CUPERTINO, Calif., Dec. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report released today from Radar Research and BlueKai revealed brands are quickly making the data management platform (DMP) a technology anchor for their marketing efforts.  According to the study, 40 percent of the brands surveyed are currently using a DMP – with an additional 30 percent expecting to implement the platform next year – as a way to get a better handle on their own data, leverage it to prospect new customers and ultimately break down silos that prevent brands from engaging their customers across all digital channels.

The study, which queried more than 200 senior marketing executives responsible for technology and marketing decisions within brands, agencies and publishers, showed that marketers are looking to fine tune their audiences, centralize insights and drive better ROI as primary reasons to implement a DMP. However, the promise of DMPs that executives find most enticing was to break down barriers between various digital disciplines. More than 60 percent of marketers cited horizontal integration – the ability to leverage insights across channels such as display, social, mobile and video – was more important than a vertical integration, which takes insights to drive better targeting for online display advertising. 

"Marketers have chased the mythical 1:1 marketing goal but the digital landscape was never designed for all these disparate systems to work together," said Marissa Gluck, founder of Radar Research. "DMP early adopters were all about maximizing their online media buys but now it's about driving ROI and applying the insights they have across all their channels; online, social, mobile, search and email."

Marketers are leveraging DMPs to help aggregate their most valuable assets.  Among them, first-party data assets, email campaigns, Web site engagement, retargeting information and consumer ad campaign engagements are paramount.  "Marketers are going to start to move away from the single-use targeting, like those on ad networks, and more toward cross platform solutions that allow them to target audiences," added Gluck.

As for the functions, more than two-thirds of marketers said that finding new prospects and analytics as top reasons to leverage the DMP platform. This is a shift from the initial wave of adopters who focused on fine tuning how they targeted customers and prospects.

"Our research findings show positive signs that brands are indeed embracing data to inform their marketing decision-making and they are doing so far beyond the reach of display advertising," said Cory Treffiletti, Senior Vice President of Marketing for BlueKai.  "DMPs are a way for marketers to drive intelligent marketing across all of their channels and as more marketers understand this and begin to build out their 'marketing stack' we will see data become the core unit of their marketing efforts." 

Additional findings from the report include:

Data-driven efforts engrained into strategies: 81 percent of companies said they wish they could lean more on data driven efforts to remain competitive while 64 percent said that data driven efforts would be the lynchpin to their plans. 

Marketing gaining more control of technology purse strings: Nearly 60 percent report marketing is now the decision maker for selecting marketing technology, shifting these decisions from the CIO or IT teams.

Rise of the CMTO: When asked why they were not implementing a DMP, more than half of respondents cited resource constraints rather than not seeing the value. With more of the dollars to fund these initiatives flowing back to marketing, senior leaders that blend both the data and marketing sides will continue to emerge. Some organizations have already dubbed this hire the Chief Marketing Technology Officer.

For a copy of the report, visit www.bluekai.com/DMPREPORT for a download.

About Radar Research
Radar Research (www.radarresearch.com) is a strategic consultancy focused on emerging media, culture and commerce. Since its official founding in 2004, Radar Research has served scores of clients spanning the globe. As the co-founder of Radar Research, Marissa Gluck is a consultant, writer, and speaker focused on media and marketing issues. As a consultant, she has worked with companies such as Google, DoubleClick, Starwood, Demand Media and many others. An expert on digital marketing and technology, Gluck has often been quoted in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Advertising Age and Business Week. Additionally, she has appeared on CNBC, CBS Marketwatch, CNNfn, and NPR.

About BlueKai
BlueKai (www.bluekai.com) is the world's first complete enterprise data activation system for intelligent marketing.  BlueKai offers its customers a solution for managing and activating all their 1st and 3rd party data for use in their marketing and customer interactions.  BlueKai represents the only end-to-end SaaS solution for marketers who are looking to maximize their cross-channel marketing efforts and create a proprietary solution for unlocking reach, scale and efficiency in their data.  BlueKai has led the data-driven marketing category since 2008 when it launched the world's first Data Exchange and then branched out to create the first Data Management Platform (DMP) for marketers.  BlueKai is currently trusted by, among thousands of others, 12 Fortune 30 corporations and numerous other brands to activate their data.  

SOURCE BlueKai