Ad tech is getting confusing AF. Immediately following the brouhaha overGoogle’s announcement to not support identifiers tracking users across the open web, the IAB Tech Lab unveiled several technical specifications and best practices—for re-architecting digital media for addressability with accountability and privacy. Then, Google came back with plans to expand the use of publisher-provided identifiers. Seriously, it’s no wonder that by-and-large, the industry is overwhelmingly unprepared for the death of the third-party tracking cookie.
While 67% of data leaders report that their organizations are prepared for the impending loss of third-party cookies and identifiers, a staggering percentage of the industry is concerned about future limitations for targeting (45%), as well as for ad campaign measurement (41%), according to a new report from the IAB. Those numbers reek of bewilderment. No? Then why, oh why, is the industry still spending inordinate amounts of cash on third-party data?
Another report from McKinsey lays out the challenges that the cookie’s demise will bring to digital media and advertising overall, and trust us it ain’t pretty. Here’s a peek:
Up to $10 billion in US publisher revenue is at risk
Advertisers will have to completely overhaul data management and data sharing partnerships (we can just imagine how much that will cost)
We’re pretty much a year away from the beginning of the future of the end, and things couldn’t look more grim. That doesn’t mean you stop readying your first-party data strategies, adopting IDs and digging into the Privacy Sandbox, but it does mean that things won’t be business as usual for some time to come.
Now that a federal consumer privacy bill is on the table, the idea of normalcy is even further afar. As big tech continues to get entangled in the web of antitrust, we can expect to see more moves that are meant to protect consumers, while appeasing big government but still managing to line big tech’s pockets at the loss of everyone else.
That’s why we weren’t surprised to see a ruckus break out on adops Reddit over a think piece about a Unified ID’s importance to the further existence of the open web. On the surface, none of the solutions being put forth appear to benefit either advertisers or publishers. In essence, the score will continue to be big tech 1000 to open web 0.
But there’s something to the arguments being made over on Reddit, especially where one Redditor suggested that folks look into the NetID in Germany. At a webinar, we hosted with eyeo in Q4, Achim Schlosser, CTO of the netid Foundation, talked about how having an independent governance operation overseeing the workings of the actual netid solution, allowed major German publishers to sign on with confidence and use the tool to monetize and deliver data-driven advertising. And of utmost importance, netID’s convenience for users also seems to be a hit with consumers.
That’s the one thing I think we all keep forgetting about in all of this, the consumer. How good are any of the solutions we’re proposing building their trust in confidence in us as an industry?
Is Your CMS Killing Your ROI?
Publishers are at the beginning of a digital renaissance—finally. Two important changes are occurring at the same time that are making publishers wake up and take charge of their digital strategies once and for all.
First up—the death of the cookie. With the elimination of third-party tracking, publishers have the opportunity to forge closer relationships with their audiences, encouraging sign-ups and using the logged-in environments to enable better ad experiences.
Second, as noted by Search Engine Journal, is the backlash against outdated content management systems that are hurting user experience and holding back site performance.
Both ads and content are changing—which means that publishers have the opportunity to fix them both with a unified solution that makes a better experience for audiences and offers better opportunities for advertisers.
Content Management Systems are primarily editorial in focus and not built with monetization as a priority. This focus tends to create friction between Editorial teams and Sales teams.
Media organizations have long tried to keep a wall up between sales and editorial to maintain editorial integrity, but it creates technical problems that ends up hurting both sides. Remember, the customer has one experience, not two. And advertisers care about overall performance, which includes the context of their ad placement.
Here are some of the major issues that the messy CMS and ad tech setup creates for publishers:
Latency: Pages are heavy and load slowly, which is bad for visitors, advertisers and publishers.
High Bounce Rates: Slow load times and ugly sites aren’t appetizing for users. Many studies show it takes less than two seconds for a viewer to leave a slow-loading page
Low SEO and WCV Rankings: Google doesn’t like poorly performing pages. Slower pages drop lower in rankings.
Under-Monetization: With too many ads placed randomly on the page, advertisers bid less and ads perform worse, leading to less, not more revenue.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Processes don’t have to be at odds with one another. Publishers can have it all—more revenue, better user experiences and better control.
Here's what else we've been reading and talking about...
Let the ad tech consolidation continue. In the most recent episode of ad tech consolidation nation, Operative acquires STAQ to expand upon Operative's capabilities to aggregate, automate, normalize and optimize data, allowing Media companies to take full control of their entire supply and demand chain. Someone around the water cooler suggested they might be coming for Salesforce. What do you think? (Press Release)
Now that ad spending has followed swelling audiences to streaming media services, big players like Disney, Discovery, and ViacomCBS are building their own ad tech to better showcase inventory and manage yield. (Adweek)
With SXSW going virtual this year, media and entertainment publisher Mashable has made their Mashable Home a completely virtual experience with shoppable content from Walmart. Publishers looking to diversify their revenue should look to get ahead of this shoppable content trend. (RetailDive)
Super producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland's Verzuz provided salve to millions of folks suffering from the Pandemic blues. Now they've been acquired by Triller Network and are sharing the wealth with over 40 other music artist creatives. If nothing else, this deal highlights the power of live streaming that was only accentuated by how the lockdown changed consumer content consumption. (Billboard)
Amid the streaming shift, YouTube has unveiled plans to tap into the rise of CTV viewing. Of course, there's a lesson in here for pubs.(SocialMediaToday)
Google's promise to not track people across the web for advertising purposes has had some impact on The Trade Desk and Magnite's positioning in the market. (The Motley Fool)
@MeCookieMonster
Me no cry because cookie is finished. Me smile because cookie happened.
Senator Amy Klobuchar On How Congress Will Take On Big Tech
Alex Kantrowitz, author of ALWAYS DAY ONE: How The Tech Titans Plan To Stay On Top Forever and founder of Big Technology, a newsletter about Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, spoke with Senator Amy Klobuchar, who is the new Chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights. They spoke ahead of her first hearing to kick off the process as the legislature interrogates the power of big tech, and potentially takes action to restrain it. No time to listen, read Kantrowitz write up: Amy Klobuchar on the Democrats’ Plan to Take on Big Tech.
Publisher Forum Virtual | MAR 30- APR 1, 2021
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