Best Data Management Platforms (DMPs) for Publishers

As data-driven decision-making becomes a necessity for success, effective data management has emerged as the cornerstone of thriving digital publishing businesses. Enter Data Management Platforms (DMPs), the revolutionary solution that empowers publishers to consolidate, organize, and analyze vast amounts of data from diverse sources while optimizing their advertising strategies and delivering personalized content experiences.

Publishers struggle to pick the right data management provider as it involves analyzing many factors. Starting from features to pricing to comparison to suitability, you might need to crunch more numbers. That’s why we’ve composed a list of the best data management platforms (DMPs) for your reference.

What Is a Data Management Platform?

A Data Management Platform (DMP) is a centralized platform that collects, organizes, and analyzes large volumes of data from various sources for that collects, organizes, and analyzes large volumes of data from various sources. When it comes to digital publishing, DMP is a system that helps publishers gather data about their audience, analyze it, and use it to make informed decisions about their content and advertising strategies.

In general, DMP collects three types of data:

• First-Party Data: This data is directly collected from a user or a consumer. The major first-party data sources include CRM systems, subscriptions, newsletter sign-ups, and analytic tools (web & mobile). 
• Second-Party Data: The data which is gathered by companies through a partnership agreement is termed second-party data. Sources include audience information through forms filled in with first-party data and other ad-serving data.
• Third-Party Data: The data is pulled from different sources and sold to agencies for analytics and audience targeting. 

Once the data is collected and organized in the DMP, publishers can use it to create audience segments based on specific attributes, behaviors, and interests. These segments can be used for various purposes, such as targeting advertising campaigns, personalizing content, or improving the user experience.

Key features of a DMP may include data integration, audience segmentation, analytics, privacy compliance, and integration with other marketing technologies, such as Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) and Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs). By employing a DMP, publishers can unlock the full potential of their data assets and gain a competitive advantage in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

What Is a Cloud Data Management Platform?

A Cloud DMP (Data Management Platform) is a DMP solution that operates in a cloud-based environment, as opposed to on-premise infrastructure. This cloud-based approach offers several advantages for publishers, advertisers, and marketers, as it simplifies the process of collecting, storing, and analyzing large volumes of data from multiple sources.

The key benefits of a Cloud DMP include:

• Scalability: A cloud-based DMP can easily scale to accommodate growing data volumes and fluctuating user demands, ensuring optimal performance and avoiding the need for costly infrastructure upgrades.
• Accessibility: Cloud DMPs can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection, enabling teams to collaborate and make data-driven decisions remotely and in real-time.
• Cost-efficiency: By eliminating the need for on-premise hardware and maintenance, cloud-based DMPs offer a more cost-effective solution with lower upfront costs and reduced ongoing expenses.
• Security: Cloud DMP providers typically implement robust security measures to protect sensitive data, ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations and reducing the risk of data breaches.
• Flexibility: Cloud DMPs can easily integrate with other cloud-based marketing tools and platforms, streamlining data exchange and simplifying the implementation of data-driven strategies.

Best Data Management Platforms (DMPs)

1. Adobe Audience Manager

Adobe Audience Manager is a leading DMP. From customer intelligence to personalization, the suite offers everything a media publisher needs to improve their campaign ROI and user experience. 

You can combine all your first-, second-, and third-party data to generate sensible audience profiles. Each profile depicts consumer habits and who they are. As a publisher, that’s what you need to deliver personalized ad experience and content recommendations.

Pros:

• Robust audience segmentation and profiling capabilities enable detailed targeting.
• Seamless integration with other Adobe Experience Cloud products, providing a comprehensive marketing solution.
• Strong analytics tools and data visualization to help publishers make informed decisions.
• Supports a wide range of data sources and formats.
• It, indeed, improves the effectiveness of the ad campaigns and lets editors deliver the right content.

Cons:

• It can be complex and challenging to use for beginners.
• Higher cost compared to some other DMPs in the market.
• It may require additional investment in training and support.

2. Lotame

One of the most flexible and powerful DMPs used by digital agencies, publishers, and advertisers to achieve maximum connection with the audience. Unlike other platforms, Lotame is an independent data management platform that caters to medium and large enterprise businesses. Lotame provides audience data analytics, insights, and consumer reporting across all devices. As a flexible platform, it can be easily integrated with any other enterprise software or new technologies.

Pros:

• Lotame serves publishers with higher campaign values.
• It can be used to target only the niche and small audience segment that returns maximum sales.
• Omnichannel data consolidation and digestible insights.

Cons:

• It needs more transparency and quality regarding where the advertising data is placed.
• If a publisher decides to work on an off-property campaign, the management of resources will be difficult.

3. Oracle BlueKai

Regarded as the world’s largest third-party data aggregation tool, Oracle Bluekai allows marketers and advertisers to work in tandem with multiple partners across the web, mobile, email, offline, and online channels. BlueKai’s audience data marketplace provides consumers with data attributes that comprise details such as past purchases, interests, qualified geographies, and brands. BlueKai also lets you plan and analyze campaigns by device.

Pros:

• Part of the Oracle Data Cloud, offering an extensive suite of data-driven marketing tools.
• Supports a wide range of data sources and formats.
• Offers cross-selling opportunities across multiple business units.
• The platform powers website customization and dynamic creative optimization based on new target audience segments.
• Precisely fragmenting first-party and third-party data, carefully analyzing and assessing prospects for better campaign targeting and retargeting.
• Better management of offline and online campaigns by enabling personalized consumer engagement and, thus, improving the marketing returns.

Cons:

• It is not possible to apply complex rules while creating a target audience segment.
• Slow issue-resolving time.
• Given the large amount of database, it is difficult to sort the required data.
• It can be expensive, particularly for smaller businesses.

4. Salesforce Audience Studio (formerly Krux)

Salesforce DMP aims to offer all sorts of services you probably need. However, you need to have a significant number of unique users or sizeable audience data to see a better ROI. As per the claim, the platform combines datasets and helps you to derive insights through segmentation and analysis.

It is worth noting that the Salesforce DMP has been predominantly used to collect all the data and retarget the readers based on the developed insights.

Pros:

• Part of the Salesforce Marketing Cloud, offering a unified marketing solution.
• Service support is quick.
• It has tag features that can level up the way you retarget your readers.
• Analytics and CRM onboarding capabilities.

Cons:

• UI isn’t up to the bar and takes time to crunch the data.
• Steeper learning curve for non-technical users.
• It can be expensive, especially for smaller businesses.
• Limited reporting and data visualization abilities.

5. Liveramp

LiveRamp is a data connectivity platform that, although not a traditional DMP, plays a crucial role in the digital marketing ecosystem. It focuses on data onboarding and identity resolution, enabling businesses to connect and unify their disparate data sources and create a single, actionable view of their customers. It caters to agencies, brands, publishers, and even digital marketing platforms (other DMPs). LiveRamp offers IdentityLink, a proprietary solution to publishers, helping them to run people-based campaigns. Publishers can also monetize their data using the same platform securely. Besides, it spells out data insights that publishers can use to drive subscriptions and expand the audience base. 

Pros:

• Liveramp has the ability to act as a multi-purpose platform for publishers and any other adtech vendors. 
• People-based targeting ensures higher ROI for advertisers and, in turn, increases the value of publishers’ inventories.
• It helps to identify unknown audience data and connect offline CRM data with digital advertising platforms.
• Compliant with data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
• It has a huge list of partners resulting in ease of implementation.

Cons:

• Less transparency, and publishers have to rely on proprietary technology.
• Not suitable for medium publishers, mainly because of the high price tag. 
• Limited Customization and a lot of manual work are involved.

The Way Forward

The era of data-driven decision-making is upon us, and publishers must stay ahead of the curve by leveraging the most advanced and efficient Data Management Platforms available. You can choose from many options available based on your needs and business process. 

Remember that the ideal DMP should align with your business goals, budget, and technical capabilities. Last but not least, choose the DMP based on your industry, demographics, rules, and regulations based on the targeting locations and the type of integration planned for your system.

Ultimately, the power of data lies in its ability to propel your business forward, fostering innovation, enhancing user experiences, and enabling you to thrive in an increasingly connected world. Embrace the potential of DMPs and watch your business soar to new heights!