Data has been an extremely important factor in digital advertising in recent years, with more and more strategic decisions revolving around it. Marketers, agencies, and publishers want and need to utilize data intelligently, and this is where Data Management Platforms (DMPs) come into play. How do they work and what are the best platforms to use? Read below to find out.
What is a DMP?
A DMP collects, organizes, and analyzes audience data. This includes first-, second-, and third-party data (demographics, behavioral data) from various channels, such as desktop, mobile, etc. As opposed to enormous, raw information, DMPs present information in a digestible way. This way, different actors in the digital advertising ecosystem can pull valuable, actionable insights.
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Who do DMPs help and how?
DMPs help advertisers as they are crucial for data-driven marketing. They allow marketers and ad agencies to better target their audience by creating audience segments, profiles, etc. This way, advertisers can identify new leads, optimize their advertising campaigns, and improve media buys via real-time bidding.
Publishers also benefit from the use of DMPs. By better knowing their audience, they can improve on-site personalization and content, resulting in higher engagement and ultimately, better ad inventory monetization.
In that sense, a DMP’s job is important for DSPs, SSPs, and ad exchanges alike, in order to inform ad-buying decisions.
The 6 best DMPs in 2022
To give you an idea of the leading companies out there, here is a list of some of the most note-worthy DMPs:
The company says its Audience Management solution was built to ‘connect, enrich, analyze, and activate first-party audiences’. It combines data from all devices, browsers, and platforms into a single ID and offers a panoramic view of customers and prospects. The solution offers flexible tools and customized add-ons and caters to marketers and agencies, publishers, and platforms. For example, over 25 DSPs, SSPs, and data sellers support Lotame’s Panorama ID. Overall, the company focuses on superior technology, outstanding service, and flexibility. It was founded in 2006 in the U.S. and now also has additional offices to cover Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa, Australia, and the Asia Pacific.
This powerful data management platform, formerly known as Salesforce DMP, aims to capture and activate data, in order to improve customer experiences. It combines customer data from all sources and unifies it. Then, it uses Salesforce’s own artificial intelligence, Einstein, to analyze it and discover new insights. The company also offers a leading native consent management framework to facilitate compliance, manage consent policies across different markets, and quickly adapt to change. As of July 2021, the company announced the product is no longer going to be sold, although it’s still listed on their official website.
Adobe says their DMP aims to give you ‘a complete view of your audience so you can identify the most valuable segments. It was identified as a Leader by Forrester in their 2019 Data Management Platform report. Adobe Audience Manager uses Adobe’s own AI and machine learning framework called Adobe Sensei to identify new audiences. It also features a Data Science Workspace which offers data scientists easy-to-use tools and the ability to use their own algorithms. It works as part of Adobe Experience Cloud but can support other solutions as well. Adobe also offers a private data marketplace called Audience Marketplace.
Formerly known as Demdex (2008), the DMP was acquired by Adobe Systems in 2011.
The Oracle BlueKai Data Management Platform, formerly BlueKai, is a cloud-based DMP. The company says the platform is intended to ‘unify and activate your data to execute campaigns across digital advertising channels’. It does so by collecting and classifying data from many different sources and then helping users discover new audiences or expand their target audience. It makes use of Oracle ID Graph, which creates a single customer identity by combining many IDs across marketing channels and devices. In addition, Oracle is home to Oracle Data Marketplace.
BlueKai was founded in California in 2008 and acquired by Oracle in 2014.
According to the company, their DMP helps you ‘put your data to work using insights about your current audiences to uncover new people that will be interested in your brand.’
The technology applies advanced data quality scoring and search tools. It allows you to discover and reach relevant audiences, as well as to build lookalike audiences. The Trade Desk also features a data marketplace called the Data Alliance.
When describing its DMP, the company states that by using it, you can ‘continuously adjust your advertising and content across each channel to improve customer experience and marketing performance. It divides the process into four steps. Firstly, it manages all your data across devices. Then, you can customize your audiences using 60,000+ built-in segments. Afterward, you can activate your audience data in real-time. Ultimately, you can connect to Nielsen Marketing Cloud’s journey analytics or multi-touch attribution (MTA) to track and analyze performance.
Wrap Up
The efficient use of data can truly make or break a digital marketing campaign or a monetization effort, and that’s where DMPs can make a difference. Especially if combined with one of the strongest DPSs, SSPs or Ad Exchanges. We hope the tips and input above will help you find the right platform to unlock your data’s potential and put it to good use.