Breaking Free from GAFAM Thanks to First-Party Data?

Updated on May 19, 2022

While GAFAM currently doesn’t include any French companies, it would be wrong to think that Europe doesn’t exert influence over these web giants. They are indeed closely monitored on our continent in several respects, particularly in terms of taxation and data protection.

For example, in 2020, Europe opposed the validation of the Privacy Shield project, a data transfer agreement between the European Union and the United States. Due to excessive processing, lack of targeting, and insufficient data protection, the agreement was deemed contrary to GDPR regulations. Therefore, the Privacy Shield project will never see the light of day on our side of the Atlantic.

However, GAFAM is prevalent worldwide and collects billions of data points about us. How can brands bypass this monopoly, detach themselves from GAFAM, and move towards more autonomous data collection?

Trustt guides you through the jungle of data exchanged all around us at every moment…

GAFAM: A Barrier to Transparency?

Omniscient Giants

Even if the Privacy Shield project didn’t reach us, it doesn’t prevent GAFAM from knowing everything about our interests, behaviors, or personal profiles. How many of us have never posted a public status on Facebook, or shared our mood on this same social network?

Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft appear to us as digital colossi across the Atlantic, inaccessible, almost secretive. Yet, they are the ones who know us best, even better than some of our friends. All the pages we’ve visited, the content we’ve liked, our future purchases… GAFAM sees everything. And not content with having access to this data, they exploit and analyze it.
Our social networks, of course, have access to all our personal information (full name, age, gender, place and date of birth, place of “study, profession…), while our favorite marketplace knows our exact address, preferred payment method, average basket size – which allows them to estimate our budget. All this information is first centralized in e” normous databases, and is, secondly, exploited in order to offer us content that interests us. In other words, content that will make us buy more and more. If you send a message on Facebook to a friend about your next purchase, don’t be surprised to see advertisements for that same product on the Google pages you visit.

An Opaque and Hidden Data Exploitation Strategy

Thus, the GAFAM model is mainly based on selling our data to advertisers and marketers, allowing them to target their online advertising almost individually and the content of their promotional messages.

Until now, GAFAM has lacked transparency towards their users regarding the transfer of this third-party data (this data is by definition resold to advertisers, marketers, or other third parties). With messages that are too long and complex for most internet users, GAFAM communicates their data usage policy in a non-transparent manner. Often specified in annoying pop-ups, the conditions for using our information and the placement of a cookie are almost always automatically accepted by the user.

Google Analytics in Conflict with European GDPR Laws

2022 marks a huge turning point in the collection and use of customer data. The most widely used tool in data marketing, Google Analytics, was condemned in France by the CNIL in February.

The charges against Google Analytics concern the transfer of French users’ data to the United States. As most American laws are not compliant with GDPR standards, Google Analytics has been accused by several European organizations of using opaque practices not consented to by French internet users.

The verdict came in February: the CNIL firmly opposed the transfer of data to the United States and issued formal notices to several major French players in the retail sector, who were using the American tool in their web analytics strategy. They are now being asked to use another data marketing solution that does not involve transferring data outside the European Union.

It is therefore urgent for French companies and marketers to use new tools like Trustt that allow them to collect data in a legal, transparent, and profitable manner for both the brand and the users.

A Lack of Transparency in Advertising Auctions

Finally, a shadow looms over the advertising auction system governed by Google. The American digital giant is indeed suspected of rigging its auction procedure to maintain its position as a web leader.

Google is alleged to deceive advertisers by promising them the best prices for their advertising campaigns. However, the search engine is suspected of using bots that would inflate Google’s margins, thus largely skewing the results.

And that’s not all: a second GAFAM company is said to be involved in this dubious strategy. Google allegedly made a deal with Facebook (under the code name “Jedi Blue”) to falsify the results of “header bidding”. This system originally allowed website creators to integrate a piece of code into their pages to create advertising spaces directly offered to advertising agencies via an auction operating mode. As this practice threatened Google’s commercial interests, the latter allegedly made agreements with Facebook to bypass header bidding and maintain the monopoly on advertising auctions.

Why Are Companies Opting for First-Party Data?

A Landscape in Full Metamorphosis

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) implemented since 2018 has fundamentally changed the field of digital marketing, particularly in terms of data collection. The European Union and other governing bodies want to give citizens greater control over how their personal data is used. This is in addition to other major decisions such as Google’s plan to phase out third-party cookies by 2022.

In a world where data collection is crucial, companies have had to revise their marketing strategy and their way of obtaining information from their target audience.

Trustt guides brands towards a “data-driven marketing” strategy by helping them collect proprietary data to refine their targeting and increase their audience. By integrating an ambassador program on your brand’s website with our CRM experts, you can unite your community and boost digital marketing levers:

• By delivering value to your prospects via product or service campaigns,
• By inviting them to share their opinions about your products on your e-commerce platform and on social networks,
• By learning more about your audience’s interests and purchasing behaviors through proprietary data collection.

The Need for Precision

Without targeting, or with poor targeting, a third of consumer goods on the market have long been unsuccessful. Waste, squandering of raw materials, and other ecological issues were then the daily lot of this excessive overconsumption.

Today, digital positively influences the relationship between companies and their customers by forcing them to take certain data into account. First-party data is revolutionizing a company’s marketing strategy by reversing the trend: passive consumers are transformed into active consumers, and their voice becomes the basis for a paradigm shift. It is the users who, thanks to their new purchasing behaviors, determine which products are expected on the market (particularly in the case of co-creation approaches).

Consequently, thanks to the first-party data collected, companies and brands will be able to best meet the needs of their target audience, while revolutionizing their customer experience. Digital has become an agent of change by putting itself at the service of consumers.

Towards a Human and Authentic Data Collection with First-Party Data

First-Party Data: Definition

First-party data is information associated with the company’s domain name and provided by the customer themselves. The latter, in full confidence, share their data in exchange for a promise of value or information, personalized discounts, or more enriching overall experiences. When filling in their information, internet users know exactly who can use this data and for what purpose it will be used. First-party data therefore derives its name from the fact that it is the company’s “primary” data, its primary resource since it fully owns it.

Inspiring Trust in Your Audience

Unlike GAFAM companies that rely on third-party data, businesses (especially DNVBs) and marketers “today” opt for transparency to restore trust among consumers. First-party data is also a valuable aid in helping brands to gradually detach themselves from GAFAM. These tech giants capture an ever-increasing share of the digital and advertising market, and frequently change the rules of the game, forcing brands to adapt. Customer acquisition costs (CAC) via Facebook Ads, for example, continue to increase.

It is therefore far preferable for brands to have their own enriched customer database by collecting first-party data, in order to leverage more ROI-focused channels, via CRM, social networks, or even SEO.

Transform Your Audience into a True Brand Community

By adopting a first-party data collection strategy, you naturally establish a climate of trust and attentiveness with your consumers. In return, the latter naturally draw closer to your brand, and if they appreciate your products/services and your company’s values, they become real ambassadors!

It’s then an opportunity to unite this audience of super-contributors around your brand by valuing them and showing your interest through sharing their content, likes, sending personalized content… By acting in this way, you significantly increase the loyalty of your brand ambassadors, who will naturally “recruit” other people outside the community. This is the power of recommendation!

Know Your Audience Inside Out

In parallel, this data allows companies to know their targets in order to best meet their expectations and desires. First-party data addresses specific needs of the company such as a finer understanding of the target and facilitates the work of marketers. It allows the analysis of purchasing behaviors, the development of products that are expected in the market to avoid overconsumption. Moreover, communication becomes much more targeted and allows to extend the reach of the messages and values that the company advocates. This data will help refine the target audience and generate consumer insights that will drastically improve the experience of consumers.

This is where the Trustt software comes in, allowing brands to access this collected first-party data, particularly through product campaign registration forms. Trustt helps brands add value to their site and to the products they bring to market by supporting their marketing and CRM teams in analyzing this data.

This information reinforces all the data collected via the web or in the field:

• Via the online platform, the website (pre-registered customer data),
• Thanks to the cookie placed (which analyzes internet users’ browsing behaviors),
• During checkout (to verify the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, obtain indicators on purchased items, average basket…).

First-party data strengthens the link between consumers and the brand, creating a relationship of trust based on human interaction first and no longer on the product to be sold.

The “company must respect the data protection policies and privacy of its customers, and” offer compensation in exchange for data collection. Interactivity between a brand and its customers is therefore prioritized. For example, in exchange for “a gift or” an entertainment moment, consumers are more likely to share their data. In Japan, companies even offer to pay for coffee for students in exchange for their collaboration and data sharing.

DNVBs therefore signal the end of hidden data exploitation and third-party data. Today’s brands have become aware of the need to put their audiences back at the heart of their strategy and to make public the use of their information. They are therefore opting for a new type of information retrieval that delivers real value to their customers: ambassador programs or loyalty programs are, for example, good sources of consumer data.