First-party data is golden. It gives you direct access to consumers’ thoughts and preferences in exchange for providing them with a better online experience. First-party data is more important than ever as we prepare to phase out third-party cookies and the industry’s reliance on third-party data. Daily Mail Ireland was searching for a first-party data strategy to engage and excite end users.
The advertising industry has been anxiously waiting for the ultimate shift from third-party cookie tracking to leveraging first-party data for optimal audience targeting. While Google paused the deprecation of third-party cookies (again) and even announced a plan to allow end users the choice of whether to allow third-party cookie tracking, it is still imperative for advertisers to work on new ways to gather data before the other shoe eventually drops.
First-party data allows advertisers to understand their audience’s needs and preferences without infringing on user privacy. It can also deliver a better user experience by providing true insight into customers’ lives, which in turn allows for targeted ads users find relevant and helpful. User trust increases when they know how you plan to collect and use their data.
But, several questions remain. What are the best practices for collecting user data? How can we leverage this information to scale business? What are the benefits of first-party data? Opinary recently answered these questions via a partnership with Daily Mail Group (DMG) Ireland by adding embedded user polls in DMG Ireland’s articles. This allowed the company to collect users’ first-party data, increase engagement, and generate higher revenue.
Effectively Collecting & Leveraging First-Party Data
DMG Ireland and Opinary had previously worked together to increase DMG Ireland’s editorial engagement. When the company later needed a strategy to help collect and leverage first-party data, Opinary was the natural partnership choice.
“As a digital publisher, we historically engaged in one-way communication with our readers and essentially published our content in a broadcast fashion. We obviously garnered feedback in the traditional manner via our engagement analytics and insight data. However, when it came to commercial advertising messaging, it was much more difficult to gauge dimensions like purchase intent and brand perception,” said Doug Farrell, Group Head of Digital Strategy for Daily Mail Ireland.
DMG Ireland worked closely with Opinary to develop a bespoke, data-led engagement offering that was the first of its kind. Opinary specializes in addressing users with meaningful questions in content for publishers including The Financial Times, Times of London, MSNBC and Yahoo. DMG Ireland and Opinary created a two-way conversation between audiences and advertisers using Opinary’s integrated poll platform. Polls were embedded in articles, allowing readers to participate actively in online discussions. These polls revealed user buying intent and helped the publisher organize their users into target audience segments.
Connecting With Users Drives Strong Leads
In addition to collecting first-party data, polls increased user engagement by facilitating dialogue between users online, including increased social media interaction. It also allowed for more precise targeting via audience segmentation and provided advertisers with insights that let them better retarget users in the future.
This resulted in a 60% increase in CTRs, 80% increased brand engagement, and ultimately, 40% more CPMs. “This helped us drive the highest quality leads and resulted in strong client conversations. Opinary helped us prospect for users who were ‘in-market’ for our clients’ products and, in turn, led to a very successful advertising partnership,” noted Farrell.
Before implementing Opinary’s in-article polls, DMG Ireland struggled to target users meaningfully. The user polls gave insight into consumer interests and preferences while also increasing engagement rates by asking users to share their opinions. This increased user time spent on page and article shares on social channels while decreasing bounce rates.
Opinary’s polls gave online users an easy way to share their opinions and be part of a larger conversation. This type of engagement also makes users feel more connected to the content; an article becomes a conversation. Site visitors receive immediate feedback on how their thoughts compare to others’ opinions and can further engage with the discussion via follow-up actions.
Acquiring Better Data Makes You a Better Advertising Partner
Opinary’s innovative polls bolstered DMG Ireland’s reader engagement and overall digital advertising strategy. This in turn helped the company forge stronger bonds with advertisers and win more pitches.
First-party data is more valuable than ever, and through its partnership with Opinary, Daily Mail Group Ireland is setting a standard for how to best leverage this data at scale. As third-party data and cookies become obsolete, publishers need to evolve their content strategies or risk getting left behind. Engaging users improves both the user experience and advertising relationships.
DMG Ireland’s advertising strategy illustrates how publishers can simultaneously collect valuable data and enhance the reader experience. DMG positioned itself as a strategic partner to advertisers and won more pitches through its ability to provide advertisers with insights for retargeting.
“Being able to demonstrate intent, engagement, target, and retarget our users has provided us with a strong competitive advantage in the advertising market. It has also enabled us to leverage our extensive audience data segments in a more meaningful manner. Ultimately, our partnership has enabled us to win more pitches,” shared Farrell.
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About Opinary
Opinary enables digital publishers and advertisers to activate and convert their target groups with targeted polls, drive meaningful engagement at scale, and gain exclusive first-party data. Its offerings are used by over 160 premium publishers, like The Times of London, MSNBC and Yahoo, and more than 360 global companies, reaching over 120 million users monthly. Opinary was founded in 2016. Since 2023, it is a subsidiary of the US-Indian ad tech company Affinity Global.