Annabel and Jeff talking

Annabel Youens (Co-Founder and CMO) and Jeff Mitchell (Co-Founder and CTO)

We asked our two co-founders for their take on what a privacy-centric future is going to mean for marketers and technologists. Here’s what they had to say!

Annabel Youens, Co-Founder and CMO

Portrait photo of Annabel, AE's CMO and Co-Founder

What does the future look like for marketers? Frankly we will have worked incredibly hard to build long-term relationships with our customers through marketing and customer success. But this work will have led to increased revenue, less churn and more brand loyalty. 

2031’s Digital Landscape

What Will Disappear

There will be no more anonymous tracking. Third-party data will be long gone and so will cookies on all devices. Marketers won’t be re-targeting using cookies or any browser-based signals.

What Will Flourish

First-party data will be the queen and support a beneficial two-way flow of information. This Digital Handshake will be an agreement between humans and brands of give and take. As a human I give you my personal data and in return the brand will give me offers, discounts and rewards I want.

This Digital Handshake relies on both parties getting value.

 

A cellphone screen showing two people shaking hands. One hand is labelled "brand", the other "human". There is an arrow from the human to the brand that says "behavioral data" and the opposite way that says "personalization"

The Digital Handshake

As a privacy-centric brand I’ll have:

  • First-Party Data Strategy – A clear first-party data strategy that allows me to incentivize and capture my customers data with their consent and report against key brand goals
  • Rich Insights – Through my first-party data I’ll better understand the variety of my customers and pull out insights about each unique segment
  • Easy Recognition – With my data insights I’ll be able to recognize key customers with a reward or a status increase inside my loyalty program
  • Increased Brand Loyalty – A growing loyalty program with customers who feel recognized and rewarded
  • Increased Average Sale – A loyal customer base with growing retention metrics and increased average sale.
  • Genuine Word of Mouth Marketing – A customer base who have such a great experience with my brand that they tell their friends about us.

As a digital user I’ll know:

  • Who has access to my data and what type of data they are looking at
  • What brands are doing with my data and have the ability to adjust any data setting
  • I’ll feel recognized for contributing and purchasing from the brands I care about
  • I’ll be rewarded by brands for my loyalty with discounts, and offers that are a perfect fit for lifestyle and preferences
  • I’ll tell my friends and family about the brands I love.

Jeff Mitchell, Co-Founder and CTO

Portrait photo of Jeff Mitchell, AE's Co-founder and CTO

Jeff’s thoughts on data privacy and the end of cookies coming soon…