Marketing & Advertising · Data neutrality

Data partners with a stake in the answer can't be trusted

In short A data layer that answers to a company with a stake in the outcome loses the neutrality that made it valuable in the first place.

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PRWeek reports Liquid Death plans to leave LiveRamp after Publicis's $2.2 billion takeover, and rivals are asking whether the platform can stay neutral.

That's the grading-your-own-homework problem again. The data layer now answers to Publicis.

Neutral is the product. Once it's in doubt, so is the data.

Stitching user-level data together was already fragile before any deal.

If you're picking a data partner for next year, think twice before trusting one with a stake in the answer.

Responding to Brands begin to exit LiveRamp as Publicis ownership tests industry trust, PRWeek US

Originally posted on LinkedIn →

Topics Data neutrality · Marketing data partners · Ad industry consolidation · Identity resolution

Jeff Greenfield

About the author

Jeff Greenfield

Builds marketing measurement platforms, from multi-touch attribution to incrementality

Jeff Greenfield has spent two decades building marketing programs tied to measurable value. In 2008, Jeff built one of the first multi-touch attribution platforms, which earned MRC Accreditation. In 2022, Jeff launched Provalytics, which measures incremental impact across channels without cookies, tags, or user-level data.

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