Collecting data from many different sources is complex. To simplify this, Rockerbox describes an integration by three dimensions: the type of data collected, the source of the data, and the method of data collection. With this approach, you can think about any integration as some combination of these three attributes. While every integration has atleast one of these attributes, some integrations may have multiple.

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Type

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The data being collected

When one thinks about the type of data collected, they often think about the source. Rockerbox however cautions against this approach due to increasingly blurred lines between the source and the type of data collected. Instead, it is best to think about the type of data you’re collecting. We break the types of data collected into three main categories:
  • Marketing Data (ad impressions, clicks, view-through data)
  • Conversion Data (purchases, sign-ups, form submissions)
  • Spend Data (campaign costs, affiliate fees)

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Source

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The producer of the data being collected

The source of the data is where it’s coming from. An easy way to think about this is to think about whether the data is coming from something you directly measure about your customer (like their on-site interactions) or if it’s coming from an external platform (like a marketing platform).
  • First-Party Data (your owned properties)
  • Third-Party Data (external platforms)

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Method

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The mechanism of data collection

The collection method is how you’re collecting the data. We break this down into two main categories:
  • Live Data Collection (real-time tracking)
  • Batch Data Collection (periodic aggregation)

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Live data collection

Live data collection is the process of collecting data in real-time. This is often done through a pixel or a server-side integration. Rockerbox has three forms of live data collection:
  • JavaScript tracking pixels (for onsite data collection)
  • Server-side Webhooks (for server-to-server data collection and mobile SDKs)
  • Third-party image tags (for ad impression data collection where support is available)

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Batch data collection

There are two main types of batch data collection:
  • API based integrations where Rockerbox pulls data from an external platform on a schedule
  • File based integrations where files are uploaded to Rockerbox from a third-party platform (or manually)