Lotame launches first-party data accelerator

Data and identity solutions company Lotame has launched Spherical, a first-party data accelerator. Spherical is said to support interoperability and data portability across brand and media tech stacks, enabling activation of first-party data across the “madtech” space.

The announcement came on the first day of the IAB’s Annual Leadership Meeting in Florida.

Why we care. Squeezing every last drop of value out of first-party data will become increasingly important in a post-cookie world. Currently, first-party data sits in various locations, including CDPs; the challenge is to access and activate it. CMO Council research shows many CMOs struggling to execute on the data they have.

Explaining the pain point Spherical is designed to address, Lotame founder and CEO Andy Monfried said: “Everyone wants first-party data but not everyone has it. Many that have it don’t know how to make the most of it. Preserving addressability and data connectivity are gridlocked by a host of macro and micro issues.”

A potential downside? Having to explain to CDP customers that the CDP is not enough; you need additional technology to make it work smarter.

Participating CDPs. Lotame also announced an impressive list of CDPs integrated with Spherical from the launch: BlueConic, Meiro, mParticle, Rudderstack, Salesforce, Simon Data, Tealium and Treasure Data.

Lotame expects this list to continue to grow.

Dig deeper: Enterprise Customer Data Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

What is “madtech“? It’s a term used to signify the growing convergence of marketing and advertising technologies.

“MadTech (or MAdTech) is a term first coined by David M. Raab in 2015, which stands for the splice of marketing, advertising, and technology. The term has emerged to more accurately represent the current state of marketing and advertising technology, irreversibly intertwined and bound by data.”

Clearcode blog