Types of DMPs

A pure-play DMP is focused on secure data collection and management. These data management platforms are created from the ground up to ingest, aggregate and analyze large data sets. Pure-play DMPs provide three core offerings: a core platform for storage and retrieval of data; analytics technology for obtaining insights from the data with a reporting interface; and applications, that enable marketers to take action against that data, such as audience segment creation or lookalike modeling functionality. Interactive marketers with extremely large data sets of structured and unstructured data that go beyond ad serving and audience data, and may include CRM and transactional data, would want to work with a pure-play DMP.

A mixed model DMP collects and manages data securely as well as allows data owners to monetize data through an ad exchange or data marketplace. Among the most popular types of data management platforms, mixed model DMPs make third party data accessible from a single user interface. Some mixed model DMP vendors take an ad exchange approach that enables data buyers to bid for cookies in a real-time environment, and offer a wide variety of providers to choose from. Other mixed model DMPs offer a variation on the ad exchange approach by enabling access to multiple third party sources and data sets, but not on a bidded model.

A display-focused DMP is a centralized data management platform that allows advertisers to create target audiences based on a combination of in-depth first-party and third-party audience data. A display-focused DMP relies on cookies, and enables advertisers to consolidate online and offline customer data from various sources into a single location, then use it to create demographic and behavioral segments that be used to target online advertising. Performance data from each campaign is then fed back into the display-focused DMP, creating a closed loop that improves optimization efforts and can be used for related reporting and analysis.

An enterprise DMP is a purpose-built data management platform designed for the needs of major brands with multiple customer and prospect touchpoints. The key features of an enterprise DMP are:

• Ingests and normalizes data from a wide variety of sources
• Automates the way data is organized and segmented
• Provides configuration options that synchronize with an organization's unique approach to audience identification and data match key models
• Enables the enterprise's unique data to be actionable across all touch points in real-time
• Delivers consistent messages and enforces offer eligibility across all channels including and not limited to display, email, click-to-chat, SMS

Overall, the core of any enterprise DMP is the ability to centralize, normalize and make data actionable through any touchpoint. The DMP should cross the gap by ingesting campaign data from all channels and vendors, as well as offline activities such as in-store sales and call center interaction. Once the data is collected, it needs to be surfaced in a way that is meaningful to an interactive marketer. By defining custom attribution models to reflect their companies' unique sales funnel, interactive marketers can measure ROI and inform future strategies.

Courtesy of: Imedia Connection

                   The Devil's Work

What is Segment Based Advertising?

Segmentation is the foundation of traditional marketing. The benefits are vast and well understood by marketing professionals in the offline world. A data management platform (DMP) enables interactive marketers to implement segment- or audience-based marketing programs. Many marketers struggle with data fragmentation, underutilized data assets, and have a distinct need for more audience insight that can be provided from a DMP infrastructure. Proper implementation of a DMP is a time and labor intensive process that requires the collaboration of marketing, IT, legal, customer relationship management and analytics departments.

Segmentation helps interactive marketers by:

Improved targeting and optimization of marketing campaigns - Proper attribution that are strong predictors of user behavior can mean the difference between an effective and efficient marketing spend and a wasted budget.

Enhanced customer management approaches and processes - Through identifying and retaining high-value customers such as frequent buyers, marketers can increase customer value and reduce customer churn.

Actionable insight across the customer life cycle - Through segmentation, interactive marketers can drive actionable insights throughout the customer life cycle from acquisition to retention.

Courtesy of: BC American Marketing Association, Forrester

Privacy policies of DMP Platforms

The easiest way to learn about what a DMP does is look at a vendor's privacy policy. The following is an example of a privacy policy from a DMP vendor. The product name has been redacted to illustrate and emphasize the functionality of data management platforms in general.

Data We Collect and Use: To deliver our services, we and our clients collect, organize, and use non-personal information reflecting your interactions with a variety of Websites.  This information includes items such as the date and time you visited a Website, your browser information, your IP address, your browsing behavior, your age and gender, and interests you express or imply at social networking sites or other Websites you visit. DMP technology recognizes your computer over time by setting a unique browser cookie, which your browser relays to our servers when you visit Websites that are affiliated with our partners or clients. We and our clients may also supplement the information we collect with additional non-personal information we obtain from other companies.  In certain of these cases, information we or our clients obtain from third parties is derived from personal information and de-identified prior to its use.  We analyze the non-personal information we collect or obtain from third parties and organize it into anonymous user profiles, groups, and audiences, based on factors such as age, gender, geography, interests and online actions. We and our clients and partners then use these anonymous user profiles, groups and audiences to design and deliver customized advertising campaigns or other relevant content.  We and our clients also use this data for other related purposes (for example, to do research regarding the results of our online advertising campaigns or to better understand the interests or activities of Website visitors.)

The behavioral categories we use to customize the ads you may see or for related purposes do not use personal information such as your name, address, e-mail address, phone number, birth date or social security number.  Our technology and services are designed to limit our use of consumer data to anonymous, non-personal information.  Note that we license DMP data to third parties, such as website publishers and marketers.  A third party licensee using our DMP data may elect to collect, manage and use other types of data through our DMP platform, which may include personal information (where permissible). Please consult the privacy policies of the Websites you visit to become familiar with their privacy practices.