Unlocking the Future of Marketing: Highlights from the Zeta Data Summit

On December 9, 2024, Zeta Global hosted the Zeta Data Summit, bringing together industry experts, legal professionals, and Zeta executives to explore the transformative power of the Zeta Data Cloud, responsible data practices, and AI-driven personalization.

The Summit offered insights into how Zeta’s cutting-edge technologies are shaping the future of marketing and provided actionable guidance for brands looking to stay ahead in a competitive landscape.

The Zeta Data Cloud: The Engine Behind Personalization

Neej Gore, Chief Data Officer at Zeta Global, provided a view into the Zeta Data Cloud and how data is managed as both a processor and a controller. The Zeta Data Cloud stands as the foundation of Zeta’s platform, combining the “scale of the open web and the precision of walled gardens,” including 90% of the U.S. population. This massive scale enables Zeta to activate personalized marketing messages across paid and owned media channels, helping brands create relevant and timely customer experiences.

Steve Gerber, President and COO at Zeta Global emphasized that Zeta’s platform operates across the entire consumer lifecycle, leveraging a powerful “intelligence loop.”

Gerber stated: “Data is abundant, but intelligence is scarce. The intelligence loop drives smarter decisions by using data to inform AI and AI to create better outcomes for marketers. It’s a growth engine that gets better over time.”

This innovative approach unifies data to create a “golden record” of customer identity, enabling actionable insights at scale. The result? An era of unparalleled personalization and growth opportunities for brands.

Chris Monberg, Zeta Global CTO and Head of Product, showed how Zeta is turning a “miss into magic,” via identity resolution. Zeta’s Intent Scores draw from diverse sources to create relevant and impactful messages, reducing wasted investment and surfacing data that might otherwise be overlooked.

Responsible Data Practices in a Complex Landscape

Compliance and responsible data practices were a major focus of the event. Ben Hayes, Zeta’s Chief Privacy Officer, emphasized the dedication to Zeta data privacy amid the increasing complexity of legal and regulatory landscapes, driven by federal, state, and industry programs like GDPR.

“We embed data privacy in our product development, perform due diligence on our partners, and undergo external reviews to ensure we’re always in compliance,” Hayes explained.

This commitment not only meets the demands of highly regulated industries like finance and pharma but also positions Zeta as a trusted partner in a landscape where trust is critical.

Andrew Smith, partner at Covington & Burling LLP, and Sheila Colclasure, Global Chief Data Integrity & Public Policy Officer at IPG, shared their thoughts on the current privacy and data environment from a legal and brand POV.  Sheila shared that the issues most important to her clients are “safety and certainty. Nothing is more important than protecting their brand.” How data is sourced and how it is used are paramount.

When asked about when consent is required to collect, use and sell non-sensitive data, Andrew stated that “while there are ‘sectoral’ schemes that define data worthy of protection, like financial data, data from children, or geolocation data, most other data is covered by FTC guidelines on unfair or deceptive practices.”

According to Smith, “this may change due to the current Supreme Court stance that Congress should be making rules, not departments like the FTC.”

When asked what protections she thinks should in included in any new federal privacy regulations, Sheila stated “the first point is that it should be preemptive and cover all states. It should not stifle innovation, but instead encourage the correct use of data rather than limiting the use of data.”

When the question of the benefits of personalized advertising for consumers and for the broader economy as a whole was discussed, Andrew shared  “research that we saw when I was at the Federal Trade Commission, and that’s ongoing, shows that personalized advertising is as much as five times more valuable than contextual advertising.”  

Overall, the group agreed that ethical data collection and use is a benefit to the consumer and society as whole by providing relevant marketing, fraud detection and prevention, health research and more.

AI-Powered Marketing: Transforming the Martech Stack

The potential of AI was showcased by Roman Gun, VP of Product, who discussed how Zeta AI takes AI from “science fiction to a fact of science.” Zeta AI acts as a conversational agent, simplifying complex tasks like audience creation or campaign optimization. Gun highlighted the efficiency of this innovation: “You can provide a single sentence on what you need, and Zeta AI will get you 80% of the way there, drastically reducing the time spent, while enhancing accuracy.”

The integration of large language models (LLMs) with traditional machine learning further amplifies marketers’ ability to scale efforts. Marketers can now connect their own models to the Zeta Marketing Platform (ZMP). Zeta AI maps the features automatically, instead of using a team of data scientists to create a model. Now the marketer can do it with one sentence. The next step is creating recommendations based on goals. Upcoming advancements, like actionable recommendations with forecasts and one-click execution, are set to debut in 2025, promising to revolutionize how marketers approach decision-making.

The Future of Martech: Data, Identity, and AI at the Core

Dave Edelman, Executive Advisor at Edelman Advisory Services hosted a panel of experts, including Ted Schweitzer, Head of Customer Experience at Red Roof Inn, Shiv Singh, Co-founder, AI Trailblazers, and Joe Stanhope, VP & Principal Analyst at Forrester, exploring how data unification and identity resolution are driving the evolution of marketing technology.

The panel explored the shifting landscape of the martech stack, identifying data as the key differentiator in a world where tools are widely accessible. Organizations face significant challenges in unifying, processing, and activating data at speed and scale. As a result, identity resolution and customer data platforms (CDPs) have become critical focal points.

Ted Schweitzer shared how uniting Red Roof’s decentralized systems “into a centralized platform, with CDP as the base and then being able to leverage CSP tools and the digital marketing tools and CTV and other types of media, all off coming off the same insight driven, actions and placements and types of buys that we were after, has made things move incredibly fast.”  Working with Zeta, “it put us on steroids is probably the best way to say it.”

Panelists noted that successful brands are increasingly treating data as intellectual property, leveraging both digital and offline touchpoints to build a comprehensive customer view. The discussion underscored the importance of personalization as a brand differentiator, anchored by AI-powered marketing insights. Content management plays a vital role in delivering these tailored experiences, aligning with a broader movement toward audience-first strategies. By focusing on data quality, actionable intelligence, and advanced personalization, brands can position themselves for long-term success in an increasingly competitive market.

Agency Perspective: A View from TRUth Marketing & Media

Yousef Kattan, CEO of TRUth Marketing & Media, spoke with Winnie Shen, EVP, Data Cloud at Zeta Global and reflected on Zeta’s impact on agency success. The agency landscape has shifted dramatically in the last few years, with smaller, independent agencies gaining prominence as they cater to brands seeking personalized attention and measurable outcomes. Zeta plays a critical role in this evolution by empowering agencies with advanced data-driven tools and capabilities. “Zeta’s ability to onboard and analyze data efficiently gives us a significant edge in delivering measurable results for our clients,” Kattan shared. “From a business growth standpoint”, as an agency, we really lean into partners like Zeta and “it’s leveling the playing field for us.”

One of the standout benefits agencies experience with Zeta is its ability to navigate the complexities of attribution. Moving beyond outdated “last touch” models, Zeta’s platform integrates attribution methodologies that account for the full customer journey, providing a more holistic understanding of campaign performance. By fostering strong partnerships and providing scalable, intelligent solutions, Zeta helps agencies build trust with their clients and drive consistent, high-quality results in today’s results-driven marketing environment.

Looking Ahead

The Zeta Data Summit reinforced Zeta’s role as a pioneer in data-driven marketing, AI innovation, and ethical practices. Our leadership in AI innovation, commitment to Zeta data privacy, and the scalability of the Zeta Data Cloud ensure that brands can confidently navigate the evolving marketing landscape.

As Zeta CEO David Steinberg summarized, personalization continues to reshape the industry, and Zeta’s tools, insights, and vision are poised to lead brands into the next era of customer engagement. The summit’s key message is clear: data is abundant, but actionable intelligence is the key to unlocking sustainable growth.

To learn more about the Zeta Data Summit, view the full replay.