In the modern digital era, swift market growth is crucial as consumer transactions continue to rise across multiple industries. However, the key question remains: Which brand is growing faster? How can brands optimize marketing investments to outpace competitors? The answer lies in leveraging data and technology for growth hacking. This article explores the "2nd Party (2P) Audience Intelligence-first approach," a game-changing strategy for CMOs to scale market share efficiently.2P data, sourced from trusted partners, offers deeper insights beyond a company’s own 1st Party (1P) data. It enhances audience segmentation, enabling precise targeting for higher marketing effectiveness.

Growth Hacking Reach & Frequency

Currently, R&F strategies are platform-first—brands pick platforms, set goals, and seek audiences. But what if brands started with an Audience Intelligence platform instead? By leveraging 2P data from independent Audience Intelligence platforms, marketers can:

• Identify high-value audience segments unavailable on Google or Meta.

• Determine optimal segment sizes for targeting.

• Select the most effective platforms—Google, Meta, YouTube, OTT, Snapchat, etc.

• Utilize Zero Overlap Audience features to avoid redundancy.

What’s the gain?

• Up to 20% reduction in Cost Per Reach.

• 25%+ incremental audience reach within the same budget.

• Improved in-target reach across walled gardens and the open internet.

This intelligence-driven approach is already helping brands scale R&F effectively.

Growth Hack Performance Marketing

Performance marketers prioritize customer acquisition cost (CAC) but often overlook value-based segmentation. Traditional CAC strategies treat all users equally, missing opportunities for differentiation.

In offline marketing, premium locations command higher ad rates for high-value customers. However, digital performance marketing lacks similar pricing distinctions, treating all users the same.

How 2P Data Helps:

• Segment and activate high, mid, and low-value spenders at the top of the funnel.

• Run distinct campaign line items for each segment.

• Track funnel movement and Average Order Value (AOV) trends.

• Allocate budgets efficiently based on the desired mix.

What’s the gain?

• Strengthened market share across customer cohorts for long-term profitability.

• Optimized Frequency Scores to refine top-funnel choices.

• A data-driven feedback loop for continuous optimization.

A leading e-commerce brand found that High-Value Users had 25% higher AOV and 30% higher purchase frequency. By applying these insights, they adjusted CAC benchmarks and set data-backed KPIs for each segment.

Connecting R&F and Performance Marketing: The Key Link?

Many organizations silo brand and performance teams, assuming separate planning is required. But what if the missing link isn’t tools—but integrated execution? Integrated planning in brand communications across multiple mediums is well known. Extending this approach to digital marketing can yield powerful results.

Case in point: A top brand activated 20 million deterministic D2C high-value shoppers for performance campaigns on Meta, achieving superior engagement, conversions, and optimized CAC. Recognizing its effectiveness, they exported the same high-performing segments to YouTube for branding campaigns, eliminating guesswork through data-driven execution.

The Takeaway

To drive growth, brands must adopt audience-first marketing using real-time intelligence. The tools exist, but willingness to experiment is the key differentiator.

Growth hacking is about smarter execution, leveraging the right tools. Are you ready to rethink your marketing approach and unlock untapped efficiencies? The time to experiment and innovate is now.

Authored by: Dippak Khurana, CEO & Co-Founder, Vserv AudiencePro - India’s leading Zero-Storage Consumer Intelligence Platform. As India’s #1 data and tech enabler, AudiencePro.ai empowers campaign managers to unlock 10-25% efficiency gains across multiple platforms. Learn more: https://audiencepro.ai

The article was originally published in Modern Marketing Reckoner 2025: CMO’s Guide to Growth Hacking