Advertisers are leveraging less than half of the first-party data available to them despite the vast majority of brand marketers claiming that it is of “high” or “critical” importance, a new study by programmatic agency MightyHive has found.
Data and analytics is now a central pillar in content and advertising strategies as it enables brands to determine the success of their efforts while improving decision-making for future campaigns. However, many are still struggling to make the most of a growing mass of big data.
On average, digital marketers in the US are using 47% of first-party data. The amount of data that brands are tapping into does vary considerably, with 14.1% claiming that they are using between 0% and 20% of company data potential, while 21.5% say that they are leveraging between 61% and 80%.
“This spread of responses is telling,” MightyHive’s Senior Director of Marketing Myles Younger said. “It implies that first-party data is still a work in progress across the board, with an abundance of challenges that marketers have yet to fully overcome.”
The main challenges stem from a failure to document a data strategy and execute it, according to Lotame’s CEO Andy Monfried, who believes that many enterprises do have the technical capabilities to analyze data correctly. The MightyHive survey found that costs, accuracy and privacy concerns are also holding brands back.
A separate study by Sizmek recently found that 90% of brand marketers are desperate to improve campaign analysis.
