Observed Signal · Jul 15, 2026 · Opinion · Source: AdExchanger · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
First-Party Data Beyond Retargeting
Phil Cowlishaw (Managing Director, Adobe Advertising) argues that brands underuse their first-party data by limiting it to retargeting and audience suppression. He explains that DSPs typically learn from ad-exposed conversions—often under 5% of total conversions—while training models on a brand’s complete organic converter base yields stronger prospecting audiences and better outcomes. Cowlishaw cites an Adobe Advertising prospecting campaign: a precision audience of ~72 million returned 24% more converters at a 2.6x higher conversion rate versus a broader 148 million segment, with a pronounced concentration of conversions among the top propensity users. The piece advocates using first-party customer intelligence to build higher-propensity audiences, reduce wasted spend, and lower data costs as third-party signals become noisier and more expensive.
Highlights strategic use of first-party customer data and a concrete Adobe campaign case study that demonstrates meaningful efficiency gains—relevant as third-party signals decline.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Article by Phil Cowlishaw, Managing Director, Adobe Advertising.
- Published on AdExchanger on 2026-07-15.
- Most DSP models learn from ad-exposed conversions that typically represent less than 5% of total conversions.
- An Adobe Advertising prospecting campaign used a precision audience of ~72 million (vs. 148 million broad audience) and found 24% more converters at a 2.6x higher conversion rate.
- In that campaign, 13.7% of users drove 57.7% of conversions while the bottom 51% delivered only 8.4%; conversion-rate gap between highest- and lowest-propensity users was 26x.
Connected Companies & Entities
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