Latest news with #firstpartydata
Zawya
22-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Journify Doubles Valuation and welcomes strategic funding amid 5x revenue growth and GCC expansion
Dubai, UAE. Journify, the UAE-based AI-powered data activation platform, is transforming how GCC brands leverage first-party data for measurable growth. With 5x revenue growth and a doubled valuation in just six months, Journify is expanding across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the broader Gulf region. The company has quickly become the preferred partner for brands seeking performance-driven, privacy-compliant marketing solutions. Today's digital landscape presents significant challenges for MENA brands: stricter privacy regulations, disappearing third-party cookies, and increasing ROI demands. Journify offers a simple solution by enabling advertisers to activate their first-party data across major platforms, including Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, Google, and X. This approach converts customer insights into measurable, scalable performance. Journify's growth is driven by partnerships with forward-thinking brands ready to embrace modern advertising approaches. Retail leader Jarir has used Journify's AI platform to activate their first-party data on Meta, resulting in a 182% increase in Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and a 51% decrease in Cost Per Purchase (CPP). Similarly, Baytonia, a leading furniture retail and marketplace brand in the Gulf region, implemented Journify's solution on TikTok, achieving an 80% increase in ROAS and a 44% drop in CPP. These results clearly demonstrate the tangible value of Journify's approach. These successes underscore Journify's core mission: making first-party data activation both accessible and effective for brands competing in today's fragmented attention economy. To meet growing demand, Journify is accelerating its AI product roadmap, focusing on agentic AI systems for 1:1 personalization at scale. The company is expanding teams and strengthening its Gulf presence. With targeted AI investments, Journify will soon deploy autonomous agents for personalized experiences, precision targeting, automated media optimization, and improved conversion rates throughout the customer journey. "In today's privacy-first landscape, brands need solutions that deliver growth and profitability," said Taoufik El Jamali, Co-Founder and CEO of Journify. "We're reimagining brand-customer relationships. Our goal is to enable businesses of all sizes to leverage first-party data efficiently. Our customers' results validate our approach and signal a new era in digital marketing." The timing couldn't be better. MENA stands as one of the world's fastest-growing digital advertising markets. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) MENA, regional digital ad spend surged by 20 percent in 2024 alone, reaching $7bn. Yet despite this impressive growth, many advertisers continue to grapple with data fragmentation, lack of transparency in the ecosystem, and insufficient measurement frameworks. "Brands across this region increasingly demand greater transparency and efficiency from their marketing investments," said Ian Manning, Executive Director at IAB MENA. "Solutions centered on first-party data, AI-powered optimization, and measurable ROI are best positioned to lead this next growth phase." To fuel its momentum, Journify recently secured strategic investment from the leading alternative investments firm, Shorooq, regulated by FSRA ADGM as a Fund Manager, Bunat Ventures, and Plug and Play. This funding will accelerate Journify's AI roadmap development, support hiring across engineering, product, and commercial teams, and drive further expansion into key GCC markets. "The team's clarity of vision and execution has deeply impressed us," said Omer Zabit, Partner at Shorooq. "Journify addresses one of digital advertising's most critical gaps today: the underutilization of first-party data. As regulations evolve and brands demand better results, this will be the infrastructure marketers rely on for the next decade." As the region's digital landscape evolves, Journify is poised to set the new standard for privacy-first, AI-powered marketing. About Journify Founded in 2023 by Taoufik El Jamali, Omar AlShoubaki, and Amine Chouki, Journify is an AI-powered data activation platform purpose-built for consumer brands. Headquartered in the UAE and US, Journify helps marketers unlock the full value of their first-party data to drive measurable growth across Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, Google, X, and other leading platforms. By turning customer insights into actionable audiences and optimizing media spend, Journify enables intelligent, privacy-first marketing that delivers real business outcomes with less guesswork. About Shorooq Founded in 2017, Shorooq is a multi-dimensional investment firm. Our venture capital and credit practice invests in the most innovative technology companies across the MENA region and beyond. We have built deep sectoral expertise in fintech, platforms, software, and deep tech. Shorooq has backed category leaders such as Pure Harvest Smart Farms, Nymcard, Tamara, Sarwa, Lean Technologies, TruKKer, Mozn and Lendo. Shorooq was built on the values of building with founders and identifying attractive returns for investors. We pride ourselves on a local presence across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Korea. Shorooq refers to a group of companies that are affiliates of each other and which operate under this business name, of which Shorooq Partners Ltd (regulated by the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority FSRA FSP: 190004 as a category 3C Fund Manager) is a member.
Forbes
17-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
DSPs Promise To Unlock Retail Media Demand. What's Holding Retailers Back?
A man shops on Shein, a chinese e-commerce platform, during the Eid al-Adha holiday, in Hawalli ... More Governorate, Kuwait, June 7, 2025. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua via Getty Images) Advertisers are begging for easier access to retail media networks. Research from ad server platform Koddi shows that 96% of media buyers say they "will certainly or will consider buying on-site media via a DSP (Demand Side Platform)," while 93% would shift non-retail budgets into retail media if they could transact programmatically. For retailers struggling to grow their high-margin advertising businesses beyond their core supplier base, connecting to demand-side platforms represents a clear path to unlock new revenue streams. Yet despite this obvious demand-supply mismatch, most retailers remain hesitant to integrate with multiple DSPs. Technical hurdles, competitive concerns, and internal bandwidth are some reasons why retailers aren't immediately falling over themselves to integrate with the newest crop of DSPs that have entered the retail media space. As retail media networks face intensifying pressure to grow revenue while protecting their most valuable asset (first-party data), the decision of which DSPs to partner with has become increasingly complex. The retail media DSP race has intensified dramatically as tech giants recognize the opportunity to capture a share of the large and growing retail media market. The current crop includes new faces as well as incumbents who are turning their focus to retail media. Google's DV360 now offers "Retail Media Solutions" that pair retailer audiences with YouTube inventory. Microsoft is positioning itself as an aggregation point across retail media networks with its "Curate for Commerce" capability. Meta has launched explicit retail media APIs, allowing retailers like Best Buy to pipe loyalty and purchase data directly into Meta's ad system. The Trade Desk has become the preferred "independent" DSP with deep retail partnerships and UID2 leadership, making retail its fastest-growing vertical. Amazon maintains dominance through its closed-loop ecosystem but limits cross-retailer planning for advertisers. Yahoo focuses on being the off-site extension for retailers lacking DSP capabilities Criteo leverages its existing infrastructure powering 225 retailers worldwide. New entrants include ad-tech firms who have previously focused on the ad-serving technology for retailers. Unlike traditional DSPs that bid on ad impressions across the open web, players like Topsort have recently announced commerce-native exchanges that let brands purchase the same SKU as a sponsored listing across every retailer plugged into their retail-media stack. The DSP opportunity is compelling for both retailers and advertisers. In the case of Microsoft, retailers gain access to Microsoft's existing advertiser relationships—approximately 500,000 advertisers already using their platforms—without the overhead of building direct relationships. For brands, it promises simplified campaign management across multiple retail properties. Despite the clear benefits, most retailers are selective about DSP partnerships. The challenges of integrating with multiple demand-side platforms go far beyond technical implementation. Diminishing Incremental Demand: The first one or two DSPs typically unlock the bulk of programmatic budgets—for example, The Trade Desk for independent agency demand plus Google's DV360 for Google-centric buyers. Subsequent partners deliver smaller, sometimes overlapping pools of advertiser spend, while integration costs continue linearly. Escalating Opportunity Costs: Every development sprint spent certifying another DSP represents time not spent improving on-site ad formats, merchant analytics, or loyalty-media products that could raise average revenue per user more meaningfully. Technical and Data Governance Complexity: Retailers must map their customer data to multiple different identity frameworks—UID2, PAIR, RampID, EUID—which creates both technical complexity and potential privacy compliance issues. "Today, most RMNs operate within a managed service model, with self-service capabilities on the horizon," notes Lori Johnshoy, Head of Global Retail and CPG Strategy at LiveRamp. "When evaluating managed service options, selecting a primary DSP that integrates seamlessly with your existing tech stack is critical. One of the key benefits of such integration is streamlined activation, which enhances efficiency and speed to market." Operational Fragility: Five DSPs means five sets of service-level agreements, five sets of downtime alerts, and five invoice files every month. And as one former retail media leader told me, 'Every partnership takes three to six months just to get through procurement. You can't even get meetings scheduled because they're so busy.' This bottleneck forces retailers to be highly selective about which DSP relationships justify the extensive legal, technical, and operational overhead. For retailers who recognize they need DSP partnerships to grow, the selection criteria go well beyond technical capabilities. Based on conversations with retail media executives, several key factors emerge: Identity Alignment: Each major DSP operates on different identity frameworks—PAIR for Google, UID2 for The Trade Desk, RampID for LiveRamp via Yahoo. Retailers must benchmark match rates, privacy compliance, and crucially, who owns the resulting customer graph when deciding which identity solutions to support. Advertiser Access and Demand Quality: The promise of DSP integration is accessing new advertiser budgets. "In addition, the chosen DSP should provide broad publisher access across all major formats—including display, social, audio, video, and CTV—to maximize campaign reach and performance," explains LiveRamp's Johnshoy, who previously led sales for Target's Roundel media network. "Measurement capabilities are equally important. Look for solutions that offer real-time optimization and publisher signal access to support consistent, standardized measurement frameworks." Control and Brand Safety: Retailers need assurance that third-party DSPs won't compromise their customer experience. As one former retail media executive told me, "If I show an ad on the home page that links off-site and suddenly the fire alarm goes off because I just lost that consumer, that consumer is much more valuable to me than the ad revenue." Future-Proofing Capabilities: With retail media rapidly evolving toward real-time bidding and clean-room integrations, retailers need DSP partners who can scale alongside their ambitions. As I explored in a previous post for Forbes, Why Real-Time Bidding Is Retail Media's Next Frontier, the industry is moving toward standardized programmatic protocols that will become table stakes for transparent, cross-retailer measurement. For retailers who want to monetize their data without the complexity of full DSP integration, audience syndication presents an alternative model. Platforms like LiveRamp's Data Marketplace allow retailers to license their first-party audiences to programmatic buyers without building a complete DSP/SSP stack. "When considering an audience strategy, such as self-service activation—where retailers make select audiences available within a DSP for third-party activation—it may be advantageous to look beyond your managed service DSP," says Johnshoy. "Expanding your reach enables greater access to advertisers. However, it's crucial to retain flexibility to enforce business rules, such as competitive exclusions or varying levels of data granularity." The trade-off is margin. Industry insiders tell me that audience syndication typically delivers well under 50% profit margins, while on-site sponsored placements can return 80-90%. However, for retailers struggling to grow their core advertising business, audience syndication can unlock incremental demand and scale. For retailers committed to DSP partnerships, order management platforms can significantly reduce operational complexity. Mark Donohue, General Manager of Retail Media at who emphasizes that a channel-agnostic order management system can simplify operations for both retailers and advertisers. "If you have a direct relationship with TikTok, Pinterest, or you're running CTV through Magnite, we can manage that through a single interface. You just specify your parameters and pricing, and we handle the execution and performance reporting." This approach allows retailers to maintain their preferred partnerships while streamlining operations. "Each of the off-site partnerships—whether you're doing direct deals with the major platforms or working through DSPs—typically takes three to six months to implement," Donohue notes. "If you can knock out 80% of your off-site advertising through a unified platform, it significantly reduces the burden on legal, procurement, and finance teams." Despite concerns about commoditization, retailers can syndicate inventory through DSPs without creating an open-auction free-for-all. The key is implementing proper guardrails that preserve competitive advantages while opening access to new demand. Successful DSP partnerships typically include category blocks, competitive exclusion rules, and carefully controlled data granularity. Retailers can offer curated audience segments and premium ad formats while maintaining control over pricing floors and inventory allocation. The most sophisticated retailers are already implementing these strategies. Rather than viewing DSP integration as an all-or-nothing decision, they're creating tiered access models that balance revenue growth with strategic control. As the DSP landscape continues to evolve, consolidation seems inevitable. With 250+ retail media networks in the US alone competing for advertiser attention, and brands typically managing relationships with only 6 networks according to Skai research, the math doesn't work for everyone. The retailers who succeed will be those who can balance protecting their unique data advantages while providing the programmatic access advertisers increasingly demand. As one retail media executive put it, "If you can't prove incremental performance, brands won't continue to invest with you." DSP integration represents both an opportunity and a strategic inflection point for retail media networks. Those who approach it thoughtfully—selecting partners aligned with their long-term vision and implementing proper guardrails—will likely find themselves better positioned in an increasingly competitive landscape. Those who avoid it entirely may find their growth stalling as advertisers gravitate toward more accessible alternatives. The question isn't whether retail media will become more programmatic—it's which retailers will lead that transformation and which will be left behind.
Forbes
12-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Quiet Power Of First- And Zero-Party Data In An AI-Driven World
Ali Behnam, founder at Tealium. In an age of predictive algorithms and AI-generated insights, it's easy to assume that more complexity equals more value. For forward-thinking brands, however, the most powerful data doesn't come from machines—it comes directly from customers. First-party and zero-party data, gathered through real-time behavior and explicit feedback, are the secret weapons for brands seeking real, enduring customer relationships. They are proving to be more accurate, actionable and trustworthy than many predictive models. While AI has its place, there's growing evidence that listening to customers leads to stronger relationships and smarter business decisions based on pure, intentional insight. In an era of tightening privacy regulations and the rapid decay of legacy tracking methods, businesses that prioritize data that customers willingly offer can set themselves apart. They can earn deeper trust and deliver personalized experiences that feel natural, not invasive. Many organizations underestimate the power of simply listening to what customers are saying and doing right now. One of our customers, a major global brand, described to us how it had built a sophisticated segmentation model designed to predict customer behaviors and next best purchase. In reality, its fancy model was often rendered useless within seconds of real-world customer activity. Predictive algorithms slotted customers into tidy segments, yet just a few moments of live browsing revealed completely different interests. For example, a customer tagged as a "TV buyer" would visit the site and start shopping for dishwashers. If the business had relied solely on predictive scoring, it would have missed that moment entirely. First-party behavior and real-time zero-party feedback aren't just supporting characters—they're the main event. While machine learning is powerful, there's often no substitute for responding to what customers are doing and telling you in the present moment. This isn't a call to toss sophisticated models aside. Predictive analytics is a critical component of modern marketing (i.e., customer churn prediction, lead scoring). However, leading with customer-provided data ensures that your marketing, product suggestions and experiences stay grounded in reality. When you put first- and zero-party data at the center of your strategy, you're moving beyond predictions toward active collaboration with your customers. To unlock the full potential of customer-declared data, brands must be intentional. Here are four essentials: • Create real value exchanges. Most customers will share their preferences if they clearly see what they gain—whether it's personalized recommendations, exclusive access, better experiences or rewards. • Be radically transparent. Customers deserve to know exactly how you'll use their data and how it will benefit them. Trust is the foundation of any successful data strategy. • Take immediate action. If you ask customers for their preferences and then ignore them, you risk doing serious damage to the relationship. It erodes trust and disengages the very audience you're trying to reach. Every piece of information shared is a chance to build loyalty. • Keep it conversational. Gathering insights shouldn't feel like filling out a survey. Build natural, engaging touchpoints into the journey (quizzes, onboarding tools, product finders) that feel like part of the experience, not a chore. The future belongs to brands that don't just collect customer data but actually listen and act on it. By elevating first- and zero-party data over black-box predictions, companies can create more human, responsive and, ultimately, profitable experiences. In the end, the smartest move is simply paying attention to the clearest voice: your customer's. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
