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The Madison Avenue Field GuideA field guide to marketing & advertising, by Brandon Mina

GlossaryData & MartechData Governance

Data & Martech

Data Governance

The policies, roles and processes that ensure an organization's data is accurate, secure, compliant and used appropriately.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

Short answer

Data governance is the set of policies, roles, and processes that ensure an organization's data is accurate, secure, compliant, and used appropriately. It defines who owns data, how it is classified, and who can access it. For marketers, strong governance supports privacy compliance, trustworthy reporting, and reliable customer data activation.