The martech-adtech convergence is accelerating, but work must be done to reap the rewards

The line between martech and adtech has been blurring for some time. But their convergence is now accelerating, driven by the very thing that traditionally separated them – the use of first-party data.

Where once this data was used solely in owned channels, brands are now compelled to put it to broader use. They must use it to meet the demand for seamless cross-channel experiences, respect consumer privacy in an evolving regulatory landscape, and mitigate the reduced availability of third-party cookies. These trends are placing more importance on a first-party data spine that unifies martech and adtech, and lives and moves throughout both paid and owned media.

Brands are already making the most of this convergence in a variety of ways. Some are integrating their customer data with programmatic advertising platforms and personalizing ad campaigns based on customer purchase history, preferences, and behaviors. Others are aggregating marketing and advertising campaign data to create a unified journey that guides the customer along the path to conversion. And some are integrating data from martech and adtech platforms to develop more accurate attribution models that improve optimization capabilities.

So, how can the convergence of martech and adtech benefit your brand, and what do you need to do today to make the most of these benefits?

Here are three of the key benefits of the martech-adtech convergence:

1. Personalized omnichannel experiences

The people you’re reaching with marketing and advertising don’t see the difference between the two – and nor should they. Unifying data from both advertising and marketing efforts allows brands to achieve a holistic view of the customer. It also creates a cohesive narrative and engagement strategy so they can deliver consistent customer experiences across all channels. And combining martech’s customer insights with adtech’s targeting capabilities means brands can reach known audiences with highly personalized content and advertising, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates.

2. A unified approach to data governance

The convergence of martech and adtech enables a unified approach to data governance. This ensures customer data is handled securely and ethically, minimizing the risk of data breaches or non-compliance with legal requirements. And, as data privacy regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and other potential federal statutes move the market in the direction of consent, the convergence facilitates a cross-channel approach to consent management.

3. Increased efficiency and better ROI

A unified approach to marketing and advertising allows brands to be more agile, quickly adapting to changes in customer behavior or market conditions. They can optimize campaigns in real time, ensuring their budget is directed toward the most effective strategies. They can reach the right audience, with the right message, at the right moment, across multiple channels. This increases the impact and effectiveness of both marketing and advertising efforts, leading to better ROI.

These benefits are appealing to any brand. But reaping the rewards of the martech-adtech convergence isn’t easy – it takes a real long-term commitment. It’s not necessarily about investing in many new technology platforms – most brands already have things like customer data platforms (CDPs), experience platforms, and their adtech ecosystem. It’s more about getting the data management part right to make everything else work effectively. And that means modernizing the data stack.

There are a couple of things your brand should already be thinking about as you work toward the connected, data-driven experiences this convergence enables:

Embrace the cloud: it’s critical to unified experiences

The cloud is at the center of a modernized data stack, where the convergence of martech and adtech is taking place. While it’s easy to assume everything has already gone to the cloud, that’s not the case. Our new research, entitled The Mass Martech Modernization, reveals less than half (44%) of marketing operations take place in the cloud, with the remaining 56% staying on-premise.

Brands need their data management, intelligence, and orchestration – often infused with AI and machine learning – to take place in the cloud. Then the activation itself can be headless, enabling seamless experiences across a variety of channels.

Break down silos in your data and your organization

Organizational alignment can be one of the greatest obstacles to making the most of the martech adtech convergence. Getting marketing and advertising teams to collaborate can be challenging when these functions have traditionally operated in silos, so some changes in organizational structure and processes may be required.

In addition to breaking down organizational silos, you’ll also need to bring together data from disparate martech and adtech platforms. Streamlining data ingestion and integration will be vital.

A single customer view enables everything else

Once those data silos are smashed, you can start thinking about how you create a single view of the customer by unifying information in a data spine. Elements like data hygiene and identity resolution will play a key role in creating a single view that is both accurate and actionable. And, as the privacy landscape evolves, a unified consent management platform must form an integral part of this spine.

Once you have this single view in place it can enable everything from unified attribution and analytics to omnichannel segmentation, driving those seamless, personalized experiences that will delight your customers.