Data collaboration adoption is on the rise, according to a new report.
Lotame, the OG data company that keeps finding ways to evolve, has released a global research report polling over 1,200 marketers and agency people across North America, UK, Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, and Australia. The topic: data collaboration best practices and challenges, especially as the use of data becomes more challenging and regulated.
According to Lotame’s report, data collaboration spending is “set to surge, with 62% of marketers and agencies planning to adopt data collaboration platforms in the next 6 months to a year.” Check out Lotame’s full report here.
Why This Matters:
The growth in data collaboration can be attributed to several factors, including the abundance of data, brands and agencies seeking to make sense of it and enhance value through collaboration, the rise of AI, and growing restrictions on identity-based targeting that hurt addressability. The underlying assumption is investing in data collaboration will help marketers keep pace with the industry and adapt to these changes.
Andy Monfried, Lotame’s CEO, reinforced this in the company’s press release announcing the findings. “The landscape is undergoing yet another significant transformation, as marketers continue to recognize the blockers to engaging prospects amid an addressability gap,” he says. “Orchestrating and activating data remains a major struggle for marketers and agencies, both inside and outside their organizations. However, they are finally overcoming this barrier through… data collaboration platforms.”
An interesting finding from the research is an ever-so slight disparity in adoption rates between marketers and agencies. While 71% of marketers are already using data collaboration platforms, “just” 64% of agencies have adopted them. This difference can be due to several possible factors (warning: pure speculation ahead).
Obviously, brands own their first-party data. That direct ownership may motivate them to seek out platforms that can help them leverage it more effectively. Agencies, on the other hand, may be more cautious about adopting new tech involving client data, as they need to ensure compliance and security across multiple client relationships. This could explain their slightly slower adoption rate.
Despite this gap, both brands and agencies show high adoption rates for data collaboration platforms. And, according to Lotame, even more adoption is coming, and soon.
Experts React:
Laura Manning, SVP, Measurement at Cint, the research company Lotame partnered with on the survey, says, “The findings reveal a range of strategies being adopted, from addressing limitations in first-party data to exploring new technologies like data collaboration platforms. As the industry continues to evolve, we see a growing emphasis on innovative solutions to enhance audience targeting, personalization, and overall data orchestration and activation — all of which ultimately benefits the end consumer.”
Manning’s point about first-party data aligns with Lotame’s findings, which unsurprisingly reveals that marketers and agencies find the scale of first-party data limited. To enhance it, 61% of agencies are adopting data enrichment, while 52% of marketers are turning to AI (using AI to process and analyze the data to pull out more insights and up its usability).
Our Take:
Data collaboration is a rapidly growing market. According to Lotame’s research, we’re witnessing a potential shift: fewer dollars are being spent on specialized data technology point solutions, with more investment going into comprehensive platforms. These platforms enable collaboration across partners and deliver on multiple fronts, including data collection, connection, enrichment, collaboration, modeling, and activation.
As a result, we may see a decline in the popularity of pure-play clean room providers and CDPs. Marketers are potentially looking for more robust and interoperable solutions that can address a wider range of data management and collaboration needs.
