A big new partnership deal promises to swell the practice through which advertisers use so-called “clean rooms” to activate their first-party customer data alongside other datasets.

InfoSum, a data collaboration platform, says it will integrate with The Trade Desk, which offers a demand-side platform (DSP),  data management platform (DMP) and its Unified ID 2.0 (UID).

The tie-up means advertisers and agencies can activate their own audience data against The Trade Desk clients’ datasets, using InfoSum’s clean rooms and “bunkers”.

Such tools are used to match up audience segments for targeting and deduplication in such a way that does it does not compromise the personal privacy of consumers.

The deal, which includes integration with UID 2.0, is the largest integration of its kind for InfoSum and its first large-scale partnership with a global DSP.

Critical data

We are republishing this February 2022 interview with Marc Cestaro, VP, Advanced TV, North America, InfoSum.

Cestaro said data and privacy are critical.

“It’s not the newest phrase of the day, but data is the new oil,” Cestaro said. “It has to be at the forefront of all these conversations.

“Brands are really leaning into it. Publishers are really leaning into it. Everyone wants to make sure that they’re making use of what’s available.

“There’s been a lot of collection over the years, but it hasn’t been utilised in the right ways. So it’s not necessarily (about) what’s new, it’s more about ‘how is that being applied today?'”

Match-up growth

InfoSum allows companies to join datasets without actually moving their data, something which could otherwise breach privacy rules.

Companies use InfoSum’s software to match up data sources using a range of tools, whilst maintaining privacy rules around that data.

InfoSum raised a $65 million Series B investment last summer, as data clean rooms rose in appeal for marketers and publishers keen to continue connecting data.

It is a capability now used by global companies like ITV, Channel 4, eBay, Experian and The Telegraph, all of which are building out their own data-driven consumer ad targeting capabilities and all of which are adapting to a world without rudimentary cookie targeting.

By Robert Andrews on    @robertandrews