Cheetah Digital’s acquisition of Wayin Inc. aims to bring first-and ‘zero-party’ data to marketers

Direct marketing provider Cheetah Digital announced that it has acquired data solutions firm, Wayin Inc. Wayin specializes in data acquisition technology that allows marketers to create interactive quizzes, questionnaires and games while collecting first-and so-called “zero-party” data from consumers who opt-in to participate. Coined by Forrester, zero-party data refers to information that is actively provided by users rather than inferred.

Why we should care

As consumers become increasingly wary of handing over their personal data to brands, Wayin’s technology gives marketers the opportunity to create digital experiences that deliver value to the consumer in exchange for their data. Since zero-party data is proactively provided by the consumer, the solution could enable digital marketers in the Cheetah Digital ecosystem to stay in compliance with GDPR and other privacy regulations while creating more opportunities for advanced personalization. 

“Marketers have never faced a tougher challenge than they do today. Consumers are demanding personalized experiences, global consumer privacy regulations mount, trust in and effectiveness of third-party sources deteriorates, and CEOs demand greater efficiency of their marketing spend. Smart marketers are turning to zero- and first-party data, to not only be compliant and build customer trust, but deliver exceptional brand experiences,” said Sameer Kazi, CEO, Cheetah Digital.

Wayin’s enterprise platform joins the Cheetah Marketing Suite and Cheetah Loyalty platform.

More on the news:

• Marketers can expect to be able to create and execute campaigns and experiences across any digital channel to generate consumer data.
• Data generated from Wayin’s interactive experiences will flow into Cheetah Loyalty or Cheetah Digital Marketing suite, allowing marketers to target leads with triggered, personalized messaging based on users’ self-reported data. 

About The Author

Jennifer Videtta Cannon serves as Third Door Media’s Senior Editor, covering topics from email marketing and analytics to CRM and project management. With over a decade of organizational digital marketing experience, she has overseen digital marketing operations for NHL franchises and held roles at tech companies including Salesforce, advising enterprise marketers on maximizing their martech capabilities. Jennifer formerly organized the Inbound Marketing Summit and holds a certificate in Digital Marketing Analytics from MIT Sloan School of Management.