Let’s look at some of the key findings from the report. 

The DMP Landscape

Increased usage of DMPs is a relatively recent phenomenon, with 58% of respondents saying they only started using a DMP in the last one or two years.

DMP usage

Use of DMPs has taken off more slowly in Europe compared to the US, with 35% of European respondents saying they only started using one in the last year vs. 19% for US respondents. 

DMP use

Overall the proportion of companies planning to increase investment in DMPs has doubled in the last 12 months, from 15% to 30%. 

Does better data equate to more paid media success?

In addition to the statistic cited in the title of this post, 68% of respondents say they have successfully used data to improve their advertising effectiveness. 

68% say they’re using first-party data to enhance their ad campaigns, and 67% are using it to improve their cross-channel marketing performance. 

DMP benefits

Clearly the respondents feel that better data does indeed lead to greater success, but they also highlighted a number of benefits specific to using a DMP.

The top three major benefits according to respondents are:

  • Centralised control and standardisation of existing first-party data (53%)
  • Using the data we already have for better email, web, social and content personalisation (51%)
  • Developing rich and actionable datasets across first, second and third-party data sources (46%)

Using DMPs to get advertising in front of the right people

The ability to track and target customers is important, but DMPs provide much more detailed customer journey information. 

This enables marketers to form lookalike cohorts of those who are currently strangers to the brand. These groups are ultimately more likely to respond
 to advertising than a lookalike segment based purely on demographics. 

Retargeting is another effective marketing tool, with brands reporting conversion uplifts of 200-300% with basic retargeting campaigns. 

Using DMPs, however, the opportunities stretch even further as the customer’s purchase intent is revealed through their browsing journey. 

To read the full report, download The Role of DMPs in the Era of Data-Driven Advertising