Email and postal addresses only match up half the time

Inaccurate datasets are costing US advertisers billions of dollars a year in wasted expenditure, a new study says.

Data validation company Truthset, in partnership with The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM), examined the linkages between 3.9 billion anonymous (hashed) email records from 15 data companies and 90% of known US postal addresses. 

Key findings

• Among 792 million unique hashed emails (HEMs) and 133 million unique postal addresses, an email address linked to an average of 1.6 postal addresses, and a postal address linked to an average of 9.1 emails.
• Analysis showed these HEM and postal linkages are accurate only 51% of the time.
• While results varied by provider, the accuracy varied by up to 37 percentage points between providers and the overall average was between 32% and 69%.

Why inaccurate datasets matter

Email and postal addresses are often the foundation of other demographic identification used for targeting, so significant error rates here are a worry for media planners. Removing inaccurate datasets and utilizing intentional, accurate audience data could significantly increase on-target percentages and return on investment. 

For a typical CPG campaign, Truthset calculates that an advertiser could improve returns by more than 40%, from $1.08 to $1.54 per dollar invested, simply by improving the quality of the identity data and the match rates used to support the campaign.

Key quote

“For the first time ever, we have a common tool that can be used by the industry to assess the accuracy of this data and to provide a path forward to deliver better audience targeting, increased CPMs for publishers, as well as more accurate measurement that can help elevate consumer experiences” – Scott McKinley, Founder & CEO at Truthset.

Sourced from Truthset