From Insight to Impact: The Power of First-Party Data

In today’s data-driven marketing landscape, the ability to transform insights into measurable impact is essential for campaign success. As third-party cookies disappear, Ads & Data offers a solid solution. 

This whitepaper explores how Ads & Data uses a robust ecosystem of first-party data, advanced segmentation, and privacy-compliant technology to achieve effective advertising outcomes. It outlines the three pillars of database cooperation—Insights, Activation, and Measurement—and presents real-world examples of this approach in action. 

Data strategy

Ads & Data helps you maximize data potential by combining data from different strong partners (Mediahuis, Play Media, Proximus, Telenet and VRT) into one cross-platform ecosystem. Thanks to the Ads & Data consent we are able to combine data from different partners and to create enriched data profiles. The Ads & Data ID allows us to recognize users across multiple platforms—both online and on TV. This enables us to offer a wide range of data segments to advertisers, from sociodemographic data to interest segments (where we add contextual data on top of behavioural data). 

1. Insights: The Foundation of Effective Campaigns

The journey from insight to impact begins with understanding your audience. The advertiser’s and Ads & Data’s databases are connected through data clean room technology of InfoSum or LiveRamp. These platforms ensure that data can be unlocked securely and in compliance with privacy regulations. 

Key capabilities

Use Case Example: The VIP Selection campaign for TUI Group demonstrated that lookalike audiences closely matched real buyers, proving strong predictive power and enabling upscale targeting.  

Audience Identification

Database matching reveals which media your customers consume and their sociodemographic and behavioural profiles.

Overlap Analysis

Insights into the overlap between advertiser data and mediapartners help optimize media mix and format selection. 

Lookalike Creation

Thanks to AI technology we search for the digital twins of your best customers at Ads & Data. Since lookalikes show a high affinity with your customers, they are more likely to buy your products or services, increasing the chance of conversion. 

2. Activation: Turning Data into Action

Once insights are established, the next step is activation—using data to reach the right audiences with the right message. Ads & Data enables advertisers to activate their own data, and retail data within a secure, GDPR-compliant environment. 

Activation strategies:

 

  • Activation of Advertiser Data: 
      • Targeting Existing Clients: Upsell new products or reactivate inactive customers by matching advertiser databases with Ads & Data. 
      • Prospect Targeting: Create and activate lookalike segments to reach new audiences while excluding current clients. 
  • Activation of Retail Data: The partnership with Media Marketing Delhaize via InfoSum’s clean room technology allows segmentation based on purchase behaviour, such as frequent buyers of vegetarian, organic, or baby products.

Use Case Example:
A.S.Adventure combined campaign data from Ads & Data with its own first-party data and lookalikes to build broad, relevant audiences. The campaign used inspirational branded content to collect data naturally, followed by targeted promotions using multiple data layers.  

3. Measurement: Closing the Loop

The final building block is measurement—quantifying the impact of campaigns on sales and optimizing future efforts. Ads & Data employs closed loop measurement by securely linking campaign viewing data with sales data (from advertisers or retailers) using data clean room platforms (InfoSum, LiveRamp). Ads & Data has demonstrated measurable effectiveness in building brand awareness. Closed loop measurement now allows us to assess conversion rates at the bottom of the marketing funnel, addressing a previous gap in our analytics capabilities. 

 

Use Case Examples: For a major Belgian advertiser, the results were compelling: the conversion rate among viewers was twice as high as among non-viewers. The e5 campaign attracted 851 new and re-engaged clients, with the majority coming from lookalike audiences, proving their high performance. Closed loop analysis confirmed that repeated exposure and local shopper targeting significantly increased conversion rates.  

Technical and Legal Approach

Ads & Data’s multi-clean room approach (partnership with both InfoSum and LiveRamp) ensures data is unlocked securely and in full compliance with GDPR. Successful database collaborations require close cooperation between marketing, technical, and privacy teams. A joint controller agreement is needed for lookalike creation, first-party data use, and closed loop measurement with user profile insights. 

Key takeaways

  • Database cooperation is built on three pillars: insights, activation, and measurement. 
  • Closed-loop measurement directly links marketing efforts to sales results, providing actionable feedback for continuous optimization. 
  • Lookalike audiences accurately represent real buyers, delivering high-performance targeting. 
  • Combining first-party data with campaign exposure results in twice the conversion rate. 
  • Privacy and compliance are ensured through secure data clean room technologies and clear legal frameworks. 

Conclusion:

Ads & Data’s approach demonstrates that leveraging high-quality, consented data—combined with advanced activation and rigorous measurement—drives superior campaign performance. By embracing database cooperation and closed loop strategies, advertisers can unlock even more added value, acquire even more customers, and further optimize their marketing investments for measurable impact.  

Ann-Sophie Libbrecht

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