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Advertising | Research | Supporter Spotlight

Target future-focused companies to make your business “recession proof” 

Rising interest rates and elevated inflation are signals that typically lead to an economic slowdown, and sometimes a recession. Based on numerous client conversations, the concern is certainly on everyone’s mind. 

However, despite these concerns, at MediaRadar, we observe a more textured landscape. Much like the early days of the pandemic in 2020, we don’t see the market moving in unison at all. There are distinct categories of advertising that are sharply up. The key to navigating these times will be remaining agile, tracking and pursuing the healthiest categories of advertising.

We’ve shared some advice and insight on what ad segments are healthiest.

A rising tide in advertising

One conclusion: Advertising is healthiest where there is very high demand. This sounds obvious, but it’s quite profound to see the results. 

  • Higher education. The business of for-pay private colleges and universities is highly competitive. Schools are trying in earnest to lure students back in-person. University ad spend was up 79% YoY during the first half of 2022. Online education was up 264% YoY with a first half 2022 investment of $199mm. 
  • Career training. Advertising for construction and trucking training is up 13X and 11X, respectively YTD 2022. There is massive demand for anyone in both logistics (The Truck Driver Shortage) and construction too (Response Needed to Housing Supply Crisis). For example, there is demand for more than 5.5 million homes to be built and demand for 60,000 truckers immediately.
  • Skill tune-ups. The Great Resignation meant droves left the workforce. Many are tuning their skills for the future. Some examples of where advertising is up dramatically: Executive education ($37mm, +651% YoY), business schools ($52mm, +33% YoY), and culinary schools ($17mm, +1545% YoY).
  • Streaming channels. This is a hyper-competitive segment in-part because so much new programming is being released. Netflix isn’t just marketing for big tent pole names like The Gray Man, but for hundreds of shows each year. Each show typically has marketing to a specific audience profile. Q2 2022 total ad spend for subscription streaming services was $414mm. 
  • New movie promotion. Ad placement to support in-theater releases is growing. Dramatically (Massive Film Marketing Spends Are Back). In MediaRadar we found over $1.2B was invested to promote new releases through June 30, 2022. This is up over 325% YoY from 2021. Spend in 2022 is on pace to rival or exceed 2019. Conclusion: With audiences returning to theaters, studios are investing much to support releases.
  • Travel. Surging fuel prices and angry crowds stuck at airports haven’t slowed airlines and others in the travel market from aggressively marketing. We’re surprised how broad-based the rise is in travel; airlines are just a part of the total travel pie. Ad placement in the first half of 2022 is up 83% YoY to nearly $2.1B. 
    • Cruise lines invested over $363mm in advertising through June of 2022 (up 250% YoY). 
    • Local tourism bureaus are busier than ever. Florida, California, South Carolina, Virginia and Michigan have a combined spend of over $140mm during the first half of 2022. In total 149 destinations ranging from Arguilla to Wyoming around the world are marketing in the U.S. International tourism groups – Brazil Tourism has invested over $1.3mm so far this year encouraging people to visit; last year there was no investment.
    • Airline ad investment is up nearly 140% YoY to $190m in the first half of 2022. While more than 120 airlines market in the US, there’s significant concentration of spend from Delta, Southwest and United. 
  • Tech advertising is on the rise. From Jan to Jun 2022, we see ad spend in this category up 34% YoY to over $6.7B. Some of the increase is due to chip shortages gradually improving. While not out-of-the-woods, many tech companies will be able to see more inventory in the second half of 2022. Some of the surge however is coming from a dramatic rise in marketing for B2B software.
    • Financial software ($196mm, +128% YoY), 
    • Advertising/marketing software ($127mm, +274% YoY), 
    • HR software ($95mm, 417% YoY) 

Rollercoaster categories

With the pandemic abating some and consumers shifting their spending trends, it would be easy to write-off home furnishings and real estate. But the two categories have different kinds of headwinds, which means they may need the support of advertising. 

  • Home furnishings. Ad investment supporting home furnishings was $3.2B in the first half, up 17%. June ad spend however was down 1% YoY. While demand ebbs, furniture inventories are building-up. Firms ranging from Target to Williams Sonoma will need to market in order to off-load product. This may yet drive advertising. 
  • Finance & real estate. Ad spend was up 15% YoY in the first half of 2022. With mortgage interest rates rising and falling prices, ad spend however was down 15% YoY in June. We’ve heard from several sources that local real estate agents will need to work harder to market themselves and their properties, to get them sold. The days of homes “selling by themselves” is coming to an end. 

Post-pandemic headwinds

The fear of recession is not always the reason for declines in ad spend. Instead, society is evolving post-pandemic and this is shifting marketing investment. Here are some specific conclusions: 

  • Alcohol sales. Alcohol (beer, wine & spirits) are down 21% YoY in the first half of 2022. Subscription alcohol services have collapsed their ad spend by more than 90% YoY. Large firms like AB InBev too are spending less on marketing. Big picture: There are numerous studies documenting (ie. Pandemic Drinking) the rise of drinking during the pandemic’s onset. As we’re exiting the pandemic, sales of alcohol are declining. 
  • Restaurants & Bars. As the world opened-up after vaccines were introduced, local restaurants & bars actively spent to welcome back patrons. But today the market is back into a steady-state. Although ad spending is down 25% in the first half YoY from 2021 it’s more consistent with ad placement in 2019.
  • Sweet treats. Dessert & sweets brands decreased their ad investment by 81% YoY. The Milk Bar, for example, is down 99% YoY and Krispy Kreme’s ad spend decreased 76% YoY. With people out of their home, we instead see a rise in ad spend for fitness activities. 
  • Pet supplies. Pet ownership surged in the pandemic. With the initial costs of pet ownership complete (think shots, crates,etc) behind, advertising from pet advertisers is down 8% YoY through June 2022. June is down 7% YoY compared to June 2021.

Lean In

At a time when there is considerable worry about the economy, it is the right decision to study the current ad market. This is a good time to course-correct. What’s important however, and encouraging, is that there are many parts of the economy running strong. Our recommendation is to proactively lean into these segments to best navigate the months ahead. 

Advertising | Perspectives | Supporter Spotlight

Fulfilling the buy-side wish list with connected TV

Connected TV (CTV) includes a wide range of video on demand (VOD) platforms, free ad-supported streaming services, and a growing number of channels that viewers primarily use to enjoy long-form premium video content. Ad buyers increasingly direct their spend towards the eyeballs watching CTV. However, to capture this investment, media owners and broadcasters must deliver everything on marketers’ wish lists.

From data-driven targeting and incremental reach to frequency capping and efficiency, how can sell-side players become the fairy godparents of CTV by making sure buyers’ wishes come true? 

Targeting: tailor that ball gown

Much like a ball gown, ads need to fit — and fit well. A recent consumer study from FreeWheel and Happydemics uncovered that almost two-fifths of CTV viewers surveyed like ads related to their personal interests. And more than a quarter prefer ads that reflect their lifestyle. 

The sell-side can help marketers tailor their ads by supporting advanced targeting methods. Gone are the days when TV campaigns were planned on ratings alone. CTV now makes the same household screen addressable and many elements such as age, gender, time of day, geolocation, device data, and more can inform ad targeting. 

As the custodians of user information and contextual data, media owners can enable buyers to better personalize their ads based on audience behaviors and content preferences. Doing so heightens the value of CTV inventory and enhances the viewing experience with stronger relevance.

Geo filters: the glass slipper must fit perfectly

To help marketers win over viewers and plan the most effective campaigns, the sell side must balance relevance and scale when it comes to targeting. CTV environments can place brands in front of a broad audience. But it’s essential to consider if they are high intent consumers and how receptive they are to specific messages.

The ability to purchase inventory that can be targeted with geo filters addresses this issue by letting buyers pinpoint regional audience segments. It also helps ensure relevance through location. A footwear brand, for example, could use this to boost in-store traffic from local audiences, especially if combined with a new product release stocked in their brick-and-mortar stores. 

Efficiency: from a pumpkin into a coach 

Increasing efficiency for ad buyers gets them to their objectives quickly and in style. Enabling marketers to make the most of CTV’s data-driven targeting methods allows them to deliver cost-effective campaigns, as media owners’ viewer data can enrich audience segmentation. Buyers can purchase the best inventory for connecting with specific consumers and get better mileage for their ad spend, generating stronger impact while reducing waste. 

What’s more, broadcasters that unify their linear TV and VOD inventory will make an appealing proposition for ad buyers. In the FreeWheel x CoLab Media Consulting 2022 study, the marketers surveyed consider the ability to purchase ad slots for both linear and Advanced TV — which encompasses CTV, streaming and on-demand services — in one transaction as a key driver for their investment. 

Incremental reach: the more, the merrier

Another reason behind the growth of Advanced TV budgets, according to the marketer study, is the opportunity it gives buyers to extend linear TV’s reach. The sell-side can ensure CTV is highly effective for cross-channel marketing by bringing connected and linear TV together. 

As the media landscape becomes more and more fragmented, it’s easy to think that newer channels will replace traditional ones. However, linear TV continues to account for 58% of consumers’ time spent with video. This highlights the importance of buyers being able to leverage the optimal mix of channels to boost incremental reach and deliver on their campaign goals, alongside the need for media owners to unite their inventory and streamline the transaction process. 

Frequency: don’t keep asking for the next dance

According to FreeWheel’s consumer study, nearly two-thirds of respondents who watch CTV believe premium video platforms are home to the most attention-grabbing advertising experiences. Audiences claim to enjoy CTV’s big screen and quality content, and media owners are responsible for maintaining the viewer experience. 

Frequency capping is critical here, because persistently serving the same ads will lead to audiences losing interest. Through enabling marketers to set a frequency cap not only at a household level, but also across channels, sell side players can remove the risk of ad fatigue. This improves campaign effectiveness for buyers while ensuring viewers continue to enjoy CTV environments, so media owners can keep everyone happy. 

A fairy tale ending

CTV attracts highly receptive audiences and delivers a quality advertising experience. That said, the sell-side can leverage its digital-equivalent capabilities to make it an even more enticing prospect for ad buyers.

Marketers are expecting CTV platforms to unite linear TV’s reach with advanced targeting and efficient media trading methods. By supporting buyers with techniques such as frequency capping, geo filters and ad personalization, media owners can help make their wishes come true in their quest to optimize campaigns.

Advertising | Supporter Spotlight

Advertising’s attention evolution

Advertising is changing faster than ever. Consumers have more choice, audiences are blocking more ads, and global impacts such as the Covid-19 pandemic have shifted engagement and content demands across the board. All of this, coupled with regulatory changes that stand to make attribution even more challenging, have thrust us into an attention evolution. Now, we must consider renewed approaches and varied metrics to capturing and retaining real human attention at scale.

Across the numerous campaigns, ad formats, channels, and devices marketers have in motion at any given moment, getting a comprehensive understanding of performance is the only way to build solid and results-driven strategies. However, this is only possible through a commitment to measuring performance beyond baseline verification metrics. In other words: emphasize consumer attention, which, let’s face it, is no easy feat.

At its most effective, true partnership between brands and publishers paves the way for success, supporting marketers in realizing such coveted results and successful programs. Thus, it has never been more critical to demonstrate partnership value and audience quality. 

Get your metrics right

So, the next time you are formulating the right attention metrics to illustrate to advertisers that your audiences are engaged and that your inventory will deliver results, consider the below framework. Here are some tips we’ve developed based on the most recent quarterly measurement benchmarks from Oracle Moat. They should help set you apart from the rest so that you can provide a connected story and showcase actual value: 

1. Desktop display

When looking at measurement for display advertising, the amount of time spent with the content on the page in addition to how people engage are critical to understanding success. To determine the time spent, metrics such as dwell time, which tracks the average time spent with the content in the foreground tab of the web browser, are the most reputable and accurate ways to determine attention. To measure engagement with advertising, we need to understand the quality of the attention, how long ads are in view, whether people interacted, and for how long. We use metrics such as attention quality, in-view time, interaction rate, and interaction time to do this.

Expert tip: The average benchmark for attention quality – percentage of ads that go from hover to interaction – is 28.6% across all desktop display ads. As an industry, this reinforces the fact that we must focus on bringing the creative conversation to the forefront.

2. Mobile

The mobile environment yields the most fragmented audience attention. This puts added pressure on brand messaging to make an impact. There are consistencies between how we measure across mobile and display – such as dwell time and in-view time. However, with mobile, we can also measure the rate of impressions touched by a user and leverage that as a proxy for interaction and engagement.

Expert tip: 75% of all ad impressions on mobile in-app video are audible for any amount of time. Audibility is increasingly creating opportunities for publishers and marketers to engage with the user and capture attention.

3. Branded content

With a growing number of publishers launching in-house studios to facilitate and produce sponsored editorial, branded content is rising. With the onus on the publisher to showcase the quality and engagement of the content program, metrics such as scroll rate, scroll depth, and active page dwell time are significant indicators of attention and program success. 

Expert tip: Average down scroll velocity – an indicator into whether a user is reading the article or skimming it – is 87.7 pixels per second across all buy types.  These attention signals are often overlooked but provide valuable insight into readership and are key to a successful balance between ad monetization and quality editorial.

4. Video and digital streaming services

To effectively assess the quality of video data exposures, a mix of sight, sound, and motion signals are necessary. Looking towards metrics such as percent of video played in-view, completion quality, audible rate, and completion rate will help you build a complete picture. 

Expert tip: Even with the massive popularity of video and digital streaming, there are still nearly 20% of all video ads on desktop that play out of focus. Some would argue that if the sound is on that there is some level of attention yet remember not all attention can and should be scored equally.

Attention quality matters. Furthermore only 69.4% of videos reach complete status, and although a great stat to include in campaign wrap reports, that signal alone doesn’t tell us much about attention performance, and we need to continue to raise the bar beyond legacy ways of evaluating success. For example, in reality, only 23% of those same desktop video ads were audible and visible on complete, which is a massive drop-off, equating to a 27.9% completion quality score.

Optimized for attention

To optimize toward attention, you must track it in all its forms — whether that’s aggregate time on screen, interaction rates, video completion, and audibility, or even the screen real estate of an ad. There are so many variables that change how consumers engage, thus how brands should consider seeking their targets and how publishers should ascertain to provide optimal value.

At the end of the day, a single metric can never tell the whole story, as attention is not the same in every place or every circumstance. As we hear repeatedly: one size certainly doesn’t fit all. As you begin – or continue – your measurement journey, remember that through better measurement and a focus on attention beyond verification, you will not only understand what is successful. You will also be able to identify gaps and optimize toward areas that drive real impact.

Advertising | Supporter Spotlight

Leverage audience attention to maximize ad value

Speculation about the future of digital advertising abounds, now that the end of third-party cookies is almost certain — whether that’s in 2024 or years down the road. Most predictions focus on the negative: how an inability to target ads will lead to a less personalized experience, more paywalls, diminishing ad value, and loss of revenue. In fact, the IAB’s most recent State of Data report suggests that advertisers could lose up to $10 billion in annual revenue.

However, there’s another side to the story. For publishers who recognize the opportunity, the coming loss of third-party cookies may provide a way to take control of ad rates and even increase ad revenue by capitalizing on one of their most valuable assets: audience attention.

Attention creates an opportunity in a cookieless future

In the current ad marketplace, ad buyers hold all the cards when it comes to ad pricing. But with the loss of third-party cookie IDs, advertisers will be forced to rethink how they execute ad targeting, optimization, and measurement. Without a universal way to identify and authenticate users across the web, ad buyers will become more reliant on publishers for audience data that ties back to useful performance metrics.

This represents a pivotal change in how advertising is bought and sold. Rather than simply selling ad space to the highest bidder, publishers will be uniquely positioned to identify highly desirable audience segments, broadcast audience data to ad buyers, and set appropriate prices on valuable ad properties. For those who can get out ahead of the coming changes, there is a real opportunity to shift the balance of power in the ad marketplace back to publishers.

Attention puts publishers in control

Smart publishers have long understood the importance of audience engagement. Engaged readers are more likely to become repeat visitors — and over time, repeat visitors who trust your content are more likely to generate revenue by clicking an ad or making a purchase through an affiliate link. 

Ad buyers are beginning to embrace this connection, and there’s an increased willingness to pay premium rates for ads that reach relevant, engaged visitors. Advertisers even appear ready to move on from viewability — which fails to consider whether a reader interacts with or even notices an ad — as the standard metric for ad performance.

This trend toward attention was evident at the recent Cannes LIONS event where the “attention economy” was a key theme. Speakers there noted that buyers are looking for new, attention-focused metrics and technology to scale their campaigns, and advertisers show a clear preference for publishers who can demonstrate high levels of reader engagement through clear attention signals.

Capturing the signals of audience attention

To capitalize on this opportunity, publishers need a reliable way to capture, measure, and broadcast engagement data to ad buyers. But the fact is, there’s currently no universal definition for audience attention — much less a widely accepted methodology for measuring it.

Engaged Time compared to viewable time. Sovrn, Avocet, and Lumen study, November 2021

As the IAB’s Elizabeth Lane stated in our recent ebook, Capturing the Signals: How Reader Attention Can Drive More Revenue, “Advertisers are excited about using attention to measure [ad] effectiveness, but they’re confused about all the different definitions being used in the market. The risk is that this confusion will lead to them not using attention as a metric and not taking advantage of the insights it can offer.”

The need for a scalable measure of attention is clear. Yet today’s ad marketplace isn’t set up to reward user attention. As a result, publishers often miss out on potential ad revenue because they struggle to identify, target, and broadcast valuable audience segments to ad buyers.

The power of engaged time

Engaged time combines viewability with 45 distinct on-page reader interactions — including clicks, scrolls, mouse movements, and more — to help publishers truly understand when visitors are paying attention to their content.

Engaged time delivered an average of 2.7x higher CTR. Sovrn, Avocet, and Lumen study, November 2021

To analyze the correlation between engaged time and the current attention metric, viewability, Sovrn partnered with demand-side platform Avocet and attention technology company Lumen. Using Lumen’s eye tracking data and predictive modeling, the study identified that engaged time is a truer measure of a reader’s attention, capturing more than double the attention and three times greater CTR than viewability alone

Pay attention to attention

Change is coming, and players on both sides of the ad ecosystem will need to adjust. But change often brings opportunity for those who are prepared to embrace it. And just as the loss of one sense can heighten those that remain, the absence of third-party data may clear the way for new and innovative ways of evaluating audience segments, measuring ad performance, and driving ad revenue. Luckily, with the right tools and mindset, publishers have the power to use attention to identify and target their most desirable audience segments, and broadcast that value to buyers.

About the Author

Rebecca Cole is the Director of Content and Communications for Sovrn, a publishing technology platform that provides advertising tools, technologies, and services for content creators to build their businesses, remain independent, and thrive on the Open Web. Rebecca has more than two decades of experience driving increased attention through purpose-driven content. She has held communications positions in tech, energy, and consumer brands and was a journalist and editor. Rebecca has an undergraduate degree from The University of Iowa and a master’s degree in journalism from The University of Colorado Boulder.

Advertising | Industry-Research | Supporter Spotlight

Ad quality trends up and blocking trends down according to new report

In today’s constantly changing digital advertising ecosystem, it’s critical to monitor trends across the industry. This is especially true when it comes to ad verification, with utilization being heavily impacted by specific issues important to various brands, verticals and geographies. Knowing how these trends are playing out gives teams an upper hand in strategic planning and conversations with buyers.

Every year, DoubleVerify analyzes trillions of impressions delivered across over 2,100 brands across 80 markets to provide publishers and advertisers with insights into key media quality and performance in our annual Global Insights Report. While the report includes extensive regional data, global benchmarks, vertical spotlights and more detailed analysis, here are some key trends for publishers to consider. 

Ad quality improves and blocking declines

As advertisers and agencies continue to refine their verification strategies, we saw reduced instances of blocking that can negatively impact publishers. Last year saw a 9% decrease in brand safety and suitability violations, with the overall violation rate continuing its trend downward from 11.7% in 2019 to 10% in 2021. Violation rates are defined as impressions that do not comply with a brand’s specific settings, but do not always indicate that a block occurs. Viewability rates have also continued to improve, led by video viewability increasing 4% year-over-year.

This steady improvement in ad quality shows how adoption of quality measurement affects the industry overall. This, combined with education that leads to more nuanced brand suitability settings from brands can help publishers monetize more of their inventory while also having a positive impact on campaign performance.

Fraud violations decline while schemes continue to be uncovered

Online ad fraud schemes are an ever-present threat. They adapt to new technology and trusted industry safeguards, such as ads.txt, or through device spoofing and other insidious attack vectors. The good news is that publishers are being impacted less, with overall fraud violations declined by 7% compared to the year before.

Unfortunately, signs indicate that fraudsters are more active than ever. DV saw a 70% spike in schemes uncovered in 2021 when compared to 2020, especially in video and CTV. Emerging channels with high demand are breeding grounds for bad actors. Verification vendors will need to continue to evolve as fraudsters attempt new forms of misrepresenting inventory and funneling ad spend away from legitimate publishers.

Attention looms as an advertiser focus

Advertisers are constantly searching for the best ways to improve the performance of their creatives, and attention metrics are an increasingly important way for them to do just that. Beyond viewability, attention metrics can capture that elusive moment where consumers are intrigued by a product or brand, motivated to engage, and ultimately, driven to convert. In a world where consumers see upwards of 10,000 ads per day, measuring attention can provide powerful insights into which ads are likely to perform.

For example, a global technology brand working with DV saw that high engagement impressions were 32% more likely to convert to sign-ups or sales relative to baseline impressions. Where a user’s attention is on the page can make a marked difference in ad performance.

Attention measurement informs buy-side and sell-side teams about key video and CTV metrics such as ad audibility, in-view rates, completion rates, fully on-screen rates and more. In 2021, DV saw Audible and In-view On Completion (AVOC) rates increase by 23% YoY across all devices, indicating improvements in how video advertising is seen by users. Clearly, the ability to monitor and optimize for attention metrics will be a differentiator in the space. The ability to sell segments of inventory based on attention metrics shows buyers that you have optimal ad performance in mind.

While not indicative of all verification vendors, publishers should look to understand how buyers are utilizing verification tools and how it may impact them. A lot has changed in ad verification since its inception, and publishers that consider the same quality and attention metrics that brands care about stand to benefit the most.

Access DoubleVerify's full Global Insights Report containing methodology, definitions and additional information here.
Advertising | Supporter Spotlight

Third-party CTV data isn’t just for advertisers

Connected TV (CTV) is rapidly gaining traction. The digital industry has seen this coming for a while; in fact, after years of growing adoption, CTV has accelerated into the forefront of media consumption as consumers’ preferred streaming device. 

What’s more, ad-supported CTV has captured audiences, with IAS research finding that 91% of CTV users watch some form of ad supported streaming video content. So, as CTV swiftly surpasses linear as the most popular way to view television, advertisers want a piece of the pie — understandably so. As a powerful medium when it comes to connecting with consumers, it remains crucial for advertisers to ensure their ads have the opportunity to be seen and heard, which, unfortunately, can be a shortcoming of first-party CTV metrics.

When it comes to capitalizing on the valuable CTV inventory you have available, cutting-edge measurement matters. Here’s why.

Advertisers want premium inventory — but they also want transparency.

CTV is compelling. Not only does this format offer a dynamic sight, sound, and motion experience for consumers, but it also consists of premium content that allows consumers to choose what to view and when to view it. With all of these benefits, it’s no wonder why advertisers want to get their hands on CTV placements.

However, despite the benefits and popularity of CTV, there’s a roadblock preventing advertisers from buying this inventory: the first-party data that publishers often provide to advertisers simply isn’t enough. 

So why does measurement matter so much in CTV? For publishers, working with third-party verification providers can be the key to maximizing the amount of advertisers who want your premium, valuable inventory. Why is that? Because advertisers want to see where their ad spend is going — and that includes the comprehensive, granular metrics that go along with it. Advertisers are more inclined to purchase inventory if they’re able to determine who saw their ads, how long the consumer viewed the ads, and at what scale the ad was viewed.

Data provides transparency, and transparency is key to enticing advertisers who have money to spend. But it’s not the only advancement that advertisers are looking for in CTV.

How are advertisers using incremental reach?

Advertisers are seeing greater value in the incremental reach CTV can offer. This placement strategy gives marketers the ability to target unique consumers that they simply cannot reach through other screens and mediums. But what does this mean for publishers?

As advertisers sharpen their focus on incremental reach, they want to know exactly who is watching their ads. If an advertiser knows they’ve already reached a certain consumer, they want the ability to choose to target them again on premium, and pricier, CTV inventory. 

On the other hand, if an advertiser knows they can reach a certain consumer or demographic via less expensive placements on traditional TV, they may want to explore that option. Ultimately, marketers are looking for transparency and control to determine what frequency and budget allocation is best for their digital strategies.

And how can advertisers know who exactly they’ve targeted? It’s all in the data. 

With today’s CTV technology, publishers need to provide a delivery system that’s able to feed back into audience management to let the advertiser know who they’ve reached, at what cost, and how many ads they’ve delivered to them.

Publishers — measurement matters for you too.

You may have heard this tagline thrown around the industry: “Data is the new oil.” And it’s true. Data, especially in CTV, tells advertisers exactly where their ad spend is going, and it’s crucial to provide exhaustive, meticulously measured data in order to provide transparency and increase trust among advertisers.

Simply put, publishers need to properly leverage their first-party data for advertisers to confidently invest in premium CTV placements. Publishers who focus on data-driven CTV monetization in partnership with third-party measurement have the greatest opportunity to increase revenue — and actually report on the uplift. 

Advertising | Industry-Research | Supporter Spotlight

Advertisers and consumers are losing faith in Facebook. So what’s next?

Findings from the “2022 SME Advertising Study” by CoLab Media Consulting — a study so new that the full results have not been released yet — reveal that many advertisers are turning their backs on Facebook. At the same time, many are moving toward localized advertisements, premium contexts, and self-serve tools. What are the implications for publishers and media owners when the established order shifts?

Why are Facebook ads becoming less popular

The digital advertising landscape has long been dominated by Facebook (now Meta). But that tide appears to be turning, as the study suggests that both consumers and advertisers are looking to spend their money elsewhere. The important question is, “Why?”

 2022 SME Advertising Study by CoLab Media Consulting (left: consumers, right: advertisers)

The possible reasons are many. They include increased competition from other social media platforms like TikTok and Snapchat, as well as the company’s less-than-stellar reputation when it comes to data privacy and a series of high-profile boycotts. When asked about the social platforms they advertise on, only Facebook was becoming less relevant to advertisers. High cost, lack of transparency, and a lack of suitable targeting options were the most common concerns.

With that said, advertisers did report an increasing interest in self-serve advertising platforms. We call this the Facebook Effect: having long served SME (also known as SMB) advertisers with a do-it-yourself ad platform, the social media giant has whetted their appetite for automated solutions that cater to lower budgets. For many small businesses, Facebook Ads Manager was probably their first experience of booking an online ad by themselves. In the survey, nearly seven in 10 SME advertisers described themselves as proficient or highly proficient in self-serve advertising tools.

 2022 SME Advertising Study by CoLab Media Consulting (survey of US SMEs)

As Julia Belanger, General Manager at The Washington Post’s Zeus Prime, observed during a panel discussion in April: “We saw that advertisers were going to social, not because it was effective, but because it was fast, and easy, and they could pay with their credit card.” The Washington Post, for its part, is trying to tap into that demand with Zeus Prime: “a first-of-its-kind, self-service marketplace that will accelerate monetization gains for publishers while giving brands a seamless way to extend their reach and message.”

Who will replace Facebook?

Small business advertisers are growing bolder and more ambitious with where they spend their advertising dollars. In the survey, more than three in four said that advertising in premium contexts was a priority. This supports the hypothesis that even small advertisers are increasingly conscious of brand safety; a key distinguishing factor between premium publications and platforms like Facebook. Two in three SME advertisers were concerned about the context that their ads were placed alongside on social media platforms.

 2022 SME Advertising Study by CoLab Media Consulting (survey of US SMEs)

Although many SMEs report a desire to advertise in premium contexts, fewer have actually followed through. The most commonly reported reason was cost; there remains a strong sense that premium contexts are too expensive for smaller advertisers. It will be interesting to see if this attitude changes as an increasing number of premium publishers adopt self-serve platforms that offer ad space for significantly lower entry prices. Tripadvisor, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic are all examples of premium publishers that have taken this route.

Local beats global

Another interesting finding was that geographic targeting was a top priority for SME advertisers. They ranked local geography above professional, lifestyle and even demographic targeting in order of importance. An interesting and surprising finding — but was it supported by consumer preferences when viewing adverts? CoLab also interviewed a general population sample about how they perceive the advertisements they are exposed to. Those consumers likewise reported a strong preference for local advertising. Even in an increasingly globalized marketplace, localization remains a winning strategy.

 2022 SME Advertising Study by CoLab Media Consulting (survey of US consumers)

Almost  90% of SME advertisers agreed that diversifying their advertising dollars across different platforms was a priority. We found that they used an average of 3.4 different social media platforms, and 3.6 different types of ad networks (e.g. SEM, display, CTV, DOOH).

Implications for publishers

So what do these findings mean for publishers and media owners?

Perhaps most importantly, publishers should not discount SMEs as viable advertisers. The desire to advertise in premium contexts — as opposed to solely on social media — is strong in the majority of SMEs surveyed. At the same time, there’s a clear demand for low-budget, do-it-yourself ad tools, particularly at a time when advertising budgets are getting slashed and businesses are looking to optimize ROI and profitability.

Another key point is that both consumers and advertisers value localized advertising. Publishers and media owners with the ability to offer localized targeting should consider the growing importance of local and contextual advertising as we approach the inevitable phasing out of third-party cookies. Advertisers are already looking for new solutions; fast-moving publishers can get started early and establish a foothold by using their first-party data as their USP.

Facebook generates $118 billion in revenue, with 97% (or more) of that coming from advertising. When both advertisers and consumers are telling us that Facebook is becoming less relevant to them, that means some of those dollars are looking for a new home. Which publishers are going to go out there and get them?

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5 considerations for publishers working on identity resolution

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.

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What’s next for publishers in identity and addressability?

The state of identity in ad tech is overwhelming. The number of proposed solutions for the end of the third-party cookie seems to be endless, with new ID providers, clean room solutions, and cohorts popping up every week.

But for any of these potential solutions to work in practice, they need to be adopted by both advertisers and media owners. They also need to be supported by the platforms enabling those two parties to trade. Figuring out who’s taking the lead on those initiatives, or how readily available and scaled some of those potential solutions are can be difficult.

To help buyers and sellers answer these questions and more, The MediaGrid team analyzed more than 195 billion bid requests globally between January 2022 and May 2022. This provided insight into the adoption trends of various identity solutions and how the industry is progressing towards the end of third-party cookies.

The methodology employed to analyze the bid request data examined the User ID Module availability within publishers’ Prebid.js package for supply coming through our platform. Within the bid request, a number of inventory parameters were investigated, including: domain, time of impression, and various user data signals, including IP address, pixel tags, cookies, and UIDs. In addition, available providers were classified into ID solution types, such as deterministic, probabilistic, cohort, and ID resolution frameworks.

Here’s what we found.

A continued reliance on third-party cookies

We all know that the third-party cookie is set to expire for good sometime in 2023. We also know that marketers, publishers, and platforms have been toiling for quarters to find a suitable replacement that maintains measurability and performance without sacrificing accuracy or media planning sophistication.

Given this known timeline, we’d expect to see buyer reliance on third-party cookies for ad decisioning begin to wane, and shift to alternative solutions. However, the data shows otherwise.

In the first five months of 2022, nearly 60% of all winning bids included third-party cookie matches as the core addressability component of their decisioning logic, compared to 28% for alternative IDs, and 10% for non-addressable solutions, like contextual targeting and audience cohorts (figure 1).

Figure 1

What’s more surprising, though, is that publisher reliance on third-party cookies appears to be increasing as 2022 goes on. Looking at the data set, the percent of bid requests that were passed to buyers that included third-party cookie ID as the sole addressability signal grew from 39% in January to 49% in May, while the same metric for other solutions either remained stable or declined (figure 2).

This, in addition to the exclusive presence of third-party cookies in winning bids, suggests that the use of third-party cookies to operate the buying and selling of media remains widespread. It seems that both publishers and advertisers will continue to leverage the cookie for as long as it is available to them. At the same time, it appears that experiments aimed at finding suitable replacements for the cookie aren’t progressing at the rate we’d expect, given the potential impact its deprecation will have on performance, measurement, and yield.

Figure 2

Multi-solution publisher tactics

When we look further into the variety of identity targeting solutions used, it’s clear that publishers have been taking steps to leverage multiple solutions when passing bid requests to buy-side partners.

This year, of the publishers actively working with these alternative ID solutions, 74.3% are testing at least two at a time (figure 3). On closer examination, domains with higher traffic volume tended to support on average four different ID solutions. These can include a mixture of third-party cookies, deterministic, ID resolution, and other solutions such as cohort, contextual, etc. This indicates, unsurprisingly, that the larger, more sophisticated (or resourced) publishers are currently being a bit more aggressive with their addressability experiments.

Figure 3

Where do publishers go next?

Looking at the results of our research, perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised.

In a perfect world, we’d see the use of third-party cookies slowly drop off and be replaced by cookieless alternatives. Alas, we don’t live in a perfect world.

In fact, media traders will most likely continue to use third-party cookies until the very end. After all, they’re a proven revenue stream with decades of inertia behind them – so why not make hay while the sun shines?

That said, there’s more than one use for third-party cookies as we approach the deprecation deadline in 2023. Smart publishers might choose to leverage these cookies as a comparison tool, judging their effectiveness against identity solutions and alternative IDs. Using techniques such as A/B testing, publishers should be able to assess which identity and addressability techniques create value for their campaigns. From there, they can hit the ground running when third-party cookies take their last bow.

The use of multiple identity vendors is also a logical step for publishers.

In order to navigate a post-cookie world, buyers and sellers will need to adopt multiple solutions, leveraging different combinations of tactics to satisfy advertising objectives. When it comes down to it, digital buyers and sellers will need to know which solution will work best for which channel, targeting strategy, and goal – none of which is an easy task.

So, what should be next on a publisher’s agenda?

Test, test, test…

If you’re a publisher looking for a key takeaway, here it is: test as many solutions as you can, as soon as you can.

By doing this, you can directly compare if cookieless solutions are able to maximize yield and package audiences at the same level as third-party cookies before third-party cookies are officially retired. And while that is easy to say, with the myriad solutions in the market today – from the various Google Sandbox solutions to alternative IDs, contextual and cohort solutions, cleanrooms, and more – how should publishers test the different solutions?

Finding that optimal combination will require a robust testing program which can plan and execute campaigns using various post-cookie approaches alongside current cookie-based methods. Publishers need to work with a flexible technology partner that can help plan, test, and activate your post-cookie targeting and activation strategy.

Publishers will need support for:

  • Market-viable Privacy Sandbox initiatives for those planning to use Google as a trading partner.
  • All major universal IDs currently passed in the bidstream, testing to see which are the most valuable for your business.
  • First-party data onboarding and activation.
  • Contextual solutions.

And this is to say nothing of all of the reporting and technical support needed to integrate and activate these services. Publishers will need to work closely with a vendor who is able to address all these concerns using the broadest range of post-cookie alternatives available to the market.

A lot of this may sound like doom and gloom, so here’s the good news: time is on your side.

Because alternative IDs can now be found in a quarter of all bid requests, now is the time that publishers should prepare for the cookieless future.

So what are you waiting for?

About the author

Megan Sullivan-Jenks is Sr. Product Marketing Manager for IPONWEB’s The MediaGrid. A self-proclaimed tinkerer, Megan’s a problem solver for marketing and product enablement strategies and execution. From nonprofits to consumer goods and software, she’s an expert in translating the complex to tangible marketing and communications strategies that focus on results. Outside of the office, Megan rolls up her sleeves to enjoy all things DIY like sewing and woodworking.

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A healthy advertising ecosystem begins with contextual suitability

The media industry is undergoing a massive transformation due to rapid technological disruption, changes in global privacy regulations, as well as increased audience fragmentation. Compounding these factors is the cookie deprecation, leaving brands and media buyers exploring new ways to place their messages in front of target audiences. 

To drive advertising campaign success, brands and media buyers need to holistically consider the ad experience while factoring in contextual suitability. 

Prioritizing contextual suitability

Contextual advertising, or the ability to optimize an environment with aligned messaging for maximum impact on target audiences, is arguably one of connected TV’s (CTV) most important capabilities. The ability to place ads in or around content with relevant messaging to leave a positive imprint on consumers strengthens both brands and publishers – if done correctly. 

Most buyers and marketers understand contextual advertising on a basic level. Consider a hospitality brand looking to attract young and trendy professionals. They may consider placing an ad in a TV episode which features a road trip or spring break vacation in its storyline. This is a great first step in building a relationship with its target audience – but it’s not the end. When it comes to the precise alignment of messaging with target audiences, you can’t speak about contextual suitability without mentioning brand suitability, and by extension, brand safety. 

The characteristics that make content suitable for a brand – or a brand suitable for the content – is totally subjective. A good place to start is a company’s mission and brand story. While programming with risqué content may be a fit for an adults-only resort, it may not be for another that boasts vacation packages for the whole family to enjoy. These types of guards are not only fair, but are recommended when it comes to protecting brand safety, and should be vetted with an advertising partner. The subject of contextual suitability and brand safety are especially important in these times when brands may want to shy away from any references to COVID-19 or divisive politics.

In this same vein, publishers have a vested interest in protecting their brand identity. This can inform their decision to work with certain advertising partners over others. Advanced television viewers continue to tune into programming from specific media companies, channels, and shows because they trust that the whole viewing experience will be tailored to their interests. Additionally, publishers need to ensure the execution of advertisements are cohesive, well-placed and run at the right frequency to keep viewers tuned in. 

Marketers should also refrain from thinking about content in silos. Unlike linear TV, advanced television allows media buyers to effectively buy audiences and not just a singular show. When marketers step back to get the full picture, they will begin to analyze the typical audience and viewing patterns of a show and use this data to better inform media buying strategies. 

When prioritizing contextual suitability, media buyers can opt to buy into a carefully selected list of shows or content metadata that has been tagged with specific keywords, as opposed to buying the full portfolio of a media property. Using the combination of audience and contextual targets allows both publishers and advertisers to connect at a deeper level. 

Keeping viewers tuned in

It is not a secret that the last couple of decades have introduced many new technological innovations that occupy our time and attention. However, therein lies advertisers’ dilemma. Imagine you’re watching a TV show, whether it be on demand, live, or on an ad-supported streaming service. When the show goes to break and the commercials begin, what do you do? Most likely, you fast-forward through them if you’re able, take a bathroom break, or divert your attention to your phone.

With so many ways to occupy our time, we spend it on what we consider to be enjoyable. Maximizing enjoyment and pleasure is something that marketers take into account when using contextual suitability to strategically place advertisements into content. When relevant ads are thoughtfully and strategically integrated into content, consumers will begin to engage with the ad as opposed to simply tolerating it. This is how advertisers can effectively contend with various distractions and devices that are also competing for its audience’s attention. 

Perhaps the most important element of any advertisement is the storytelling format, which can be specifically tailored by advertisers to fit the content. Depending on the given context of where the ad is being placed, advertisers are able to change the mechanisms of the narrative in order to maximize its relevance. For example, in news surrounding politics or global health, the message can be focused on supporting the organization delivering the content, reminding audiences that “we’re all in this together.” Advertisers also have a myriad of digital tools, such as QR codes, as well as psychology-backed formats that are proven to optimize and drive deeper engagement.

Driving a higher ROI

Due to advances in CTV technology in recent years, contextual suitability allows marketers to get the attention of high-value audiences where they want to be. Attention equals profit. But attention alone is not enough. A product needs to be seen in an optimal environment to leave a lasting and positive impression on target audiences. 

In order to capitalize on the advantages of contextual suitability, marketers need to work with advertising partners that can provide deep and holistic insight into target audiences. The status of today’s current media landscape calls for relevant and seamless ad experiences that resonate deeply with consumers. 

About the author

Mike Richter is the Vice President of Global Revenue Operations, at TMB, comprised of sales operations, ad operations, and programmatic revenue. TMB is a leading global media company that reaches hundreds of millions of consumers via our dynamic portfolio of media properties. He offers best-in-class insights and data-driven marketing solutions that reach engaged communities across food, home, lifestyle and wellness content.

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Why publishers need to get taxonomies right to succeed

Taxonomies have long been a not-so-sexy – but totally important – part of our industry. They help bridge the buy and sell sides of digital advertising through a common standard. As a concept in the digital ad world, they refer to naming conventions or “naming groups” that apply structure to groups of data such as audiences or content. For publishers, correctly mapped taxonomies lead to increased buyer opportunities and an improved user experience for those reading their content. For buyers, they can enjoy better brand safety and brand relevance.

The importance of taxonomies today and in the future

Recent developments have put a renewed importance on the accuracy and robustness of taxonomies, as well as the ease of the data flow from seller to buyer. As has been well documented, we are living in an era where user identifiers are being removed from the digital advertising ecosystem. From cookies to MAIDs, the audience targeting capabilities cherished (and sometimes abused) by the buy-side are slowly – but surely – slipping away.

Some Advertisers and Publishers are looking to newer solutions, such as clean rooms and identity solution partners, to express their targeting. But questions remain about how to securely and accurately communicate those identifiers down the chain. So, others are investing in contextual data as a targeting methodology.

Whatever the targeting method, advertisers and publishers need a way to speak the same language so that advertisers know what they’re buying, and publishers can accurately package and sell their content.

IAB taxonomies

Having standardization in programmatic has always been important. Standards are what helped drive programmatic ad spend to $100billion+ annual industry in the United States. That’s why the taxonomies offered by the IAB have long been a staple of our industry. These can be broadly bundled into three sections: content, audience, and the ad product taxonomies (the product being sold within the ads). The IAB taxonomy with the widest adoption is content categories, boasting strong support among both publishers and demand side partners (DSPs) alike.

As we (at ArcSpan) have experienced first-hand, [publishers are now putting more emphasis on the accuracy and breadth of IAB content taxonomy, as many see contextual targeting as a way to “bridge the gap” until they can accurately – and safely – pass first party audiences through to buyers again.

Having previously worked as a trader on the buy-side, I’ve run campaigns then compared the performance of targeting third party content taxonomies vs the IAB taxonomies. On a CPM basis, the IAB would typically perform better (which makes sense, given the third parties charge a fee). However, third-party vendors often yielded stronger engagement.

This might be chalked up to the fact that publishers sometimes mislabel their content. This is an easy mistake to make, given content is constantly updating and ensuring categorization is accurate can often be an arduous, manual process. However, buttoned up publishers will reap the rewards, especially given the renewed importance of addressability without third party cookies.

Google taxonomies

Another argument for the renewed importance of the IAB content categories is that Google has integrated them in their Topics API functionality. For those that are unaware, Topics is Google’s approach to targeting once cookies are deprecated. Within Topics, a user is assigned three topics for targeting purposes in Google’s Chrome browser, and these topics are then passed downstream to the buyer for targeting. Although some see this as a behaviorally-driven approach, the actual set of topics used will be pulled from both the IAB content taxonomy and Google’s own audience taxonomy.

Seller Defined Audiences

Finally, I’d be remiss to not mention the very buzzy topic of “Seller Defined Audiences.” These audiences not only leverage the IAB taxonomies, they also require a publisher to pass first party addressable identifiers into the bid stream.

Publishers may initially hesitate to adopt this strategy, as they don’t want their valuable first party data being scraped by bad-actor vendors. However, this approach, although not yet widely adopted, will be one to watch, as it’s an important concept for both publishers and advertisers.

Beyond the IAB

Even within the adtech industry, the idea of taxonomies doesn’t stop with IAB content categories. There are numerous types of vendors within AdTech that have their own taxonomies. For example, advertisers and publishers alike might have their own, customized taxonomies. A common use case for a custom taxonomy would be when the IAB or Google taxonomies aren’t granular enough to capture the content an advertiser wants to target, or that the publisher is looking to surface.

If a publisher has nuanced, but seemingly high-value segment of content that they want to offer to buyers, they will need to go beyond the IAB’s categorization and offer their own custom categories to buyers. Take, for example, Trusted Media Brands: they recorded 110% growth in 202,1 due in part to their overhauled taxonomy, to focusing on better insights for buyers. Likewise, advertisers’ needs are constantly evolving, so certain advertisers have their own custom taxonomies.

As a final point on the topic of taxonomies: in this article I’ve spoken mostly about taxonomies as it relates to web-based buying. While this is certainly the most developed area here, other taxonomies do exist. For example, both mobile in-app and CTV employ custom taxonomies but it’s a bit more difficult to understand content in these environments, as standardization is harder to achieve in CTV and in-app environments.

Invest now

Given the dynamic nature of content, ensuring the heath of both publisher and advertiser taxonomies will require some level of investment. Ideally, the process of creation and updating said taxonomies would be automated and scaled, either by investing in an in-house team or outsourcing to industry experts.

We’ve seen some publishers are going even further by combining their correctly mapped taxonomies with behavioral audiences for advanced segmentation, then serving it to buyers via deals or passed via Open RTB in a seller defined audience. Either way, developing deep taxonomies now will benefit publishers now, and in the future, as buyers look to replace the granular targeting methods they once had with cookies.

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Publishers hold a strong hand for the future of advertising; now they must play it wisely

Concerns around consumers’ online privacy, particularly how businesses can collect, store, and utilize consumer data, have captured regulators’ attention. The resulting regulations are causing platform-level changes that will force the advertising ecosystem—and the adtech that supports it—to evolve and be more responsible with consumers’ data. The good news is that publishers have long had benefit of their close, trust-based relationship with consumers. If well-managed and wisely leveraged, this gives them a data-advantage in the evolving ecosystem.

Certainly, when platforms such as Google, Apple, and Facebook address their data practices, it impacts the entire ecosystem. The cookie-blocking changes that Apple has made in Safari and the anti-tracking movement across its app ecosystem are already having a significant impact on how advertisers track and target consumers with relevant ads.

In April of this year, Google reengineered the consent pop-up message throughout Europe to make it equally easy for users to “reject all” cookies as it is to “accept all.” As a result, some publishers have seen a 55% opt-out rate. As this opt-out culture among consumers grows across regions, including the U.S., publisher data becomes even more valuable. Eventually, we will see a global shift toward data privacy that prioritizes user consent.

User opt-in is key

Much of the advertising industry debate to date has focused on the upcoming deprecation of third-party cookies, However, the issues around consumers opting out of sharing data for advertising purposes are much broader and require urgent consideration. This is significant for the entire adtech community, advertisers and publishers. When a consumer hits “reject all,” the ad tech that support programmatic advertising—targeting in particular—stops working.

We have already seen with Apple ATT that over half of iOS users opted out of being tracked by apps and marketers when presented with the choice. This, coupled with the opt-out rate publishers are experiencing in Europe, demonstrates that consumers are actively controlling what data they share with companies.

The next era of ad tech is about user opt-in. Meta has recognized this too. The recent Meta breach, which suggests their ad business is likely non-compliant with GDPR and upcoming privacy regulations, shows that walled gardens aren’t immune from the impact of privacy regulation despite being closed ecosystems.

The regulatory requirement is full oversight and understanding of the data within these walls and enforcing users’ preferences. It’s why publisher data, made up of contextual and audience first-party signals, becomes an extremely valuable commodity in advertising. 

The value of publisher data

Advertisers will find the most effective way to reach customers is by working with publishers who have and can continue to collect first-party data, plus contextual insights that are not impacted by consent.

These include behavioral signals, such as time of day, clicks, scrolling, and video engagement, which are gathered when a user browses a web page; and contextual data, through the content being consumed and metadata, such as locations searched, description, topics, and keywords. Publishers can also gather insights from declared data, which is provided directly to a publisher by users and subscribers, data such as the purpose of visiting, industry, or preferences about certain topics or content.

In this ecosystem, publisher first-party data increases in value because it provides advertisers with the opportunity to target consumers based on consented data and contextual insights. Publishers that recognize the value of their data assets and educate advertisers on what’s possible and privacy-compliant can unlock new, sustainable revenue opportunities.

Fortunately, we are already experiencing a move from the open to a more direct relationship between the buy- and sell-side. When publishers and advertisers work closer together and view adtech as an enabler rather than an intermediary, they can responsibly activate audiences.

Moving forward responsibly

The current disruption we see has always been about more than third-party cookies; it’s about the demand for consumer privacy. Going forward, the ability to track and enforce user consent of first-party data at a granular level can’t just be a bolt-on–it must be treated with the highest importance. When publishers and advertisers work together and build direct relationships, they are in control of how audience data is used, be it for insights, activation, or collaboration. Adtech provides the tools to foster collaboration with controls and permissions. When this happens, publishers regain their place in the advertising ecosystem and the industry moves to a more responsible web. 

About the author

Katie Millington is the Head of North America Publisher Sales for Permutive. In her current role, she is responsible for leading Permutive’s North American Publisher Sales Team. Katie has previously held roles at the likes of Vox Media and Mediacom and has a decade of experience in the digital media industry. An agent for change, Katie is driven by innovative technologies that disrupt the status quo, evident in her background as an early proponent of publisher first-party data and programmatic advertising

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