” would be essential, recognising that marketers require novel approaches to facilitating interactions across multiple touchpoints with actual people rather than cookies.
Many of these recognised customer interactions take place within the proprietary environments of the big three of digital advertising: Amazon, Facebook, and Google. Why? These companies have done well in building customer trust despite having privacy issues. After all, Google’s continued popularity attests to its usefulness. Not only are they still using Facebook, but they also use Instagram. In reality, eMarketer reports that as people try to stay in touch with friends and family during the epidemic, they are spending more time on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.
There is no denying the value exchange: these behemoths supply content and services that customers not only want but also depend on. In return, users are ready to provide contact information (email addresses, phone numbers) and information about their interests (such as which content categories they prefer).
Amazon, Facebook, and Google have all developed extensive “consumer identity gardens” as a result of their extensive customer connections. They have extensive databases of verified user information, so they have restricted the ability of third-party cookies to track users’ activities on their sites. It stands to reason; they merely have no use for them. They’ve risen to power and stayed there in part by making it difficult for rivals to steal their customers’ personal information.
The rise in mobile device usage, where cookies are largely useless, also played a role in this change. Even though third-party cookies will soon be outdated, businesses still need to provide customers with consistent, individualised experiences across all channels. They must therefore gain entry to the personally identifying information of consumers stored there. That necessitates teaming up with the enclosed spaces themselves or with organisations that already have such connections.
For advertisers to effectively reach customers with a unified message across all channels and locations, this is a must. Marketers, for instance, wouldn’t be able to interact with consumer on both their work and personal computers if they didn’t have access to a unified perspective made possible by identity infrastructure across platforms. They can’t make direct postal deals that correspond with what customers buy online. Without ad servers, DSPs, networks, and publications, businesses would have no way to track the success of their marketing campaigns.
Improved security and satisfaction for your customers thanks to identification alliances
There are those who believe consumer identification threatens individuals’ right to private. But that’s not the case at all. In reality, consumer identity safeguards personal information by giving advertisers access to only the data they need to provide a personalized, reliable service. Trust between consumers and companies can be strengthened through strategic alliances between brands and data aggregators such as publishers, networks, and content creators.
65% of respondents to a PwC survey agreed that a good encounter with a company is more important than exposure to compelling advertising. To say the least. When consumers’ personal information is protected, when the information is useful, and when the personalization is appropriate, that’s when they have a positive experience with a company. First-party data can be amassed when customers have positive company experiences. Forrester refers to this as a “identity backbone,” and it serves as its foundation.
This is made feasible by the determination of identities. Consumers are at ease with it because of the positive effects it has on their lives and the quality of their interactions with brands they actively seek out. When customers use their identities to restrict access to their data by companies and inaccessible “walled gardens,” however, that data becomes even more valuable to them.
One or both of these companies may wish to make an offer to you in response to your activity on a closed network like Facebook. The hardware store, the bank, and the enclosed garden will only see the information that you’ve authorised them to see if they connect through a trustworthy and privacy-safe connection point that connects companies to customer identification.
While you have a full picture of who you are as an individual, businesses along the value chain can only piece together a fragmented picture of who you are as a customer. Their opinions vary depending on the product line. Without a customer’s express permission, brands cannot combine their databases of customer information.
Improved customer agency and relational confidence.
Your local grocery store, your bank, and even Amazon have all earned their customers’ confidence to the point where they now have access to personal information.
Perhaps the financial institution is interested in more than just making a profit. It may be offering useful material in an effort to build trust with its audience. This is exactly what Pacific Northwest Credit Union’s Advantis is doing. The tiny financial co-op provides helpful services, such as letting customers temporarily suspend payments on loans, and informative articles, such as “5 tips for financial stability during uncertain times.”
These are the kinds of interactions that strengthen brands and their identities. In a cookie-free world, establishing confidence with customers is not only essential for making connections, but also beneficial for advertisers as it allows for higher quality interactions. Marketers can interact with customers and build trustworthy relationships by forming strategic alliances with appropriate publishers, walled garden platforms, and identity resolution partners.