By Melanie Hoptman, managing director, Asia Pacific at LiveRamp
In Australia’s ever-evolving advertising landscape, 2024 was a tipping point.
Despite the abandonment of the cookie phase-out, the pressure to adopt first-party data strategies will only amplify in 2025 driven by continued changes in consumer preferences, platforms, and legislative behaviour.
We know that first-party data offers businesses an unparalleled opportunity to connect with their customers, however, to fully unlock its potential, brands need to overcome challenges related to data management, privacy compliance, and effective collaboration.
The question isn’t whether first-party data will reshape advertising strategies—it’s how effectively businesses can harness its potential while navigating new challenges.
The road to 2025
In Australia, where consumers are both digitally connected and privacy-aware, first-party data offers brands the ability to craft personalised, meaningful interactions. This shift is not merely a technical adjustment; it is a fundamental realignment of how businesses engage with their audiences.
With Aussie consumers increasingly asserting their right to control their personal data, demanding both privacy and security, one of the most pressing challenges in 2025 will be balancing personalisation with privacy.
The takeaway for Aussie advertisers is clear: balance the need for increasing personalisation in marketing strategies with the use of first-party data to protect consumer privacy. Understanding and respecting these demands will be imperative for the landscape in the coming year.
Advertising strategies that demonstrate an organisation’s ability to personalize touchpoints while safeguarding consumers’ data will not only drive engagement, but also an opportunity to build meaningful, trustworthy long-term relationships.
Innovative ways for brands to harness first-party data
One of the most exciting shifts in first-party data is the proliferation of secure collaboration tools. While first-party data is incredibly valuable, its potential is often limited to what a single organisation can collect. Data collaboration can help change the game by enabling brands to deepen their understanding by teaming up with trusted partners, which in turns powers personalisation.
For example, a retailer might partner with a payment provider or a loyalty program to gain deeper insights into shared customers, allowing them to tailor and provide holistic marketing messages.
Using tools like data clean rooms, this collaboration can happen in a secure environment, ensuring sensitive information stays protected while unlocking meaningful insights. The result? Smarter targeting, more effective campaigns, and better customer experiences.
By tapping into collaboration practices and activating on these insights, brands can enhance consumer value at every stage—from campaign planning to performance measurement. These partnerships bridge knowledge gaps, safely connecting your first-party data with another organisation’s data to create a more complete picture of your audience.
Through data collaboration, in conjunction with partners that share your focus on consumer privacy and ethical treatment of data, the only limits that exist are the new partnerships that you can think of. Through using innovative tools that power collaboration while protecting data, every ethical partner is a potential source of new insights, and driver of new value for the customer journey. Every part of the marketing cycle – from finding your audiences to measuring your returns – will benefit.
As we approach the new year, one thing is certain: first-party data holds the future of advertising, and is a requisite foundation for all future-forward marketers. While first-party data will be key to strengthening advertising strategies, it alone won’t be enough to lead successful campaigns. Marketers must be thinking of new ways to build on this data, power more insights, and drive more effective marketing.
Critically, collaboration that respects consumer privacy helps strengthen your company’s results, helping provide an exponential lift for your data-driven investments in today’s challenging climate.
–
Top image: Mel Hoptman