Zero-party data, RAMPs and more: The state of agencies in 2024

Agencies are always on the lookout for new and impactful strategies. For most, 2024 will mark a massive shift in marketing – cookies are disappearing, retail media is booming and brands rightfully scrutinize each and every marketing dollar. 

But with disruption comes possibility, and this year, agencies have an opportunity to stay ahead of the curve. Here’s what’s happening in the industry and how agencies need to evolve in the ever-changing ad landscape.

Agencies have known about cookie deprecation for a while now. How are agencies feeling about them going away? And what do you think is going to replace cookies?

Agencies understand that the threat of signal loss is real, and they’re preparing accordingly. Recently, GroupM partnered with Google to test certain brands’ post-cookie readiness. Agencies are asking, “When that does happen at scale, what’s going to happen to our advertisers?” 

Embracing first- and zero-party data will be super important for them to lean in on. Zero-party data, collected directly through consumers through opt-in methods like loyalty programs, holds immense potential for hyper-targeted advertising while respecting user privacy. 

It’s a new, consumer-centric paradigm, but brands stand to benefit as well–verified first- and zero-party data is richer and more reliable than third-party information. Ultimately, brands that leverage this powerful data effectively will gain a significant competitive edge. 

That’s where Fetch comes in. We can transform billions of SKU-level receipt data points into insights that agencies can harness that knowledge to shift purchase patterns in their clients favor.

From the brand side, signal loss is a big consideration with cookie deprecation. How is that signal loss affecting ad agencies?

It’s at scale. Agencies can have dozens, even hundreds of brands. If they can’t solve signal loss for one, they put their whole client roster at risk. That’s why having clear attribution is so important.

Brands ask agencies, “What have you done for me lately?” Fifteen years ago, an average brand was with an agency for 10+ years. Now it’s more like 18 months. Agencies need to be able to prove the impact their campaigns are having and show these partner brands they are adequately prepared for the future.

The best way for agencies to combat this is to work with partners who can precisely attribute their campaigns’ performance back to verified purchase data.

Fetch wants to solve problems for ad agencies. Why should media buyers and planners add Fetch to their clients’ media mix?

Well, we have zero-party data. No one else has the data we have. Then, there’s holistic consumer behavior. Retail media networks are fantastic, and they know a lot about one segment. But Fetch has unified receipt data from across all retailers. We learn more because we’re not limited to that one-retailer ecosystem. Plus, the SKU-level purchase data we have to build the persona is fantastic. 

Fetch captures 11 million receipts every day. That’s gold for an agency to tap into when they want to understand deep consumer behavior. We can build bespoke audience profiles, categorize shoppers and then deliver relevant content to consumers who fit that persona within a given location. No one else is doing that, and they’re certainly not doing it at scale.

So, why should agencies be working with Fetch? Why now?

This is the opportunity for agencies to get ahead. When agencies integrate the Fetch platform’s purchase data with their own systems, like clean rooms and existing data partners, they can fortify audience profiling, customer analysis and measurement. Plus, agencies are consistently looking to connect brands with a Gen Z audience, and Fetch is the fourth most-popular shopping app for this generation.

There was search, then social and now retail-agnostic media platforms like Fetch. The next wave is here.  

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Looking to bring your clients a new staple for the media mix? Get in touch with our Fetch for Business team today.