Welcome to the (almost) weekend! Hopefully your March has gotten off to a great start. Let’s get into our cookieless future full of AI and influencers.

First-Party Marketing Data is the New Cookie

Sam's Club has launched real-time intelligent retargeting. In partnership with The Trade Desk and LiveRamp (RAMP), Sam’s Club Member Access Platform (MAP) “leverages first-party member data, advertiser data, and AI-powered, real-time behavioral insights from Sam’s Club” for digital advertising campaigns across sites on the open web. And because these users have already shown a measurable interest in the retargeted brand or product, they'll be more likely to convert.

Right now, because it’s all based on registered Sam's Club member data, it isn't applicable to other retail platform users—but it does work for ads on other sites. However, marketers can use their own first-party data to reverse-engineer a meet-cute with their ideal customers by going where their customers spend time: their favorite podcasts.

In a cookieless future, will “first-party member data, advertiser data, and AI-powered, real-time behavioral insights” take the place of other tracking metrics? Back in 2021, 88% of marketers said collecting first-party data was a “priority.” In 2023, it may be an imperative, but marketers can use their own data to find avenues to reach their ideal consumer.

Virtual Influencers are 3x as Engaging as the Real Deal

With the growing interest in virtual influencers, Maybelline has decided to use its first-ever digital avatar May for the activation of Falsies Surreal Extensions Mascara. But Maybelline isn’t the first makeup brand to use virtual influencers. In 2019, Essence Cosmetics created Kenna—and introduced her as an intern—who managed to garner 17k followers by the time her internship “ended.”

And if you’re wondering just how influential these virtual influencers are, a 2022 survey conducted by the Influencer Marketing Factory found 58% of respondents follow at least one virtual influencer and 35% of consumers have purchased a product promoted by a virtual influencer. Plus, they have a nearly 3x higher engagement rate compared to flesh-and-blood influencers.

Are virtual influencers the latest job-stealing-AI trend? Will they save marketers time and money or generate flubs similar to AI Jerry Seinfield’s transphobia? In short, it depends. Essence’s Kenna was a curated storyline told through Instagram posts, pairing creativity with oversight. Maybelline’s May is taking one step further and embodying physical space in the metaverse. Marketers are observing with bated breath.

Around the Web

• Congress is concerned with how children and marketing are meshing.

• Kind Snacks Global CMO Kelly Solomon is doubling down on a "digestible" marketing strategy.

• TikTok set a time limit for teens—1 hour.

• Dunkin’ pays homage to winter iced coffee drinkers with a freebie.

• Chipotle employed social listening to add a viral, customer-created digital-only menu item.

Just Can’t Get Enough

Cocaine Bear. The Elizabeth Banks-directed film is everything you think of when you think of cocaine and bears.

• Roger Ebert says, “Cocaine Bear will bring people together. Cocaine Bear will save cinema.”

• And the flick features content creator Scott Seiss—taking TikTok to the big screen.

How many virtual influencers do you follow? Do you think your brand could benefit from one? Maybe it’s time to use your first-party data to find out. Reply and let us know your thoughts on first-party data, virtual influencers, and Cocaine Bear.

Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you Monday!