Cheetah Digital has acquired Wayin, a firm that collects and activates zero-party data — data that customers own and provide to brands in return for benefits. Terms were not disclosed. 

The purchase combines Wayin’s ability to collect zero-party data with Cheetah’s customer engagement platform.

Previously, marketers had to connect to another marketing stack to put Wayin data to work, Cheetah says.

Cheetah Digital says it can help brands create hyper-personalized experiences in all channels, using zero- and first-party data.

Zero-party data allows brands to be compliant and build trust, states Sameer Kazi, CEO, Cheetah Digital. 

Wayin, founded in 2016, works with such brands as Discovery Communications, NHL, Bauer Media, Vodafone, Priceline.com, Reckitt Benckiser, Air New Zealand, and Manchester City FC. The firm claims to have collected over 1.3 billion zero-party customer data records in the last two years. 

“Privacy and personalization can only exist in the future with a first- and zero-party data strategy, rather than third-party data that is increasingly incomplete, inaccurate, and breaches consumer trust,” states Richard Jones, CEO, Wayin.

Studies show consumers will share data if they receive value via personalized offers and content. Cheetah quotes a Forrester Research report that says: “Consumers want control over their info, so marketers will turn to zero-party data.”

Forrester adds: “While regulations like Europe’s GDPR and Vermont’s data broker registration law whittle away access to third-party data, marketers will need new ways to augment their existing first-party data.” 

Last month, Cheetah unveiled a product called Cheetah Tokenization that allows marketers to replace email addresses with tokens based on non-personally identifiable information. The tokens take the place of identifiable keys, and can be utilized without disrupting processes, the company says.

It also introduced Cheetah Message Archive, which allows firms to store and search copies of emails sent to customers without having to maintain their own search and storage solutions, the firm says.