With personalisation at the top of marketers’ minds in 2024, B&T sought out an expert to give their take on changing consumer expectations of personalisation, how the survival of third-party cookies changes personalisation moving forward, and more.
Here, we chat with Shane Hanby, Epsilon’s managing director ANZ, to find out what on earth is going on.
B&T: What are the current trends in personalisation across the ANZ marketing and advertising landscape?
Shane Hanby: Personalisation is increasingly data-driven, with brands leveraging first-party to deliver more tailored and relevant experiences with a focus on creating customer journeys that feel personal and meaningful. Using AI and machine learning to analyse customer behaviour and predict needs, Epsilon’s CORE ID solution is particularly relevant by offering deterministic customer identity management that enables brands to personalise interactions at scale. This is imperative regardless of whether your strategy includes the use of third-party identifiers or not. Let’s face it, if you’re relying on third-party cookies alone, you’re reducing your addressable audience by as much as 50 per cent.
B&T: How can marketers best respond to the news of Google maintaining third-party cookies?
SH: Marketers should continue to prioritise building and maintaining robust first-party data strategies. While third-party cookies remain for now, the industry trend is clearly toward greater data privacy and transparency. Epsilon’s CORE ID allows marketers to ‘future-proof’ their strategies by providing a stable and reliable way to understand and engage with customers across all touchpoints without relying on third-party cookies. This ensures compliance with evolving privacy regulations while enhancing the effectiveness of personalisation efforts which equates to a better value exchange between brands and consumers.
B&T: How are brands in the region leveraging data to create personalised campaigns and reduce ad waste?
SH: Brands are increasingly focused on using enhanced data to segment their audiences more effectively, ensuring that their marketing dollars reach the right people at the right time. Smart marketers gain access to rich consumer insights and advanced analytics tools that enable precise targeting, reducing ad waste by minimising irrelevant impressions and ensuring that marketing dollars are spent on high-value audiences most likely to convert.
B&T: What challenges do brands face when implementing personalised marketing strategies in ANZ now third-party cookies are here to stay?
SH: The real challenge lies in balancing personalisation with privacy. There’s a temptation to rely on third-party cookies while they are still in play, but the landscape is shifting toward greater consumer control over their personal data. Brands must focus on building trust by transparently collecting and using first-party data, by using identity resolution technology (Like that of Epsilon’s) which can help overcome the personalisation and privacy challenges, ensuring efforts are based on consented, first-party data and making marketing more effective and compliant, it’s the old value exchange concept on repeat…
B&T: How has consumer behaviour in the region influenced the shift towards more personalised experiences?
SH: Today’s consumers expect personalised experiences across all channels, value relevancy, and are more likely to engage with brands that understand their preferences and needs. This has driven brands to adopt more sophisticated personalisation strategies. Supported by Epsilon, brands have the tools to deliver seamless and personalised experiences that resonate with consumers and build long-term loyalty.
B&T: What other opportunities exist for brands in ANZ to improve their personalisation efforts and reduce ad waste?
SH: One significant opportunity lies in the integration of offline and online data to create a unified customer view that allows for more consistent and personalised experiences across all channels. Additionally, brands should be leveraging advanced analytics and AI capabilities to continuously refine and optimise their personalisation strategies, ensuring that they are always targeting the most relevant audiences with the most effective messages. Ask yourself, do I have access to these tools that provide the full picture? If the answer is no, it may be time to explore new partnerships, like shopping around your health insurance premiums each year to ensure you’re getting optimal value.
B&T: How are privacy regulations in Australia impacting personalisation?
SH: Privacy regulations in Australia are increasingly stringent (And so they should be), and there’s a strong focus on consumer consent and data protection. While Google is still in discussions with regulators, brands must be proactive in adapting their personalisation strategies to comply with these regulations. With a host of data breaches in AU over the past few years, consumers demand the highest levels of data protection, security and privacy, it’s imperative first-party data is pseudonymised, this supports privacy compliance, increases consumer trust and considerably reduces the risk of data breaches.
B&T: What role does technology play in enhancing personalisation for consumers in the region?
SH: Technology is central to personalisation, enabling brands to analyse vast amounts of data and deliver tailored experiences at scale. Epsilon’s technology stack, including CORE ID, empowers brands to harness the full potential of their data, delivering highly personalised interactions that drive engagement and conversion while reducing ad waste.
B&T: Can you share some successful examples of how brands across ANZ have delivered highly personalised campaigns or drastically reduced ad waste?
SH: Brands have used Epsilon’s solutions to achieve significant improvements in personalisation and ad efficiency. For instance, by leveraging Epsilon’s data and identity resolution capabilities (Core ID), a major Australian retailer was able to increase its incremental return on ad spend (IROAS) from 2:1 to 7:1, by targeting high-value segments with personalised offers, ensuring that marketing messages reached only the most relevant audiences.
