Despite the third-party cookie’s latest stay of execution, major publishers continued to refine their first-party data products throughout 2022.
While cookies are still in play, publishers are using first-party data products to draw business from advertisers eager to test cookie alternatives, even as ad spending retracts due to persistent fears of an upcoming recession.
To better serve advertisers, this year, publishers expanded propensity modeling and contextual targeting. Many experimented with new ways to use first-party data to drive performance.
Publishers also used their first-party data to improve the user experience on their owned and operated properties.
Here’s a snapshot of how Vox Media, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Trusted Media Brands evolved their first-party data strategy in 2022 and their plans for the coming year.
Vox Media
2022 was a year of integration for Vox Media. In June, following its acquisition of Group Nine, Vox Media integrated Group Nine’s performance marketing solution for DTC brands into its Forte first-party data platform. With the integration, DTC brands could serve sponsored posts across Vox Media’s social media portfolio targeted using Vox Media’s first-party data.
Forte also focused on boosting performance through adding propensity modeling capabilities. Vox Media built two algorithms based on first-party data derived from user behavior: one that optimizes campaigns for viewability and another that optimizes for purchase intent.
2022 “was the first time buyers were able to directly use our outcome-based algorithms to drive performance,” said Megan Walton, Vox Media’s VP of product, revenue and commerce.
Also in June, Vox Media turned its ad-network-like Concert into an SSP, in partnership with The Trade Desk. Naturally, Concert SSP came plugged into both Forte and UID2.0.
Vox Media is using its first-party data for itself, too. User data informs how the company creates a unified experience across its newsletters, websites and social media profiles, including its newly integrated properties, Walton said. And first-party data has guided individual site makeovers, like this year’s relaunch of tech site The Verge.
Heading into 2023, Vox Media wants to compile data on how users purchase things, then give that data to advertisers so they can be smarter about how they target. The publisher plans to track a complete user journey to see how multiple ad messages contribute to a user eventually completing a transaction rather than relying on last-touch attribution, and first-party data will play a key role in that process.
Vox Media will use this data to boost subscriptions for its own brands and for clients who want to hit KPIs. “Our approach will focus on moving users through a conversion,” Walton said.
The New York Times
The New York Times, meanwhile, has centered its first-party data efforts on carving out contextual segments. In addition to 140 standard audience segments, it’s also creating custom audiences for advertisers using demographic, contextual and behavioral data.
Before, building those custom audience segments took almost two weeks. This year, the Times sped up the process to just two days, said Erin Hennessy, executive director of product marketing and insights at New York Times Advertising.
For 2023, the Times plans to use its first-party data both for subscriber growth and to personalize the ad experience for readers. And the Times sees its first-party data offerings as a key value proposition for advertisers wary of an uncertain economic climate that could persist well into next year.
“We’re constantly keeping an eye on the macroeconomic, regulatory and technological environment,” Hennessy said. “All combined, these factors will diminish the value of third-party solutions, and advertisers will have to make sure every impression counts.”
The Washington Post
However, first-party data offerings aren’t guaranteed to protect publishers from the harsh effects of a recession. The Washington Post, which recently announced plans to cut staff in 2023, decided to stop licensing its Zeus Prime ad tech offering, which included a first-party data targeting product called Zeus Insights, in early December. WaPo will continue using its Zeus technology internally, but it has discontinued operating Zeus as a stand-alone business.
So, while licensing ad tech may not be in the cards for publishers right now, using first-party data products internally seems to be a safer bet.
Trusted Media Brands
Trusted Media Brands (TMB) rolled out its TI360 first-party data platform in 2021. The solution is already used in 94% of all direct-sold campaigns, said Mike Richter, TMB’s SVP of global revenue operations.
Buyers can create custom audiences and port their data over with clean rooms. And they can use the platform to conduct cohort analysis. TMB said its platform is doubling its average deal size and the sales team improved its win rate by 31%, a sign that publisher first-party data is clearly resonating with buyers.
Like Vox Media, TMB is looking to incorporate more commerce data in 2023, using it for its affiliate and ecommerce business. And like both Vox Media and the Times, it wants to use first-party data to connect more with readers by informing its editorial and content strategy and “[empowering] our direct-to-consumer business,” Richter said.
