The Marketing Cloud, a Stagwell subsidiary, has partnered with identity resolution firm Adstra and data platform Databricks to launch a privacy-first marketing solution that lets brands enrich customer data without sharing raw information. The collaboration, announced in early 2026, uses Databricks Clean Rooms’ “zero-copy” technology to help marketers navigate strict privacy regulations while accessing 365 new addressable audiences.
The collaboration addresses a critical challenge facing marketers: how to leverage customer data effectively while complying with increasingly stringent privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA. By combining Adstra’s Conexa Identity Network with The Marketing Cloud’s AI-powered platform within Databricks Clean Rooms, the solution enables what the industry calls “zero-data-exposure” architecture, according to information from Databricks Blog and Adstra.
At the heart of this system lies a sophisticated technical approach where brands’ first-party data never leaves their control. Instead, all matching, enrichment, and analysis occur within the secure clean room environment, with only aggregated results being shared, as detailed by Databricks. This model represents a significant departure from traditional data-sharing methods that often required physical data transfers between partners.
Technical Foundation Powers Privacy Protection
The platform leverages two key Databricks technologies: Delta Sharing, an open-source protocol for secure data sharing without replication, and Unity Catalog, which serves as the governance layer enforcing strict access controls, according to Databricks Blog. This combination ensures all operations remain fully auditable—a crucial feature for compliance purposes.
Brands can now enhance their customer profiles with exclusive attributes from Adstra, including health and wellness indicators, caregiver status, and wealth propensity metrics, Adstra reported. The Conexa Identity Network unifies consumer identities across online and offline signals, integrating with Stagwell’s proprietary ID Graph to create comprehensive customer views without exposing raw data.
The solution targets several critical use cases for modern marketers. Companies can build high-fidelity audiences by securely combining their data with Adstra’s insights, leading to more precise campaign targeting, particularly for high-net-worth individuals and healthcare decision-makers, according to both companies. The platform also enables improved marketing measurement and ROI tracking by providing a unified view of the customer journey.
This development positions The Marketing Cloud, Adstra, and Databricks as alternatives to the walled gardens of major tech platforms. By offering a privacy-compliant solution that respects consumer data while enabling sophisticated marketing capabilities, the partnership arrives at a crucial moment when marketers increasingly need to balance effectiveness with privacy requirements in an evolving regulatory landscape.
Sources
- Databricks
- Adstra
