First-Party Data
What is first-party data?
First-party data is information a brand or publisher collects directly from its own consumers through their owned interactions — website visits, purchases, app usage, email engagement, loyalty program activity, and customer service contacts. Because it is collected with consumer consent through a direct relationship, first-party data is the most reliable and privacy-safe data type in the digital advertising ecosystem.
How does first-party data work?
Marketers can harness first-party data to enhance their marketing efforts in several key ways. They can precisely target their ads towards specific audiences, taking into account demographics, interests, and other factors, ensuring that their ads reach those most likely to be interested.
Additionally, first-party data allows for the personalization of the customer experience, tailoring content and offers to individual interests, thereby bolstering customer engagement and loyalty.
Lastly, first-party data aids in evaluating the effectiveness of marketing campaigns through the monitoring of customer behavior and conversions, providing valuable insights to refine future campaigns.
Types of first-party data:
- Customer contact information: First-party data can include customer contact information, such as name, email address, and phone number.
- Demographic information: First-party data can include demographic information, such as age, gender, and location.
- Purchase history: First-party data can include purchase history, such as the products a customer has purchased and the amount of money they have spent.
- Website behavior: First-party data can include website behavior, such as the pages a customer has visited and the products they have viewed.
- Customer feedback: First-party data can include customer feedback, such as survey responses and customer support tickets.
How to measure first-party data:
First-party data can be gathered through a range of techniques, including customer surveys that collect information on demographics and interests. Website analytics tools track user behavior on the company's website, revealing how users interact and their content preferences.
Additionally, CRM systems monitor customer interactions like sales calls and emails, offering insights into the customer journey and areas for enhancing the overall experience.
Why first-party data is the foundation of commerce media
Commerce media's value proposition is built on first-party data. Publishers contribute their transaction and behavioral data to a commerce media network; that data informs which consumers see which offers and when. The more robust a publisher's first-party data, the more precisely the network can match consumers with relevant advertisers — and the more revenue each consumer interaction generates.
Why is first-party data important to marketers?
First-party data is important to marketers because it is the most accurate and reliable type of data. First-party data is also becoming increasingly important as third-party cookies are being phased out.
By collecting and using first-party data, marketers can improve their marketing campaigns, target their ads to specific audiences, personalize the customer experience, and measure the effectiveness of their campaigns.
Who needs to know what first-party data is:
- Digital marketing manager
- Paid search specialist
- Social media manager
- Content marketing manager
- Affiliate manager
- E-commerce manager
- Product manager
- Marketing analyst
- Brand manager
In the Fluent context
Fluent's commerce media platform is powered by 200M+ first-party consumer profiles, enabling the identity-driven decisioning that distinguishes post-transaction advertising from generic display inventory.