Connected Data Marketing: How Brands Navigate Consumer Behavior in the Cost-of-Living Crisis

Modern marketers are data-driven by default—but when that data is fragmented or stale, even the smartest strategy can miss the mark. In today’s cost-of-living squeeze, where consumer behavior shifts as fast as prices climb, connected data isn’t a luxury—it’s a lifeline.

If you’re still relying on siloed insights or legacy tools, you’re not just behind—you’re invisible. And in a landscape where brand loyalty is fragile and attention spans even more so, invisibility is the fastest way to irrelevance.

Connected data marketing offers a clear path through the fog—linking first-party signals, identity, and collaboration into a single, scalable source of truth.

Connecting the Right Signals in a Post-Cookie World

With third-party cookies crumbling and email-based targeting hitting scale limits, marketers are under pressure to find smarter, more sustainable ways to reach real audiences. 

That’s where supply-side platforms step up. Publishers, retailers, and ecommerce platforms have direct, frequent interactions with consumers—something most brands don’t have at scale. From consented logins to anonymised behavioral and contextual signals, they’re sitting on a goldmine of real-time consumer intent.

And they’re not keeping it to themselves. By aggregating this data and building pre-packaged audience segments, the supply side offers marketers something legacy identifiers never could: actionable scale, relevance, and precision—without the guesswork.

This is where connected data becomes a strategic advantage. Marketers can ditch the generic targeting models and lean into signals that reflect how consumers actually think, browse, and buy—today, not six months ago.

Targeting with Precision (Not Prayers)

Forget broad strokes and vague personas. Connected data enables marketers to move from assumptions to actionable intelligence.

Imagine two households shopping for a new energy provider:

• Household A spends time on price comparison sites and engages with budgeting tools—primed for time-sensitive discounts.
• Household B consumes eco-lifestyle content and filters plans by sustainability—ready for messaging that leads with green credentials.

Same product category. Completely different motivations. Without connected data, you’d treat them the same—and lose both.

Beyond that, connected data reveals non-obvious media behaviors—those overlooked spaces where your audience actually spends time. Maybe the eco-conscious shopper is also deep into travel content or cryptocurrency news. With connected signals, you uncover those pockets of opportunity before your competitors even know they exist.

The Sell Side’s Secret Weapon: Probabilistic Reach

What about consumers who haven’t logged in or opted in? You can still reach them—thanks to probabilistic modeling.

Publishers and platforms can use patterns in consumer behavior to find new, similar audiences—even if those new users haven’t been directly identified. It’s scale, but smart.

Identity: Stitching the Audience Back Together

With third-party cookies on their way out, identity has become the infrastructure holding connected data marketing together.

It bridges the gaps between device IDs, IP addresses, logins, and data, creating unified profiles that follow users across screens and platforms. This reduces duplication, avoids wasted impressions, and ensures consistent messaging—no matter where the consumer is in their journey.

Data Collaboration: From Silos to Synergy

Of course, connected data means little if it stays locked in silos. Enter data collaboration platforms—the engine room for modern marketing partnerships.

These platforms allow brands, publishers, and agencies to securely match audiences without surrendering control of their proprietary data. Think of it as insight sharing without the risk.

A beverage brand and a streaming service can align audiences for a co-branded campaign. A CPG advertiser can plug into a retailer’s audience segments to sharpen targeting. The result? Mutual value, lower waste, and better-performing campaigns.

It’s not just smarter—it’s necessary. Especially in today’s market, where everyone’s fighting for share with fewer resources.

Why Connected Data Wins When Budgets Don’t

Economic pressure isn’t just a budgeting challenge—it’s a clarity test. Brands that still rely on disconnected insights are forced to overreach and overspend. Connected data marketing flips the equation.

• Less guesswork. More relevance.
• Smaller spend. Bigger returns.
• Fewer assumptions. Sharper outcomes.

This isn’t about adding more data. It’s about unifying the data you already have—and unlocking the signals hiding in plain sight.

Final Thought: Map the Chaos, Then Navigate It

In a world where consumer priorities shift by the week, connected data is the only reliable map. It’s how brands cut through noise, personalize at scale, and outmaneuver competitors stuck in yesterday’s playbook.

The storm isn’t ending anytime soon—but with connected data, you won’t just weather it. You’ll chart a smarter course through it.

Ready to connect your data dots?
Book a free consultation with a data collaboration expert and turn your audience signals into a strategy that actually works.