TL;DR: First-party data strategies in digital marketing
- First-party data strategies help marketers collect, organize, and activate customer data to improve targeting, personalization, and campaign performance.
- Building an effective strategy involves setting clear objectives, auditing and unifying data, and ensuring compliance.
- Once activated, first-party data can be used for retargeting, lookalike audiences, and dynamic creative to drive higher performance.
First-party data has always been essential to personalization in digital marketing, but its importance is only growing.
According to EMARKETER, 55.1% of marketers worldwide report that first-party data is much more important today than it was two years ago. Among B2B marketers, 70% say they’re increasing their investment in it.
The reason? Growing demand for more personalized and relevant customer experiences.
A Deloitte study found that 80% of consumers prefer brands that offer personalized experiences, and those customers spend 50% more with them.
But meeting today’s consumer expectations is easier said than done.
To deliver more personalized interactions, marketers need customer data. Yet customers are cautious about how their data is collected and used, especially for marketing.
Throw in the ongoing deprecation of third-party cookies, and marketers face increased pressure to find more reliable, privacy-compliant ways to reach and understand their audiences.
The solution? A strong first-party data strategy.
In this article, we’ll explain how to build a first-party data strategy—from collecting and organizing data to activating it across channels—all with the goal of improving targeting, personalization, and overall campaign performance.
But first, the basics. If you’re ready to build a first-party data strategy, skip ahead.
What is first-party data in marketing?
First-party data is information an organization collects directly from its audience based on explicit consent. This is done through interactions with customers and prospects on its own channels, such as its website, CRM systems, or online and in-store purchases. It’s gathered from engaged, consenting users who have a direct relationship with a brand, its products, or services.
Unlike other types of data, first-party data is often considered more accurate and reliable because it comes from users who are already interacting with and know about your brand. This allows you to personalize campaigns more effectively, improve customer engagement, and ensure compliance with evolving privacy regulations.
What is the difference between first-, second-, and third-party data?
Understanding the differences between first-, second-, and third-party data can help you better evaluate the quality, reliability, and potential use cases of different data sources. Each type varies based on how it’s collected, who owns it, and how it can be applied in marketing campaigns.
- First-party data is data you collect directly through interactions on your owned channels. As previously mentioned, because first-party data comes from users who already engage with your brand, it’s often considered the most accurate and reliable for targeting and personalization.
- Second-party data is another company’s first-party data that’s shared through a direct partnership. It allows marketers to expand their audience insights by accessing data from a trusted source with a similar or complementary audience.
- Third-party data is data collected and aggregated by external providers from multiple sources and then sold or licensed to agencies or brands. While third-party data can help scale reach, it may not align as closely with your target audience as first-party data because it’s collected indirectly.
Even if you’re an agency or brand that doesn’t have extensive access to first-party data, you can still access and activate it through programmatic platforms and trusted data partners.
For example, with StackAdapt’s integration with Permutive, publishers can seamlessly push unique, deterministic, privacy-conscious audience segments into StackAdapt’s Data Hub, making it easier to activate first-party data in programmatic campaigns and reach their audiences across new inventory. This helps reduce operational complexity while giving advertisers access to publisher-curated audience segments for more precise targeting.
Speak with our team to learn more.
Why should I use first-party data in marketing?
As privacy regulations evolve and third-party cookies slowly get phased out, first-party data provides a more reliable and privacy-compliant way to reach your ideal customer.
Here are a few reasons why you should use first-party data in marketing:
- More precise targeting and personalization: First-party data helps you deliver hyper-relevant ads, with 43% of B2C marketers citing improved targeting accuracy as the top benefit. That’s good news, because a recent study found that 65% of consumers say targeted promotions are a key factor in their purchase decisions.
- Lower acquisition costs: Because first-party data improves targeting, it can reduce wasted ad spend. A McKinsey study found it can lower customer acquisition costs by up to 50%.
- Higher return on investment (ROI): According to a study by Google and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), businesses that use first-party data in their marketing campaigns saw a 2.9X increase in revenue lift compared to those using other data sources, though individual results may vary based on strategy and execution.
- Clearer attribution and measurement: First-party data lets you track customer interactions across channels and tie conversions back to specific ads, improving measurement and informing campaign optimizations.
- Greater control over privacy and consent: Because first-party data is collected directly from your audience, you have more control over how data is gathered, managed, and used than other types of data. This allows you to shape your consent experience, maintain transparency, and adapt data practices to align with evolving privacy regulations and customer expectations.
- Stronger competitive differentiation: Unlike other types of data, first-party data is collected directly from interactions with your brand and can’t be accessed or easily replicated by competitors, helping you deliver more relevant marketing campaigns.
- Seamless cross-channel activation: First-party data can be activated seamlessly across multiple touch points and channels, from programmatic formats like display and connected TV to channels like email and direct mail, helping you reach audiences more consistently across the customer journey.
- More effective retargeting and optimization: First-party data allows you to retarget users and trigger campaigns based on their interests or past behaviors. For example, with StackAdapt’s Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) solution, you can tailor creatives and messaging for users who abandoned their cart across other digital channels, like display, helping remind them of the products they abandoned or relevant offers to win them back.
How do you collect first-party data?
According to a 2024 study commissioned by StackAdapt and conducted by Ad Age and Signet Research, 42% of marketers cited their lack of first-party data as the top reason for not using it.
If you’re looking to build or expand your first-party data strategy, here are a few ways you can collect more first-party data to improve the effectiveness of your campaigns:
- Website interactions, such as encouraging users to download gated content, register for webinars, or request a demo.
- Email sign-ups and subscriptions, such as optimizing your website so users can subscribe to newsletters, register for email updates, or opt in to receive marketing communications.
- Loyalty programs, which provide exclusive rewards or discounts in exchange for customer insights. EMARKETER reports that 45% of US adults use a loyalty app with their primary grocery store, highlighting just how ubiquitous these programs are and consumers’ growing willingness to share data in exchange for the right benefits.
- Account registrations, like when users create an account, subscribe to a service, or complete an online profile.
- Online coupons and promotional offers, such as discounts or limited-time deals that require users to visit a landing page to redeem an offer. For example, tbk Creative client Jiffy Lube® Ontario used digital coupons in native ads to increase service bookings, decreasing their cost per acquisition by 80%.
- Customer service and sales interactions, such as support tickets, call logs, or conversations with sales teams that provide insight into customer needs and intent.
- Purchase and transaction activity, including online or in-store purchases, subscription sign-ups, or previous orders.
- Surveys and feedback, such as responses to surveys, product reviews, or customer service forms that help you better understand customer preferences and experiences.
According to a BCG study, 90% of consumers said they’re willing to share their personal information if they receive clear value in return, such as greater convenience or more personalized offers. But how consumers think their data will be used ultimately impacts their willingness to share it (and what they’ll share).
For example, consumers are more likely to share basic demographic and contact information, such as their age, gender, zip code, and email address, but are more hesitant about sharing their phone number, precise location, or online browsing activity.
Meanwhile, 57% said they believe companies were selling their personal data, highlighting ongoing concerns around transparency and trust.
As a result, you should focus on collecting only the data you need and clearly communicating the lawful basis for collection and how it will be used, ensuring there is a clear value exchange in each interaction.
How is first-party data stored?
First-party data is typically stored in centralized marketing and data management systems that allow marketers to organize, analyze, and activate it across channels.
Common systems include:
- CRM systems, such as HubSpot and Salesforce, which store customer data such as contact details, purchase history, and preferences in a structured database.
- CDPs, which combine data from multiple sources to create unified customer profiles that can be used for segmentation and personalization.
- Marketing data clouds, such as Snowflake, which provide scalable infrastructure for storing, managing, and analyzing large volumes of first-party data.
According to Deloitte, many organizations are investing in CDPs and working to reduce internal data silos to improve data quality, enable cross-channel activation, and gain a clearer view of the customer journey.
StackAdapt’s Data Hub centralizes first-party data from CRMs and other sources, allowing you to segment audiences, activate data across programmatic channels, and better understand performance—all within a single platform. To learn more, speak with our team.
How do you build a first-party data strategy?
Building an effective first-party data strategy often requires a structured plan that connects your data collection efforts with your marketing and business goals. From defining your objectives to activating your data across channels, each step can help support a strategy that’s actionable, scalable, and measurable.
Here are some key steps to consider when building a first-party data strategy:
Step 1. Set clear objectives
Before collecting or activating first-party data, it’s often helpful to define what you want to achieve, such as improving targeting, increasing retention, or driving better return on ad spend for your marketing campaigns (most likely, it’s all of the above).
As a best practice, goals can be tied to specific use cases and outcomes, which may help you identify what information is most relevant to your strategy and how it’ll be used. This can help ensure that data collection or activation efforts remain focused and aligned with your broader marketing and business priorities.
Step 2. Audit your existing data sources
Before collecting new data, consider assessing the first-party data available across your existing systems, such as your CRM, website, or past campaigns. This can help you understand what data you’re already capturing, how it can be used, and where gaps may still exist. By identifying what you currently have access to and what could help you build more complete customer profiles, you may be better positioned to focus your data collection efforts on the information that will have the greatest impact on your campaigns.
Step 3. Mandate compliance and transparency
Consider establishing clear, applicable and auditable guidelines for collecting, managing, and using first-party data to ensure compliance with all relevant privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA. It’s also important to communicate to your audience what data you’re collecting, why you’re collecting it, and what they’ll receive by sharing that information in return—be it exclusive content, personalized offers, or loyalty rewards. This can be done through clear consent forms, updated privacy policies, or cookie banners on your website or app.
As previously touched upon, creating a transparent value exchange can help build trust and encourage users to share their data more willingly.
Step 4. Unify your customer data
According to survey respondents in our recent report on The State of Personalization in Digital Marketing, 95% of brands say their first-party data is accurate and reliable enough to support personalization efforts, but 55% of agencies say they often run into issues with a brand’s first-party data.
The reason likely stems from common challenges such as disconnected systems, incomplete data, or inconsistencies across sources, which make it harder to deliver personalized, multi-channel campaigns.
To address this, you may consider consolidating your data into a centralized platform so teams can work from a unified, consistent, and protected view. This can make it easier to segment audiences, activate data across earned and owned channels, and deliver more cohesive customer experiences.
Step 5. Maintain data quality and governance
To ensure your data remains accurate, compliant, and actionable, it’s common practice to implement data governance processes. This includes regularly updating your data, standardizing formats across systems, and conducting audits—either internally or with a partner—to identify inconsistencies or gaps.
Maintaining high-quality data can make it easier to segment audiences, measure performance, and make more informed marketing decisions.
Step 6. Activate and optimize your data
Continue to monitor performance and use those insights to refine your campaign targeting, messaging, and channel mix. This closed-loop approach—where insights are continuously fed back into your strategy to inform future campaigns—can help your first-party data strategy evolve with your audience, boosting engagement, reducing wasted ad spend, and improving overall campaign performance.