First, Second, and Third-Party Data Explained

In today’s privacy-conscious, data-rich advertising world, understanding the difference between first, second, and third-party data isn’t optional—it’s essential. If you want to drive performance, prospect efficiently, and scale campaigns that actually convert, your data strategy needs to be just as sophisticated as your media strategy.

Let’s break it down—what each data type means, why it matters, and how to activate it for cannabis, CBD, alcohol, gaming, and other regulated industry advertising.

What Is First-Party Data?

First-party data is data you collect directly from your audience—site visitors, customers, loyalty members, app users, and email subscribers.

Examples of First-Party Data:

PII: Email, phone number, full name, zip code, birthdate
Purchase history: What they bought, when, and how often
On-site activity: Pages viewed, products browsed, time spent
Mobile app behavior: In-app actions, screen flow
POS, CRM, and Loyalty program data: Sign-up info, redemptions, preferences, email engagement
Survey or form responses: Interests, feedback, intent signals

Why it matters: First-party data is the most accurate, reliable, and privacy-compliant source available to marketers. It reflects actual customer behavior and intent, and it's owned by you.

How to use it:

Retarget or suppress recent site visitors or cart abandoners
Personalize product recommendations and offers
Re-engage lapsed customers with triggered campaigns
Build lookalike audiences using your best customers as seed data

🎥 Watch this: 3 Ways You Can—and Should—Be Using Your Cannabis First-Party Data

With MediaJel: You can ingest CRM or POS data into our DemoGraph Audience Builder to activate and retarget based on past purchases, visit frequency, or customer lifetime value. All data is 100% LDA-compliant and privacy-safe.

What Is Second-Party Data?

Second-party data is someone else’s first-party data that you access through a direct partnership. It’s shared data—typically between two brands, publishers, or platforms with similar target audiences.

Examples include:

A cannabis lifestyle publisher sharing anonymized audience data
A delivery platform sharing insights on consumption frequency or product preferences music festival sponsor sharing attendee behavior

Why it matters: Second-party data expands your view of your audience, especially when you’re prospecting for new customers or trying to identify complementary buying signals.

How to use it:

Target shared audiences based on lifestyle, geography, or interests
Fuel co-branded or co-marketing campaigns or cross-promotions
Add behavioral signals to your customer profile enrichment

What Is Third-Party Data?

Third party data is aggregated from multiple sources and sold by data providers. It’s broad and scalable and often includes demographic, behavioral, or interest data from the open web.

Examples include:

Lifestyle segmentation data (e.g., “urban cannabis consumers” or “health-conscious Gen Z”)
Behavioral intent data (e.g., browsing dispensary menus, reading product reviews)
Household-level data (income, location, device usage)

Why it matters: Third-party data fills in the blanks when you have limited cannabis first-party data or need to scale prospecting campaigns across new regions, product lines, or audience types.

How to use it:

Discover high-value new customer segments
Power lookalike modeling when first-party data is limited
Layer additional attributes onto existing targeting (e.g., “frequent cannabis buyers” + “CTV watchers”)

With MediaJel, our proprietary data graph includes over 196 M verified 21+ audience profiles, giving you LDA-compliant access to third-party insights that other platforms can’t offer—especially in restricted industries like cannabis and alcohol.

🎥 Learn More: Navigating 3rd Party Data Challenges: Ensuring Quality and Compliance

How to Activate Data for Better Marketing Outcomes

Whether you’re trying to acquire new customers, re-engage existing ones, or prove ROI across the funnel, how you use data is just as important as what kind you have.

Here’s how smart brands are using first-party, second-party, and third-party data together:

Goal	Data Strategy
Retarget past customers	Upload first-party CRM data to run high-intent campaigns
Prospect in a new state	Use third-party data to model similar buyer behavior in the target region
Build trust with local audiences	Combine first-party loyalty data with second-party publisher engagement signals
Increase campaign efficiency	Create lookalike audiences from high LTV customers
Personalize creative + messaging	Use site behavior (first-party) and media engagement (second-party) together

Connecting Data to Devices: The Role of MAIDs in Cannabis Advertising

Collecting first, second, or third-party data is one thing—activating it across mobile, desktop, and CTV devices is another. That’s where MAIDs (Mobile Advertising IDs) come in.

MAIDs are unique, privacy-safe device identifiers that help advertisers:

Match offline or CRM data to real users
Deliver targeted ads across apps, mobile browsers, and CTV
Track engagement without using cookies
Compliantly retarget verified 21+ consumers

At MediaJel, we use MAIDs to link your data to real-world ad delivery. That means better campaign precision, stronger attribution, and full LDA compliance across devices.

Want to learn more about how MAIDs work in cannabis marketing? Read: Cannabis MAIDs—Mobile Advertising IDs Explained

Why This Matters in Regulated Industries

In cannabis, alcohol, CBD, and gaming, you can’t afford to spray and pray. Your audience is limited. Regulations are strict. Your budget needs to perform.

Using first-party data gives you precision. Using second-party data gives you context. And using third-party data gives you scale.

At MediaJel, we help you activate all three—safely, compliantly, and effectively—through:

DemoGraph Audience Builder: Audience segmentation and modeling
Attention Signals: Real-time behavior and content engagement data
Marketing Attribution Dashboard: Closed-loop attribution from ad exposure to purchase

Final Thoughts

Your data strategy is your growth strategy.

Whether you're nurturing loyal customers or unlocking new markets, blending first-party, second-party, and third-party data gives you a competitive edge—especially when combined with MediaJel’s attribution-driven ad platform built for regulated brands.

Want to see how your data could perform better? Book a free data strategy audit with our team!

FAQ: First, Second, and Third-Party Data for Cannabis Marketing

What is first-party data in cannabis marketing?

First-party data is information you collect directly from your customers or site visitors—like email addresses, phone numbers, purchase history, loyalty activity, and on-site behavior. It’s the most reliable and privacy-compliant data source.

Why is first-party data important for dispensaries and cannabis brands?

It allows you to build retargeting and retention advertising campaigns, personalize experiences, and create high-performing lookalike audiences. Plus, it's fully owned and controlled by your business, making it essential in a privacy-first environment.

What is second-party data, and how is it used in cannabis marketing?

Second-party data is someone else’s first-party data that you gain access to through a direct partnership—like a cannabis publisher, delivery app, or event sponsor. It’s useful for expanding reach, discovering shared audiences, or co-marketing efforts.

How is third-party data different from second-party data?

Third-party data is aggregated and sold by external data providers. Unlike second-party data, it doesn't come from a specific known partner. It helps you scale prospecting and fill gaps in audience intelligence when you have limited first-party data.

Is third-party data still useful now that cookies are going away?

Yes—especially when it’s verified, privacy-safe, and backed by real-world identifiers like MAIDs (Mobile Advertising IDs). MediaJel’s third-party data is LDA compliant and mapped to verified 21+ users, even without cookies.

What are MAIDs, and why do they matter for cannabis marketers?

MAIDs (Mobile Advertising IDs) are unique, anonymous identifiers tied to mobile and connected devices. They allow cannabis brands to target, track, and optimize campaigns across mobile apps and CTV while staying compliant.

How can I use first-party and third-party data together?

You can use first-party data to build seed audiences (e.g., past buyers) and then expand reach with third-party lookalikes. You can also layer third-party behavioral data onto your CRM segments to improve targeting accuracy.

How does MediaJel ensure cannabis data is compliant and effective?

We combine:
Verified 21+ audience profiles
MAIDs and government-backed data
Real-time engagement signals
Built-in LDA compliance filters
This ensures your campaigns are not only effective—but fully legal.

Can I activate offline data, like POS or CRM, in digital campaigns?

Yes. MediaJel allows you to ingest POS, loyalty, and CRM data directly into the DemoGraph Audience Builder to run retargeting, reactivation, or high-LTV lookalike campaigns across display, CTV, and mobile.

Jake Litke

Chief Executive Officer

Our visionary behind all of the magic. Jake has 20+ years of experience building platforms around mobile, marketing technology with the world’s largest brands.

Published on

May 15, 2025

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