Singapore marketers’ conversion strategies at risk with data complacency – Yahoo DSP survey

Marketers in Singapore have room for improvement in data-led practices amid concerns about signal loss and identity in the advertising landscape, a Yahoo DSP survey revealed.

The survey, part of Yahoo’s Data Maturity Pop Quiz conducted between August and November 2024 across Australia and Singapore, gathered insights from over 160 marketing and advertising professionals to assess their brands’ data maturity and preparedness.

Although marketers’ overall responses showed a largely positive outlook towards data maturity practices and capabilities, the survey’s broader responses highlighted a clear need for marketers to ramp up their data capabilities or risk impacting their marketing campaigns in the near future. The study also stressed the need for greater educational resources to help them innovate their strategies, explore new solutions, and navigate the complex data ecosystem.

Despite staying updated on industry developments, many respondents remain unprepared for the challenges posed by signal loss, signaling an urgent need for action.

“The findings are clear: the industry stands at a pivotal crossroads. With consumer trust and privacy increasingly crucial, the need to recalibrate data strategies fit for the current climate is paramount. Clinging to the status quo not only squanders opportunities but also jeopardises long-term growth. Marketers must adopt a more strategic and forward-thinking approach to data—one that’s both innovative and future-ready. The urgency to act has never been greater,” said Kris Kam, Head of PMX Media, Singapore at Publicis Media.

Below are the key findings on Singapore marketers’ attitudes and outlook on their data maturity practices.

Data strategy ‘on the fence’
While 44% of Singapore marketers said they were confident about their strategies and abilities to manage the ever-changing developments, an almost equal number (40%) also said they struggled to keep up despite advancing their data strategies using tools at their disposal.

Reading industry news and blogs, as well as attending in-house training and actively testing different solutions were the top ways marketers in Singapore sought to keep up with the changes to identity and signal loss.

Yet despite various efforts to stay updated, marketers remain hesitant about fully embracing data privacy strategies. Only 33% report that their organisations are fully aligned on such initiatives, reflecting a lack of collective urgency. Moreover, 66% acknowledge gaps in fostering robust data culture practices, while 38% believe only some within their organisations truly understand and value the impact of data strategies. 25% were also dissatisfied with what their brand’s data strategy compelled them to do or expressed that it was a rarely discussed topic, signalling deeper challenges in organisational mindset and prioritisation.

Conversion is a main goal, but complacency puts results at risk
Conversion remains the top KPI (47%) among Singapore marketers in their campaigns. Yet with consumers increasingly opting out of tracking, conversion strategies are at risk – without suitable alternatives to third-party cookies, conversion attribution becomes guesswork.

40% said accurate last ad exposure attribution would solve their biggest data challenge, 32% wished for a magic map that could help track user journeys and enhance user experience, while 38% said they prefer digging deeper to discover new audience insights.

They also remain interested in identity testing and multi-touch attribution, but there lies a gap between their outlook and actions – a majority continue to fall on tried-and-tested tactics, with 64% admitting that they refresh their key audience segments occasionally or less, while 20% admit to using the same strategy time after time.

Dan Richardson (pictured), Director of Data and Insights, AUSEA, Yahoo DSP, said: “Recent surveys and industry sentiments all point to a harsh reality – marketers are not ready to navigate a landscape where third-party cookies and traditional tracking mechanisms are phased out. Specifically, in Singapore where performance and conversions are prioritised, working with a dying user identifier such as cookies puts conversion strategies at risk. Unless they explore other identifiers and non-addressable solutions that include a mix of first-party data, ID-less targeting and modeled conversions, marketers in Singapore can expect to experience performance degradation in their campaigns as more consumers opt out of tracking.”

“Yahoo is committed to empowering brands to take the next step in their data practices. Data privacy isn’t the future; it is here and now, and marketers need to be equipped to navigate this increasingly complex ecosystem with confidence and continuously reach their goals.”