Data Onboarding

Data Onboarding: Everything you need to know about the cookie alternative.

In recent years, data protection laws in Europe and the USA have been significantly tightened. Web browsers such as Safari and Firefox have long severely restricted or completely blocked the use of third-party cookies. The advertising industry is now definitely facing a major challenge, as classic ad tracking is faltering.

While third-party cookies previously provided information about a person’s surfing behavior, thus enabling personalized advertising across websites, advertising companies must rethink their strategies for addressing the target group and find innovative solutions to continue delivering relevant Advertising.

One solution that is proving to be particularly promising in this context is Data Onboarding. First-party Data from various sources are securely linked in a Data Clean Room, creating precise target group profiles. As one of the first movers in the Swiss market, Goldbach, together with the Swiss tech company Decentriq, already designed a Data Onboarding solution for advertising targeting in 2022.

And here’s how it works

Goldbach implements Data Onboarding with Decentriq’s Data Clean Room. Thanks to this technology, brands do not have to make pure assumptions about the interests and behavior of their potential customers. Based on high-quality first-party Data, precise target groups are defined with the help of AI algorithms – the customer Data speak for themselves. Thanks to advanced privacy technologies, the Data in the Data Clean Room are always confidential and inaccessible.

Advertisers contribute customer information from their CRM databases, such as purchasing behavior or preferences. This information is particularly valuable, as existing customers best represent the target group. In contrast, Goldbach provides user Data including demographic information and reading interests on the publisher side, which are collected throughout the Goldbach network and the TX Sites (up to 1.5 million users per month). It is important that the Data records have a common identifier so that a comparison is possible. Typically, the email address is used as such an identifier.

Before the Data enter the Data Clean Room, they are encrypted. The advertising company “locks” the Data with its own key, which is not shared with either Goldbach or Decentriq. Thanks to advanced data protection technologies such as Confidential Computing, the Data remain fully protected even during matching and analysis.

After the Data matching, Decentriq’s Data Clean Room technology delivers a wealth of insights into customer segments and, with the help of AI, generates optimal target group segments within the publisher’s inventory:

  • Affinity Insights analyses provide information on the overlap between the customers of the advertising company and the users on the publisher side, including demographic Data, thematic affinities based on reading behavior, etc.
  • Based on this overlap, lookalike target groups are generated using algorithms. With the help of AI, users on publisher sites who have similarities are identified. These lookalikes can be optimized in terms of Reach or targeting accuracy.

The newly acquired target group profiles can now be used for targeted online Advertising. From here, programmatic Advertising works as usual, regardless of the end device.

Advantages for Advertisers

The use of Data Onboarding technology using first-party Data instead of third-party cookies offers advertising companies a variety of advantages:

Effective campaigns through targeted approach

  • In-depth customer understanding: By analyzing first-party Data in addition to the publisher Data, companies gain valuable insights into their customers and their behavior.
  • Tailor-made campaigns: Thanks to the insights from the Affinity Insights analyses, companies can plan individual campaigns and create content that is optimized for their target groups.
  • Better advertising impact thanks to effective targeting: By using high-quality first-party Data, Data Onboarding technology helps Advertising campaigns achieve a higher impact, e.g. in terms of engagement or conversions.

User-friendly functions

Extended target group
Thanks to the AI lookalike extension, potential new customers with similar interests and behaviors as the existing customer base can be addressed in the publisher’s network.

Optimized budgets
The advertising budget can be used more efficiently by specifically addressing relevant target groups.

Easy to use
The platform offers a user-friendly interface for easy and intuitive Data upload.

High degree of data protection and security

  • High data protection standards: The processing and analysis of sensitive first-party Data takes place in Decentriq’s secure Data Clean Room, which meets the highest data protection standards.
  • Protection of personal data: Personal Data are encrypted before entering the Data Clean Room and made inaccessible to third parties. They remain encrypted throughout the entire process.
  • Verifiable data security: The Data are demonstrably protected and continuously inaccessible. Thanks to Confidential Computing, they are only used for predefined comparisons and analyses.

Tips from practice

When implementing Data Onboarding, there are a few factors that can significantly contribute to success. Follow these tips to get the most out of your Advertising campaign.

Data Onboarding campaigns are most effective when advertisers have an extensive database of over 10,000 email addresses or other identifiers. However, the overlap itself does not have to be large: Based on a small “basic audience”, the target group can be expanded by lookalikes. Recommendation: Create two or three target groups in the Data Clean Room and see which one works best for the desired campaign goals.

It is necessary to have unique identifiers for your “ideal” target group, such as email addresses. If you do not have such identifiers available in your CRM system, local Data partners can offer solutions.

Data Onboarding campaigns should focus on conversions or engagement and/or target a specific target group. However, if the aim is to deliver the advertising material to a broad population group, Data Onboarding is less suitable.

The success of the campaign is measured using metrics such as time spent on the page, conversions or Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS). Click-through rates usually improve as well, but are also influenced by other external factors. In addition, Data Onboarding has no impact on KPIs on the inventory side, such as impressions. These depend more on the purchasing strategy.

Maintain a certain flexibility with regard to campaign duration, placements and formats used. Take time to monitor and adjust the campaign settings to maximize the effectiveness of the campaign.

Since most Data Onboarding campaigns use more precise (and therefore smaller) target groups, delivery does not always take place at the usual pace. We therefore recommend setting a campaign duration of at least four weeks with an optional extension. Data Onboarding is also ideal for year-round and continuous campaigns with a quarterly update to optimize targeting.

A functioning collaboration is also essential for Data Onboarding. The better advertisers, agencies, tech service providers and marketers are aligned and pursue common goals, the better the result.

Data Onboarding campaigns deliver even better results if they are repeated or if follow-up campaigns are carried out. This is the only way you can learn more about your customer base, validate assumptions, learn from the reporting and use this knowledge to optimize the next campaign.

Would you like to deepen your knowledge of the topic?

We asked Ines Feltscher from Goldbach neXT and Juan Baron from Decentriq a few questions.

Man with headset in front of the computer on the phone

For a successful Online Advertising campaign

We support you in planning your Advertising campaign.

No matter what goals you are pursuing, we have the right Format for your campaign. Let us work together to find the ideal solution for you.