How Marketers Are Using Email Data to Navigate Privacy-First Advertising

The advertising industry’s shift toward a privacy-first ecosystem has pushed marketing teams into a state of testing and experimentation. Amid the deprecation of standard identifiers such as third-party cookies and mobile IDs, marketers are striving to find targeting solutions that enable them to reach the right audiences at scale and with a high level of accuracy while prioritizing people’s privacy.

In 2022, the advertising ecosystem is inundated with identity solutions that include numerous tech vendors’ ID graphs and tools, data clean rooms, and first-party data matching via walled gardens such as Google and Facebook. Marketing teams are testing many of these tactics while considering that there might not be an end-all-be-all identity solution that provides an unobstructed view of the first-party data they are using. As marketers prepare for a cookieless future, many are also reevaluating how identity resolution and audience measurement will evolve. See how brands are preparing for this transition in When Cookies Are Finally in the Rearview Mirror, Leave the Metrics Game With Them.

According to Blaine Britten, Senior Vice President of Data Strategy at Stirista, relying on multiple vendor IDs or walled garden solutions can create unnecessary hurdles for advertisers.

“Targeting solutions owned by technology vendors capture the spirit of what the industry is trying to achieve — a unified ID that marketers can build a solution around — but they can create complexities for publishers and advertisers,” said Britten.

“Each vendor is vying for their solution to become the standard, and the approach requires multiple middlemen handling data and inevitable attrition due to increased ID sync complexity across channels. Publishers and brands simply want to match their user data where they find overlap, and there’s an opportunity to streamline the process through owning their data and having clear mechanisms for using it.”

Why First-Party Email Data Matters in a Privacy-First World

Amid the complexities of testing new identity solutions, marketers are approaching a more straightforward strategy: matching first-party customer relationship management (CRM) data with hashed or encrypted email data to segment audiences and discover new targeted advertising opportunities effectively.

Putting Email Data Into Action in Digital Targeting

First-party, opt-in email data has become a critical resource for marketers looking to reach their most relevant audiences.

Even if users eventually opt out of receiving future campaigns, marketers are still required to retain the data in their systems to honor opt-outs if the individual has multiple emails or other points of contact.

Britten explained the value of using encrypted email data in a universally accepted format:

“The advantage marketers have with using their email data in a universally-accepted encrypted form is that they can honor account updates and changes at the user level rather than just the individual PII variable.”

“Marketers collect explicit opt-ins from people who receive value exchange for that information. If they know who is and is not their current customer base, they can update more quickly, adding new insights or removing people from campaigns without having to send visitor information through multiple parties.”

The Challenge of Building Consumer Trust

A key tactic — and challenge — for marketers is finding new and creative ways to incentivize people to share their emails or opt back into communications.

Establishing trust among users is equally important. Consumers want reassurance that:

• Their email data will be used responsibly
• Their information will not be resold
• Brands will respect privacy preferences and opt-outs

To address these concerns, brands are increasingly working with database technology partners that can:

• Help advertisers honor user opt-outs
• Provide a more comprehensive customer profile
• Deliver demographic and household insights based on public data

How Brands Are Leveraging First-Party Data and Identity Solutions

Brian Lin, Senior Vice President of Product Management and Advanced Advertising Sales at TelevisaUnivision, explained how the company uses first-party data across all touchpoints alongside Stirista to support its privacy-first strategy.

“With the Hispanic market now representing 20% of the total population and growing, it’s imperative that marketers leverage data sets that are representative and of verified quality so that they can ensure they are reaching the full Hispanic community,” he said.

Britten also noted that larger companies specializing in research and consulting are increasingly helping advertisers connect fragmented data sources.

Building Authoritative CRM Databases

Many organizations are now partnering with technology providers to:

• Build authoritative consumer databases
• Connect different data sets
• Create more persistent identity layers
• Enhance customer understanding for future targeting

For example:

“Say these companies are looking to reach people who have expressed interest in financial markets. That data might be available, but it relies on very specific identifiers, such as a business email,” Britten said.

“A company can then use a technology solution to build a base audience and layer in interesting, but smaller data sets from niche data providers to build out an authoritative CRM database.”

Brands with existing customer email files are also working with partners to analyze personally identifiable information (PII) and expand customer identity profiles with alternate contact information, publicly available demographic data, social media handles, phone numbers, and interest-based insights. Many organizations are also exploring new ways to uncover overlooked audiences and improve segmentation strategies through data-driven identity solutions. Related insights can be found in Unlock Untapped Potential: Discover and Convert Hidden Customer Segments.

Future Trends in Privacy-Friendly Email Targeting

As privacy regulations continue evolving, marketing teams are streamlining their pursuit of audience addressability through first-party email activation and identity-based targeting strategies.

Key Insights Driving Modern Email Targeting Strategies

1. A Single Email Address Is No Longer Enough

Marketers now account for multiple email types, including:

• Business emails
• Personal emails
• Promotional-only email accounts

This helps brands create a more complete and accurate customer profile.

2. Brands Want More Granular Audience Intelligence

Marketing teams are seeking database technology partners that provide deeper reporting capabilities, including:

• Age demographics
• Gender insights
• Interest categories
• Behavioral patterns

These insights help brands better understand audience composition and campaign effectiveness.

3. Faster and Smarter Opt-Out Management Is Essential

Marketing and technology teams are continuously improving systems to:

• Process opt-outs more quickly
• Remove emails efficiently
• Respect customer privacy preferences
• Maintain compliance standards

The Future of Privacy-Compliant Advertising

Advertisers are applying these insights to their email targeting strategies to navigate the increasingly complex landscape of privacy-compliant identity solutions more effectively and efficiently.

As the industry evolves, marketers are also prioritizing omnichannel strategies that connect identity, audience data, and performance measurement across platforms. Additional perspective on this shift is explored in Digital Advertising in 2025 and Beyond.

As the advertising ecosystem continues to evolve, leveraging first-party data responsibly will remain essential for reaching the right audiences in 2022 and beyond.

Originally published by Digiday on 5/27/22.