Articles by: "Jessica Werner, Senior Director, Publisher Development – ID5"

How publishers can take advantage of the holiday spending boom

November 14, 2022 Jessica Werner, Senior Director, Publisher Development – ID5

Despite a looming recession, this holiday season looks bright for marketers and consumers alike. And there are definitely opportunities for publishers. A third of marketers plan to ramp up promotional efforts between now and December. On the consumer side, forecasts point toward spending upwards of $150 billion worldwide on Black Friday alone, with holiday online sales climbing 3% year over year. For publishers eager to sell valuable holiday inventory, Q4 2022 presents an opportunity to capitalize on retail’s biggest season.

2022 has also seen the continued expansion of Universal Identifiers, data clean rooms, and other cookieless targeting solutions that support privacy-compliant identity-driven advertising. Privacy concerns have led marketers to embrace these technologies to keep consumers’ information safe while ensuring they have access to the latest targeted product offerings.

At the forefront of these developments is cookie-less advertising. As much as 40% of mobile web traffic is unaddressable without cookie-less solutions, making their adoption an urgent opportunity to expand the impact of marketing efforts.

To take advantage of strong consumer tailwinds building up to Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and beyond, now is the time for publishers to amplify their marketing efforts with the latest in privacy-friendly, identity-driven targeting.

Strike deals to capitalize on high demand

Q4 is the time of year when advertisers will be most eager to buy, and publishers most eager to sell. In addition, the quarter offers a unique opportunity for publishers to leverage their inventory to meet the pent-up demand of a post-pandemic economy. These circumstances come with benefits for both parties.

Brand marketers will be looking to hit their annual goals during a quarter when a large percentage of their sales are expected to come through. Retailers will have valuable inventory they need to offload before the season ends. These pressures incentivize deal-making and could help publishers snag highly valuable direct deals that could turn into lasting relationships with advertisers.

Publishers can accelerate deals and stand out from the competition by taking measures to capitalize on higher ad spend during the holiday season. For example, they may try out media formats that they would generally avoid, such as sticky ad footers that better capture audience attention. Publishers may also consider packaging custom audiences, day parts, or ad products to lure brands. By laying out how they can help advertisers hit their year-end goals, publishers can benefit from this holiday season and beyond.

Use first-party data and transparent metrics to stand out

Some marketers are facing tighter budgets given uncertain economic conditions. On the positive side, challenging times shine a light on measurable, cost-effective and privacy-friendly marketing tactics and channels. Digital media companies with first-party audience relationships and metrics have the opportunity to make the case that they offer this channel — in which case, concerns about marketing spend could become a business driver and competitive differentiator.

The key to standing out in the ad market is for publishers to make the most of the information available to them. Equip advertisers with the tools to accurately analyze results, proving to their CFO and other internal stakeholders that spending with your company is part of a strategy that drives meaningful ROI. Also, make the case that effective advertising is not just about reaching audiences at scale; it’s about reaching them in the high-quality, trusted environments that publishers provide.

Plus, if economic conditions do lead to a decrease in ad spend, there are benefits to some brands pulling back. In the past, aggressive organizations have gained lasting market share by getting in front of customers when rivals fled. In the event of mixed economic messages this holiday season, publishers who can make this case to advertisers will be the most prepared to succeed.

Experiment with cookieless audience targeting

New anti-tracking rules and regulations are an opportunity for publishers to get ahead in digital advertising. First-party data sets them up to provide audience targeting and analytics around content themes. Solutions like creative data partnerships, data clean rooms, and identity recognition can help scale offerings. These tools can allow publishers to be their own best advocates, helping advertisers target audiences in the market for their products, consensually measure impact across channels, and prove ROI.

Importantly, these solutions are not only available to digital media companies that focus on fulfilling programmatic demand. Organizations that focus on direct sales – which are enjoying a resurgence given the increased value of first-party audiences – can also incorporate identity-driven targeting and cross-platform measurement into their ad products.

With regulations like the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) taking effect in the new year, now is the time to start testing solutions and take advantage of the forecasted spending boom in Q4. Publishers can prepare by arming themselves with the tools to help advertisers understand the impact of their dollars. If they do that, they’ll be able to maximize the value of their rich content and first-party audiences while earning the Q4 budgets advertisers are eager to spend. And they’ll get ahead of competitors who will be scrambling to get compliant for the CPRA in January.

Advertising | Supporter Spotlight

5 considerations for publishers working on identity resolution

July 8, 2022 Jessica Werner, Senior Director, Publisher Development – ID5

Publishers stand to lose up to $10 billion due to the deprecation of third-party cookies and mobile advertiser IDs (MAIDs), according to McKinsey. Earlier projections by Google indicated that publishers lose half of their ad revenue on average when cookies are blocked. The impact is compounded by the growing impact of global privacy law and browser changes.

Despite the growing complexity, publishers actually sit in an enviable position as we edge toward the cookieless future. Actioning data in this new world will fall to them (and their monetization partners) thanks to their access to, and ability to activate, first-party data. Publishers can replace some of the revenue lost to deprecating identifiers using a combination of this first-party data and probabilistic methods.

Here are five key considerations for publishers honing their approach to identity resolution:

Lean into partnerships

With publishers securely in the driver’s seat for this next chapter, it is vital for them to move full steam ahead with the necessary procedures in preparing for a world with fewer signals available to third parties.

Most importantly, publishers must select the right partners to ensure an addressability strategy that will stand the test of time. Successful and well-integrated partnerships will allow them to continue to monetize their inventory in the long term, without being affected by potential changes — including signal obfuscation — being implemented by operating systems and browsers.

Explore multiple solutions

Universal identifiers are one of the most promising solutions developed to make publishers’ traffic addressable even when conventional identification methods are deprecated and signals are no longer available to third parties. These work by gathering various signals from publishers to reconcile a user across domains to enable the demand-side to target them with personalized messages and measure the results of their efforts.

Some of the most effective first-party user ID solutions use both deterministic and probabilistic methods to collect both hard and soft signals in a privacy-first way. These can include hashed email addresses, IP address, page URL, user agent string, and timestamps. With privacy regulations constantly on the move and some traditional signals dropping, ID solution providers that rely upon a wide pool of data points will ensure that addressability strategies are scalable, accurate, and future-proofed.

On the other hand, relying on one signal only, no matter how consistent it is, presents significant limitations. Let’s take the example of the hashed email address, which is the most commonly used signal to deterministically reconcile IDs across domains. Although this is a very accurate approach, it also presents two main issues. First of all, it’s not scalable as it doesn’t enable publishers to address all users who are unwilling to enter their email address to log into a website. At the same time, relying on email addresses only is not future-proof. Features such as Apple’s Hide My Email can significantly impact publishers’ ability to collect and leverage such signals for addressability purposes.

Prioritize first-party relationships

Selecting the identity partner that offers the most suitable approach is not enough. The ecosystem is constantly evolving and being disrupted by technical restrictions and stricter regulations. Establishing a first-party relationship with your identity solution providers is crucial to ensuring identification signals are shared in the most secure way possible.

Server-to-server integration methods enable publishers to share information with their identity solution provider while being less exposed to interference rolled out by browsers and operating systems. This integration also allows publishers to leverage direct encrypted connections, boosting the security and privacy of the data transfer. Publishers can also store user IDs in their server databases, and then associated them with client-side, first-party IDs.

An identity resolution partner can keep track of consent signals from identifier to identifier, as well as at each data touchpoint, and manage opt-out preferences.

Place privacy above all

Let’s not forget about the most important aspect: users’ privacy choices. Whatever signal publishers decide to use and pass to their partners should be obtained and shared on the basis of consent. This is a legal requirement in places like Europe and California, with many more states and countries looking to adopt or increase the strictness of privacy laws. Regardless, taking into account people’s privacy choices and leveraging frameworks and technologies that collect and enforce such preferences should be paramount.

Forward-looking, industry-leading media owners have been honoring opt-out signals from Global Privacy Control, an initiative that makes it easier for people to exercise their data privacy rights without informing every single website they visit. This is an additional step that publishers can implement as well as another signal they can pass to their identity partners to demonstrate commitment to respecting users’ preferences.

Good things come to those who DON’T wait

The deep sigh of relief that went through the industry when Google pushed back the demise of cookies was premature. We all thought we had more time to procrastinate on finding a solution but in reality, we don’t. Nearly half of the internet traffic is already unaddressable and signal changes are happening all the time.

In a constantly changing ecosystem, there shouldn’t be room for procrastination. If you’re one of the 50% of publishers that have not integrated ad identity solutions yet, don’t delay any longer. Having a secure integration with the right identity partners will enable you to future-proof your addressability strategy for the long term. It will also enable you to address and better monetize Safari and Firefox traffic today.

Advertising | Perspectives | Supporter Spotlight

Clearing up misconceptions to make way for addressability

April 25, 2022 Jessica Werner, Senior Director, Publisher Development – ID5

The need to evolve in the digital advertising world isn’t anything new. But the end of cookies has driven much speculation and we’re here to debunk some of the uncertainty that comes with it. Given the amount of discussion on the subject of cookies and identity solutions that’s taken place, it’s not surprising that certain common misconceptions have arisen. Let’s clarify what you need to know about identity and address the question of a critical factor in digital advertising: addressability.

“I can wait until the last minute.”

As tempting as it may sound to see what happens when everything is said and done, that approach isn’t in anybody’s best interest. As we’ve discussed before in “Why preparation is key,” solving for identity won’t be a quick fix or happen at the push of a button. Re-strategizing your approach to programmatic advertising requires a series of tests, trials, and adjustments to get it right. This process takes both time and effort. The sooner publishers lock in new solutions and curate new partnerships, the sooner the buy-side can adapt. These steps will enable us to enter 2023 as a unified industry with a tried-and-true approach for success.

“I can only choose one identity provider.”

It’s not uncommon to have one provider for varying solutions. While you may only need one CMP for consent or one DMP for audience segmentation, the same doesn’t necessarily apply to identity. As you evaluate who to leverage for direct deals or contextual targeting, consider as many identity providers as you see fit.

Many publishers scout out a handful before narrowing it down to three to five during the research and development phase. From here, you should test to see which best suits your needs. While you become more familiar with your first-party data, adding additional partnerships enable extra coverage and support. It also allows you to finesse your approach and keep what serves you in your new advertising strategies.

“Identity is an additional stream of revenue.”

When discussing addressability, revenue often arises during conversation. Why wouldn’t it mean more revenue if you’re adding another partner to help you identify and target your users? Additional revenue may be a happy byproduct. However, it’s important to set the right expectations in terms of objectives and results.

Identity should serve as a privacy-first solution to identify and address users that would otherwise be unreachable once third-party cookies are gone. Thus, acting as an alternative means to continue to do what has taken place for years past. A different connection equals a new and improved bidding logic rather than an extra stream. When publishers can address an otherwise blind user, they will see increases to bid rates and bid CPMs in otherwise blind environments.

“I can’t leverage identity since I don’t have emails.”

A theme around email addresses has emerged. Unfortunately, this theme is taking precedence over the real issues here. Yes, having emails is the strongest connection for buyer preference. However, there’s more than one way to address a user that isn’t tied to email alone. Direct deals and contextual targeting can take you part of the way. Identity aids as another layer to help bridge any remaining gaps.

You can start with identity, end with identity, or choose identity alone and regardless – it will take you just as far. The good news for publishers and advertisers alike is that identity allows you to target your end-user and target them 100% of the time. Thus, allowing for both addressability and scale. Some partners may only support hashed emails, whereas others can support declared and inferred signals. This is the common currency that will take you all the way and then some. It is crucial to understand what you’re working with and who or what you need.

“I’ll let the identity provider do all the work for me.”

Third-party cookies allowed publishers to put their advertising needs in the hands of others. Thus, letting them focus on other efforts in parallel. The role of conjuring up a game plan is now in the hands of the publisher. SSPs will still play a role and will continue to be there in support. Yet, it’s now up to the publisher to understand their data and make the best use of it for their own return or gain.

Adopting an identity partner alone isn’t a solution. Identifiers should empower publishers to protect their data and protect their users while using said data to convert into currency. Identifiers enable publishers to have the means to address their users in a safe and controlled environment. However, what they do with those IDs is in their court. Use the time to gain a better understanding of your first-party data and ensure the rest of the ecosystem is equipping itself with support.

At the end of the day, we all have the same goal which is why working together is the best approach. Publishers can make the most of their advertising strategies by confronting these common misconceptions in the name of addressability. With the right finesse, breaking down these barriers ultimately paves way for a future that educates, enables, and empowers media owners to address more users at full scale. As well as allowing them to maximize their value of inventory with a new form of currency. The coming changes allow for new and exciting opportunities, should they be properly seized, and should proper expectations be set.

Advertising | Perspectives | Supporter Spotlight

Navigating the new identity era: Why preparation is key

February 3, 2022 Jessica Werner, Senior Director, Publisher Development – ID5

If history has taught us anything, it’s that there are always lessons to be learned and mindsets to be shifted. If you’ve been in the digital advertising industry for any length of time, you’ll likely know there’s no shortage of lessons to go around.

The world of advertising has rapidly evolved over the years keeping publishers, advertisers, and adtech partners alike on their toes every step of the way. The latest evolution is that of user targeting and how we can continue to properly identify and address who our audience is in real and meaningful ways.

Identity in perspective

This brings us to the era of privacy and transparency, where identity was ultimately born. Although they emerged circa 2017, identity platforms are still somewhat of a foreign concept when it comes to overall strategy. Conveniently enough, there have been a number of postponed deadlines making it easier to rationalize resisting the adoption of said identity solutions. However, that mindset is worth debating. While we’ve been given a bit of a reprieve, it’s time to get started.

An important moment in history we can all gain perspective from is when Facebook changed its algorithm to prioritize content from family and friends while shying away from news publishers and brands. The problem with that sudden change was that publishers weren’t properly warned and consequently, weren’t able to properly prepare. Those that had all their eggs in one basket (who relied primarily on Facebook as their main or only traffic acquisition source) were quick to feel the impact of change. Within a month’s time, there were a number of publishers closing their doors or handing the keys over to a new buyer.

This story isn’t meant to instill fear, but rather share the importance of taking advantage of this privileged time to find where best to move your eggs. Just as you would with any other programmatic advertising strategy, that of identity needs proper time to ramp up allowing for testing and adjustments where needed.

Time to start

For publishers, this means finding the right identity solutions to begin testing with to secure what your favored identity stack looks like. In other words, think about who you’ll be working with and how you’ll be working with them. It also means giving buyers time to adapt and adjust. Just as buyers’ algorithms need time to adjust to changes in ad layouts, ad placements, ad stacks, and new users, buyers need up to eight months to adapt to new identity solutions as we transition into a post-cookie world.

Securing an identity platform alone isn’t enough. There needs to be a clear plan of action in place from initial integration to ongoing optimizations. You will need to ensure you have coverage for both authenticated as well as unauthenticated traffic. You’ll want to confirm that the partners you currently have running in your ad stack are compatible with the identity provider you’re working with so there’s no missed connections. And you should evaluate and re-evaluate what sort of audience segmenting you have in place and what it is that makes your users valuable. This is why you must do your due diligence and look into what each provider has to offer ahead of time.

Remember that this is very much so a team effort as we collectively migrate into the new world of identity, with publishers leading the charge. The sooner publishers fully roll out and adopt identity as the new currency, the sooner buyers can finesse their bidding logic. Each player has their own unique responsibility when it comes to fully scaling out efforts and getting this right, with the power falling into the publisher’s hands.

Yes, we’ve gotten the luxury of notice, and a bit more time. But don’t waste it. Preparation is critical and collaboration is necessary. If you’re not sure where to start, begin by taking stock of your current dependencies, evaluate the market, and identify a handful of providers to start integrating with. Once in motion, the rest is history!