A must-read book for 2025’s leaders, providing actionable advice on how to compound business growth in a privacy-first world
NEW YORK, May 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — As AI reshapes the marketing landscape, one element is proving to be the make-or-break factor: data. Specifically, first-party data—the kind companies collect directly from their customers—is quickly becoming the critical foundation for any successful AI initiative. In “First-Party Data Activation: Modernize Your Marketing Data Platform,“ co-authored by GrowthLoop Co-Founder David H. Joosten, a marketing and data strategy expert, readers will find a tactical, jargon-free guide to modernizing their data infrastructure in a privacy-first, AI-powered world.
“Everyone’s racing to adopt AI, but most teams are skipping the most important step: building a solid first-party data foundation,” said Joosten, whose contributions draw on his experience at Google and co-founding GrowthLoop. “This book is about helping marketing and technology leaders connect the dots between data strategy, privacy expectations, and AI to deliver lasting compound growth. Because if you don’t get your data house in order, AI can’t deliver its full value.”
The book walks readers through how to:
- Transition away from relying on cookies and third-party tracking tools
- Modernize marketing technology with data lakehouses and composable CDPs
- Build privacy-compliant data collection strategies
- Hyper-personalize messaging using generative AI and data clean rooms
- Embed transparency, consent, and data ethics in the marketing process
- Accelerate marketing operations to unlock compounding growth
… all with real-world examples from brands like Indeed, NASCAR, and Google Chrome for Enterprise.
“‘First-Party Data Activation’ is a strategic playbook for activating first-party data across your marketing stack, combining clarity, architecture, and AI to future-proof your marketing,” said Jim Lecinski, Clinical Professor of Marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Structured in three parts, “First-Party Data Activation” begins by laying out foundational principles, such as how marketing and privacy expectations have evolved, and how to drive organization-wide change to adapt. The second section details how to build the right infrastructure, including identity resolution and data architecture frameworks. The final section explores where the field is headed next, covering tools like generative AI and clean rooms that are reshaping how marketers engage customers at scale.
Joosten joined the project as a reviewer at the invitation of publisher Manning, but quickly became a full co-author, contributing chapters on marketing data lakehouses, change management, identity resolution, and AI for marketing acceleration. Alongside original co-authors Alina D. Magauova, founder of Segment360, and Oscar Kennis, founder of OPSangels Inc., the trio developed a comprehensive guide to help business and technical stakeholders align on a modern, data-first approach to marketing.
To celebrate the launch, Joosten and/or his co-authors will appear at four book tour events this June alongside professors from Harvard Business School and Kellogg School of Management and marketing leaders from companies like Google.
- When: Tuesday, June 3 at 6:00pm-9:00pm
- Where: Data Outpost Happy Hour at Snowflake Summit
- Featuring: Partners GrowthLoop, Qlik, and Passerelle
- When: Tuesday, June 10 at 11:30am-1:00pm
- Where: Fenway Park
- Featuring: Frank Cespedes, Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School
- When: Wednesday, June 11 at 12:00pm-2:00pm
- Where: Soho House
- Featuring: Jim Lecinski, Clinical Professor of Marketing at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management and Dani Silva, Director of Strategic Retail at Google
- When: Tuesday, June 17 at 12:00pm-2:00pm
- Where: Harvard Club
- Featuring: Tara Mattiello, Global Product Lead, Ads Marketing Technology & Operations at Google
Marketing and technology leaders are invited to register to attend the events using the links above. Guests will receive a copy of the book, with limited copies available.
The book follows GrowthLoop’s April announcement of its Compound Marketing Engine, a platform powered by agentic AI that helps companies activate first-party data directly on their data cloud, enabling faster campaign cycles and compound growth. Many of the ideas introduced in “First-Party Data Activation” echo the strategic foundation behind this platform.
Availability
“First-Party Data Activation” is available on Manning Publications now and on Amazon and other book retailers beginning July 29, 2025.
About GrowthLoop: GrowthLoop is a pioneer in AI-powered marketing on the data cloud, featured on G2 by its customers as a momentum leader with the best ROI for enterprise. Founded and led by former Google executives, GrowthLoop helps innovative companies transform how they market and drive business impact. The GrowthLoop Compound Marketing Engine drives compound growth by accelerating the marketing cycle, using agentic AI powered by your enterprise cloud data. Growth Agents propose audiences and journeys, and activate campaigns across channels, streamlining execution and continuously analyzing performance data to make suggestions for campaign optimization. Thousands of marketers at enterprises like Google, Indeed, and Express rely on GrowthLoop to grow faster with agentic AI, drive measurable campaign results, and maximize marketing ROI—compounding growth with every experiment, iteration, and campaign.
Media contact
press@growthloop.com
SOURCE GrowthLoop