The First Party Data Opportunity

As marketers, we know that it’s crucial to reach the right audience at the right moment in time. But how can we ensure that we are doing this if we don’t evaluate the data fueling our marketing strategies?

Tune in to Episode 3 of the Pandora Insights Lab podcast to listen to key players discuss the opportunities that lie within 1st party data, how to evaluate it, and most importantly, how to activate on it. This episode features Molly Mitchell, Sr. Manager of Ad Innovation Strategy, David Hardtke, Director of Advertising Science, and Eric Hoppe, Director of Product Management.

The discussion kicks off with an introduction of two very important regulations, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and how that might affect the way marketers collect and use data moving forward. At Pandora, we are only collecting data that will improve the consumer experience and we are protecting that data to make sure that no one else can see or use it.

From a 1st party data perspective, Pandora has our logged-in user data and music listenership data. The music data is what makes us unique. Whether you realize it or not, music is an extension of who you are. This type of data allows us to get personal with our listeners without getting too personal.

While we continue to keep a pulse on these regulations and how they will impact the industry, there are a few things for marketers to start thinking about:

• Identify partners with high quality data: Advertisers should be evaluating the quality of data they are using across all mediums. Ultimately, data quality will have a downstream impact on campaign effectiveness.
• How 3rd party data is viewed: With 1st party data, we know exactly how it’s sourced. With 3rd party data, however, we don’t have the same transparency into where the actual data comes from. This could raise some concern as these regulations progress, though this type of data remains extremely valuable for marketers.
• Renewed interest in contextual: We can’t say for sure that this renewed interest in contextual targeting is directly correlated with the recent regulations, but we don’t think it’s just a coincidence. Contextual targeting allows marketers to reach and resonate with their audience in relevant moments without having to layer on the behavioral data.