The Container Store jumps on the 1PD wagon.

By Reshma Karnik Chief Media Officer

As the world of data is becoming more and more regulated, brands are continuing to jump on the first-party data (1PD) bandwagon. The latest to do this is The Container Store and while theoretically all brands are looking to go this route, not many have the sophistication or internal resources to truly deliver on the objective, and relying on partners who can hold their hand in this entire process is becoming increasingly important. Very few brands have truly figured out how to expand their current data usage or application and are still in the early segmentation, basic audience planning, and inconsistent targeting & activation stages.

Brands are stuck in this place of collecting data on their users/customers in an unstructured format, without guidance or the foresight of what they want to do with that data. Privacy regulations and 3PD cookie deprecation are forcing their hand in looking inward for data to reach customers outward.

The Container Store is endeavoring to do just that. In partnership with Epsilon, they are now looking to activate their 1PD in a privacy-safe environment for creating personalized campaigns and experiences for their customers through accurate segmentation, identifying the right target audiences, and reaching those audiences as well. Leveraging the customer data platform (CDP) and identity resolution enables data enrichment, getting a full view of customers, and enables insights leading to activation. This is a powerful step in the right direction to take control of how they reach their customers and potential customers through data + technology, use customized messaging to create better engagement, drive more transactions, and in essence increase footprint as well as revenue.

While this seems to be a natural course of action and sounds simple, there are a lot of factors that play a role in such a decision-making process. Starting with the marketing team understanding the gaps and challenges within their data collection, enrichment & application, determining if they have the right resources in place to drive the data strategy, and evaluating the right CDP technology partner to navigate the nuts and bolts of how data can be housed within its walls in an efficient way and finally having an open dialogue with their agency partners to define use cases to enable personalized application.

So how does Barkley advise our clients on their data strategy? 

1. Have a proactive dialogue asking about their 1PD collection. 

2. Think about ways in which you can make that data actionable through media and bring those ideas to clients. 

3. Identify ways in which you can explore 2PD opportunities - Most publishers + platforms are now collecting their own 1PD and trying to monetize it.

4. Retail media networks have a lot of rich data that can be beneficial for brands - Explore in-market options such as Walmart, Amazon, etc., and find the right fit. 

5. 3PD segments are still going to exist, but their efficacy is going to be diminished because of privacy regulations and cookie deprecation.

Be a thought partner, consultant, and extension to your clients in their data journey and help them take the driving wheel in this difficult process.

Want to chat more about 1PD and how your brand can maximize these opportunities? 

Reach out to Reshma Karnik, Chief Media Officer, at rkarnik@barkleyus.com or Jason Parks, Chief Growth Officer, at jparks@barkleyus.com.