As third-party cookies go away, “The question you need to be asking yourself is, ‘Are you data rich, or are you data poor,’” Joshua Lowcock, president of Quad Media, said on our recent webinar.

For many, first-party data will be the gold standard for targeting ads post cookies; it’s already the No. 1 type of data for transactions, according to Advertiser Perceptions. But not every business can collect first-party data at scale. Marketers can incentivize consumers to give information, but without an enticing reward, consumers may be hesitant. This is where partnerships are vital.

Data-rich companies are in the driver’s seat. They need to beware of compliance, but they have opportunities to find partnerships to profit off of that data. Data-rich companies include retailers (like Walmart), payment companies (like JPMorgan Chase), and media-buying platforms (like The Trade Desk).

Data-poor companies need to partner with data-rich companies. Some 49% of advertisers worldwide believe using their own first-party data is the most promising solution post-cookies, according to DoubleVerify.

Data-poor companies can gain sustainable access to first-party data by working with businesses with similar customers, and building direct relationships to avoid loss of data or fees from intermediaries, Lowcock said.

Be sure to investigate any potential data-sharing opportunities to make sure partners are privacy-compliant. “A lot of people say the word ‘compliance,’ but they're not compliant with the spirit and intent of the laws, and that's where the FTC starts investigating and issuing fines,” said Lowcock.

When looking at partnerships, advertisers need to avoid relying too heavily on one walled garden or vendor. The data they get from these platforms may lack transparency, and if a platform makes a change, it could break down an entire data strategy. This happened with Meta following Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency framework, which resulted in signal loss from Facebook’s pixel. Marketers should also avoid using unvetted technology, and avoiding identifiers that could be next on the chopping block.

Email addresses are an identifier that could be deprecated next, said Lowcock. Apple has already implemented ways to anonymize email addresses and block tracking pixels. Email could be targeted from a regulatory perspective, as consumers can’t opt in and out from giving their email addresses to platforms that require them for login.

Watch the full webinar, Building a Resilient Data Strategy in a Privacy-First World.

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.