From Third-Party to Owned: Demystifying the '321' Strategy for Brands

By Jennine Rexon, CEO @ Rex Direct Net, Inc.

As #cookies phase out in the near future, first-party data will become even more essential for brands in executing successful marketing campaigns. Using lookalike audiences along with co-registration is a great way to reach ideal consumers and convert them into "owned" ones.

In previous posts, I discussed the "Win Back" co-registration strategy, and now I’d like to share details of another one. Fondly, I've given this technique a name: "321" (third-party to first-party data).

Please share these approaches with brands that may benefit from them.

1. Understanding the "321" Strategy:

What if you had a list of lookalike customers? Wouldn’t these be the people you'd want to target for your next marketing campaign? With more confidence, a brand would know that these consumers are the right fit for their products or services. Using this third-party data set and a co-registration flow, opt-in users can efficiently and affordably be converted from third-party to first-party data. It's this approach that I call the “321” strategy.

2. How does it work?

The key to the "321" strategy is acquiring a lookalike audience. One of the most popular platforms for doing this includes LiveRamp. Others to consider may be Acxiom, Neustar, or Zeotap. Note that before deciding on a vendor, if one isn't already available, businesses should evaluate the specific features, data quality, and compliance aspects of each provider. Once the third-party data set is established, pre-ping technology is used to check the consumer’s eligibility for the brand’s offer. If yes, a co-registration ad is shown, and if the consumer opts in, the brand owns the data—first party.

3. Who can benefit from the "321" Strategy?

Brands that have a large audience can benefit from the "321" strategy. The size of the lookalike database needs to be fairly large to reach enough consumers to make a campaign worthwhile. Companies that already have a license to one of the aforementioned platforms are an ideal fit. This approach is another way to take advantage of their investment. Consumer products, travel, market research, pharmaceutical, and financial service industries, to name a few, are likely to capitalize best on this opportunity.

4. Why now?

With the imminent phasing out of cookies due to concerns related to user privacy and increased regulatory scrutiny, now more than ever, first-party data will be a critical component for marketing campaigns. The "321" strategy is highly compliant and offers an effective approach to acquiring such data easily and affordably. Now is the perfect time for brands to consider innovative strategies like "321" to power future marketing campaigns.

For questions or more information, feel free to reach out directly to Jennine or Rex Direct Net.