In our data-driven world, almost every aspect of consumer experience can be logged, contributing to an exhaustive amount of insights for marketers to access. As data’s role becomes increasingly integral in running efficient outreach, many questions arise regarding its authenticity, freshness, and effectiveness, especially when compared to the overwhelming amount of data attainable through first or third-party sources.

Third-party data can fill gaps in understanding customers, benefitting brands as well as consumers in boosted relevance and efficiency, but as privacy and regulatory concerns grow, it’s evident that the data world is still maturing, and it’s becoming more essential than ever for data-driven marketers to not only know their data but to know everything about it.

We participated in an ANA Marketing Futures podcast to discuss the current state of data’s role in marketing, and how its effectiveness correlates with its wielder’s skill in fully understanding it. Listen below to our podcast, where we answer the following questions:

• How will GDPR, CCPA, and future legislation affect the way data is collected in 2021?
• How can digital marketers skirt around walled gardens to attain pivotal consumer insights?
• What is the difference between probabilistic and deterministic data?
• Is it realistic for brands to construct their own internal structures for building first-party data empires?
• In what ways can data providers ensure a level of privacy that respects consumers while enlightening marketers?

Data’s value lies not only in its scope, source, and freshness, but also in a marketer’s ability to know when, where, and how to apply each data set in order to achieve true efficiency and audience connection. To learn how data providers and vendors are taking steps to assist marketers in better assessing data quality, read our article on data transparency and certification.

Want to know how our data can help you improve your audience targeting? Contact us at audiences@affinityanswers.com to learn more about our audiences, or find us in your favorite marketplace or DSP.