What is a Data Management Platform (DMP)?
DMP can be considered as a technology-driven solution or a central hub that collects, integrates, manages and activates large volumes of data from various sources. The ultimate goal of the right DMP is to transform your data into actionable insights on how your customers behave. The following figure shows a functional viewpoint of a DMP: collect data, get insights and engagement.
DMP solutions nowadays are evolving fast to fulfill an even broader enterprise mission and enable publishers and marketers aggregating more data, from more sources, than ever before. DMP’s applications are increasingly diversified and vary as to the most appropriate role for DMPs in the data ecosystem. Some see them as representing an advanced, automated approach to integrating data for use in ad targeting. To others, a DMP is a tool for managing custom insights in support of customer experience management. And yet others see the technology as an enabler of media efficiencies, complementing demand-side platforms (DSPs), supply-side platforms (SSPs) and trading desks (see figure below for an illustration).
What Data Points Can I Use to Build an Audience?
You probably already know your audience demographics and targets, and that is a good place to start when building audiences. Here are just a few of the data points you can use to build your audience:
- Age
- Gender
- Location or region
- Interests
- Browsing history
- Household income
- Family size
- Opinions e.g., all customers who like/do not like X
- Social networks e.g., Facebook versus Twitter
If you don’t have adequate first-party data to build the audiences you need, the DMP should provide access to 2nd- and 3rd-party data to help scale your campaigns to reach your audience goals. Not sure how to choose what data to buy? Read more about 2nd-party data and 3rd-party data here.
What are some potential applications of a DMP?
- Advertising: Drives expanded insight into digital audiences, allowing for the packaging of Web visitor populations into actionable segments that may be targeted for the most appropriate offers and creative treatments; also allows for the development of broader “look-alike” audiences whose behaviors and profile characteristics mirror that of a target population (allowing for the expansion of that target universe)
- Marketing: In concert with targeted advertising, supports enhanced visitor recognition which, in turn, drives improved offer management, website experience optimization and a wide range of other functions (both digital and off-site)
- Media-Sales: Provides for the enhancement of first-party visitor datasets, leading to the creation of rich, actionable audience segments that may be packaged and sold at a premium (on the basis of their inferred value to advertisers); supports the integration of disparate audience datasets that may exist across owned media properties (as well as other organizational functions, such as customer marketing) providing a key solution to the challenge of organizational silos
- Commerce: Supports enhanced visitor recognition, offer management and multichannel user experience allowing for strategic merchandising on both e-commerce properties and, with some additional maturity, through both mobile and brick-and-mortar retail venues