66% of Marketers Say Audience Beats Context, Pubs Disagree

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February 23, 2021
66% of Marketers Say Audience Beats Context, Pubs Disagree
Virginia Closer to Passing Consumer Privacy Law
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66% of Marketers Say Audience Beats Context But Pubs Disagree
Lotame’s new report, Beyond the Cookie: The Future of Advertising for Marketers & Publishers, reveals that, while 66% of marketers don’t think contextual targeting is enough to replace audience targeting, 69% of pubs believe context will win in a post-cookie space. It also notes that just 38% of pubs are searching for a solution to the end of third-party tracking, and 16% are using more contextual/intent data while looking for a more permanent solution.
Why This Matters
It’s no secret that Lotame, whose privacy-compliant, open web Panorama ID bills itself as people-first, certainly has a vested interest in audience data, and their key findings certainly support that perspective. Lotame CEO Andy Monfried notes that contextual is “just one useful tactic to offer marketers, but it simply won’t scale unless you’re large enough.” That’s where Lotame’s suite of identity options comes in.

These conclusions also remind us of Google’s Analytics 4 release last fall — which similarly “uses multiple identity spaces, including marketer-provided User IDs and unique Google signals from users opted into ads personalization to give you a more complete view of how your customers interact with your business.”

The thing is, post-GDPR and CCA, we just don’t know how valuable or actionable opted-in user data will prove to be. We just hope marketers are paying attention to those metrics.

That said, it’s also unclear whether buyers will even take the identity leap in the first place. Many holding companies, including Omnicom and IPG long ago read the tea leaves on sunsetting third-party cookies and have been developing proprietary ID solutions since. And without being able to prove the success and performance of these solutions at scale, confidence isn’t exactly running high.

If the idea still holds true that a suite of ID solutions provides the most viable option to scale holds true, it may be less likely to all fall under the umbrella of one third-party provider, as identity will more likely achieve scale through multiple, overlapping solutions.

That may wind up looking more like a co-op model of Trade Desk’s open-source Unified ID. 2.0, which replaces cookies with encrypted email addresses from opted-in users, eliminating the need for them to login to every site they visit.
Virginia Gets Closer to Passing Consumer Privacy Reg
There's a new sheriff in town. Virginia’s consumer privacy bill, the Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA), which closely resembles CCPA and GDPR, has been sent to Governor Ralph Northam's desk and is expected to be signed as early as April.

CDPA will apply to anyone conducting business in Virginia who controls or processes personal data of at least 100,000 consumers or controls or processes personal data of at least 25,000 consumers and earns over 50% of gross revenue from the sale of personal data, according to Lexology.

Under the law's guidelines, controllers would be required to conduct assessments of any activities that involve the use of personal data for targeted advertising, for profiling, or for sale. Like CCPA, the law would afford consumers the right to know, the right to correct or delete, and the right to opt-out. But unlike CCPA, CDPA adopts a more business-friendly approach by exempting companies based on data or certain revenue thresholds.
Why This Matters
While big tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon are in support of the law, opponents say the law is much too weak. Since it's based on consumer's opting-out, critics feel the law doesn't fully protect consumer's privacy.

We can also expect that more privacy laws are coming down the pike this year. Several states, like New York and Connecticut, are working hard to pass comprehensive privacy laws, but there's also high speculation that a federal law is on the agenda of Biden's administration.

While CDPA wouldn't take effect until January 1, 2023, don't for one second think that because you're in compliance with GDPR and CCPA that you're automatically covered for CDPA.
News You Can Use
Here's What Else We're Reading
  • Facebook knew for years ad reach estimates were based on 'wrong data’ but blocked fixes over revenue impact (TechCrunch)
  • News Corp and Google reach a deal on payments for journalism (Los Angeles Times)
  • Facebook's answer to the ACC: Restrict users from sharing news in Australia (Axios) But says it will restore sharing once the new laws are amended (TechCrunch)
  • The Trade Desk hands control of Unified ID 2.0 to Prebid (AdWeek)
  • MRC Updates OTT, CTV video measurement guidance For SSAI (MediaPost)
  • Maryland Passed a tax on digital advertising, 4 experts weigh in on the implications for the ad ecosystem (AdExchanger)
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