Google has had a tough few months.

First, they announced an abrupt about-face in their years-long initiative to remove third-party cookies from Chrome. Barely two weeks later, they were officially declared a Search monopoly by a federal court in one of the most consequential antitrust losses in decades (with another concurrent antitrust case about Google’s AdTech business still pending.) 

As the CTO of Upwave (a Brand Outcomes measurement startup) I’ve spent the last decade doing what everyone in AdTech has to do – navigate cautiously and quietly around Google, for fear of drawing their ire (or simply being toppled by their massive wake.) I have spent years participating in World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) discussions about Google’s Privacy Sandbox, and I’ve watched the cookie saga unfold with morbid fascination. 

One thing became clear very early in the W3C process – a small number of companies (particularly, but not exclusively Google) believed very deeply that they had both the power and the right to exercise pervasive control over the entire digital media and advertising industries. Now, it appears that Google may have finally found the limits of its influence: at the courthouse steps. 

But with or without third-party cookies, the web must go on. So where do we all go next?

The Privacy Paradox

The Privacy Sandbox initiative was Google’s attempt to reconcile irreconcilable objectives: overcoming Apple’s privacy counter-positioning, maintaining ad revenue primarily generated by capturing and applying comprehensive behavioral data about its billion+, and preserving a sufficiently healthy web ecosystem (since what’s the point of maintaining a search monopoly if searchers have nothing to find?) 

However, Google’s approach was fundamentally flawed in its overly simplistic view of privacy, focusing solely on eliminating cross-site tracking. This narrow definition sidestepped uncomfortable conversations about Google’s data collection and use, but also set an unrealistic bar for the Privacy Sandbox APIs by demanding they facilitate effective advertising while rendering cross-site data sharing technologically unfeasible.

Google put a smart, capable team in the Privacy Sandbox, but their mission was impossible from the start.

The Monopoly Question

The recent court ruling confirming Google’s monopoly in search underscores the company’s immense influence in shaping the digital landscape. Google’s control of the most widely used web browser means that its decisions about cookies and privacy reverberate throughout the advertising ecosystem. And Google’s “walled garden” approach to its many interlocking properties has allowed it to build an unassailable flywheel by tightly bundling its proprietary data, unique scaled inventory, and ad tech stack. 

The Privacy Sandbox initiative, despite its stated goals, has always seemed more about protecting Google’s flywheel than about safeguarding user privacy. And whether the ongoing antitrust trial focused on Google’s ad tech business finds that Google’s dominance of the plumbing of ad buying and serving rises to the level of a monopoly, there can be no doubt that the entire ad tech industry still operates in Google’s long shadow.

Forging a New Privacy Path

Google’s announcement that they won’t entirely remove 3rd party cookies doesn’t mean cookies are safe. Industry analysts anticipate Google will likely implement a consent mechanism similar to Apple’s “App Tracking Transparency,” effectively decimating cookie availability without outright eliminating them.

This scenario presents significant challenges:

1. The industry loses momentum in its efforts to move beyond outdated tracking methods.
2. The Privacy Sandbox initiative risks fading into irrelevance without the urgency of imminent cookie deprecation.
3. Uncertainty surrounding the open web’s future continues to accelerate ad spending shifts toward walled gardens, paradoxically giving a few tech giants even more panoptical views of user behavior.
4. Google may decide it has bigger problems than the long-term viability of the open web and simply retreat into its castle, leaving everyone outside its walls to pick up the pieces.

The digital advertising industry stands at a critical juncture. It’s evident that where privacy is concerned, both industry self-regulation and unilateral decisions by tech giants have fallen short. 

So what’s next? In a world where big tech can no longer set the rules, what’s needed instead is a collaborative, multi-stakeholder effort to develop pragmatic privacy standards, practices, and enforceable guidelines.

It’s time for an international coalition to unite regulators, industry representatives, academic experts, and consumer advocates. Their collective task should be to craft a flexible, adaptable privacy framework that embraces a comprehensive view of privacy, acknowledging its contextual nature and the intricate realities of data usage in today’s digital ecosystem.

In the interim, we must prepare for a transitional period where cookie effectiveness wanes, but no clear alternative emerges. Advertisers must explore and evaluate various strategies, including refining contextual targeting, exploring emerging privacy-preserving technologies, and learning to think like marketing economists.

Google’s privacy misstep, combined with its antitrust challenges, presents an opportunity for industry-wide recalibration. By fostering collaboration, diversifying our approaches, and constructively engaging with regulators, we can work towards building a truly user-centric, economically sustainable, privacy-respecting digital ecosystem.

Ultimately, we have no choice. Google and the Privacy Sandbox are not coming to save us.

The post What Happens When Google Can No Longer Set the Rules for the Web? appeared first on AdMonsters.

While in Boston, we didn’t just indulge in delicious lobster with garlic butter (which was as amazing as it sounds); we also dived deep into the pressing issues facing our industry.  The timing was perfect, as news dropped about X suing GARM, Unilever, CVS, and others — fueling plenty of conversations during Tuesday breaks.

Our publisher forums are always valuable, but this one hit differently. The focus was clear: everyone was determined to crack the code to retain more revenue. This time around, attendees were in rare agreement, openly discussing their biggest challenges as publishers. The great main-stage presentations and breakout sessions all revolved around one core question:

What is the future of revenue? Three key themes emerged: data, transparency, and diversifying ad revenue across diverse publishers. Let’s explore each of these critical areas in more detail.

Unlocking the Treasure Trove: How Data is the Golden Key to Future Revenue for Publishers

I’d be rich if I got paid for how often data came up in conversations. But it’s no surprise—it’s at the forefront of every publisher’s mind. The conference started with a bang when Claire Atkin, CEO of Check My Ads, took the stage. She kept it real, to say the least, ruffling some vendor feathers, but hey, we’re here to expose the truth. 

Atkin emphasized that the ad tech industry must embrace a new era of accountability and transparency. To empower advertisers and ensure purveyors of disinformation don’t hijack their brand messaging, she advocates for hourly log-level data and “know your customer” requirements.

Jeff Goldstein, Head of Programmatic at Future, shared how they rely heavily on their first-party data platform, Aperture, to collect and unify data signals from their 200+ owned and operated properties. This data is key for audience segmentation and building media products. Goldstein and his team collect data signals that give advertisers better insights and help create more precise targeting products. These signals include brand, model, and category information from the content, which helps Future understand how audiences behave, consume, and shop.

During the Deal Curation session, Scott Messer explained how these curations create a less leaky data-sharing environment. This is crucial, considering how data often leaks somewhere in that black box called the ecosystem.

Rick Welch, who works on advertising partnerships at Western Union, shared how they use their audience data to sell media and create cohesive, multi-touch packages for advertisers. And yes, when we say Western Union, we mean Western Union, the publisher, as they have thousands of owned and operated screens strategically lighting up retail spaces and locations worldwide. Their digital out-of-home network is making waves, proving they’re not just money movers but also a force in the digital advertising game.

Transparency and Collaboration: The Dynamic Duo Powering the Future of Publisher Revenue

Data and transparency were neck and neck in Boston, given how often attendees discussed both. This brings us back to that black box in ad tech — everyone is doing something, but no one knows what anyone else is actually up to. Publishers may know the pipes that generate their revenue, but what happens inside the ad tech ecosystem often remains a black box—how bids are made, who’s bidding, and where the money goes. Brands don’t have full visibility into agency strategies and tactics, while agencies may lack insight into the brand’s internal goals and data.

This has to change, and fast. The only way forward is through collaboration and establishing more transparency. In other words, talk to each other. It’s really that simple even a caveman can do it, jk.

I recall at least four sessions that directly addressed transparency. Jana Meron discussed it in her keynote, and John Shelby, Director of National Programmatic Sales at Zoom Media, Gym-TV, also brought it up in his Ops to Sales workshop. Attendees further explored this topic in the media quality session featuring Addy Atienza, VP of Programmatic Revenue and Streaming Operations at Trusted Media Brands, and Roxanne Allen, Head of Ad Ops at Dotdashmeredith. Finally, Atkin and Goldstein shared valuable insights on transparency during their keynotes. Goldstein also talked about how important it is to partner with advertisers to share sales data, which is vital for validating the effectiveness of high-intent segments. This collaboration explicitly boosts campaign ROI and refines audience targeting.

Meron shared some compelling stats on brand safety and made a strong case for the ongoing relevance of quality news. She stressed that brand safety and news SHOULD NOT be mutually exclusive, and advertisers should feel confident placing ads next to election content. Consumers with high political interests are highly engaged and could be lucrative.

She also emphasized that everyone needs to communicate to enhance brand safety across the board; publishers can no longer be left out of the conversation. Atienza and Allen echoed this sentiment, highlighting the lack of transparency, the challenges in getting verification vendors to address misclassifications, and discrepancies in reporting. They also pointed out how publishers are excluded from brand safety conversations, with agencies often defaulting to broad, non-contextual blocking measures.

The main theme of Shelby’s Ops to Sales workshop was clear: “Communicate, communicate, communicate, educate, educate, educate.” The key takeaway was the need for greater transparency, both internally between ad ops and sales teams and also with clients.

As I mentioned earlier, Atkin also reinforced the need for advertisers to be more transparent and controlled and suggested new strategies.

Spreading the Love: Why Championing Diverse Publishers is the Secret to Industry Growth

Messer’s Deal Curation session stood out for its focus on multicultural publishers. He invited Armando Aguilar, VP of Programmatic Operations at Mirror Digital, and Alex Haluska, Senior Director of Revenue Operations at MyCode, to discuss these publishers’ challenges. Despite representing 40% of the population, multicultural publishers receive only 6% of media budgets—a glaring disparity. 

Promises of increased ad spending on minority-owned and small niche publishers have not materialized. Instead, agencies bottlenecking the budgets, with most diverted to large platforms like Facebook and Google, bypassing diverse publishers altogether. 

Both speakers urged agencies to innovate and be accountable for their spending practices. They also encouraged publishers to engage directly with brands to circumvent agency bottlenecks. Once again, speakers emphasized the need for transparency and accountability in distributing ad dollars. 

The Premium Publisher Shift session began with a powerful visual:  a slide highlighting the disparity between the US Black population (15%) and the ad spend on Black-owned media (2%) to emphasize the issue. Terry Guyton-Bradley, Senior Director of Ad Tech at Fortune, led the discussion alongside Michael Bendell, an ad tech consultant from Ebony, and DeVon Johnson, founder of BlueLife Media and co-founder of BOMESI.

Each panelist offered a unique perspective on how to address this issue. One proposed solution to simplify ad buying was for platforms to aggregate minority-owned media buys. They also discussed the need to dismantle systemic barriers in the advertising industry that prevent minority-owned publishers from thriving independently. 

Advertisers should differentiate their spending on Black audiences from their spending on minority-owned publications, recognizing that these groups have distinct experiences and needs. As an industry, we must find ways to support unique publishers— whether they’re diverse, niche, small — if we want to see real growth. 

Embracing Data, Transparency, and Diversity: The Path Forward for Publisher Revenue

At PubForum Boston, it became clear that the future of publisher revenue hinges on three critical pillars: data, transparency, and support for diverse publishers. The discussions were not just about recognizing these elements—they were about taking actionable steps to make them central to our core strategies.

Data isn’t just a tool; it’s the foundation of future publisher revenue. Transparency and collaboration are no longer optional — they’re essential for defining success. And when it comes to diverse publishers, we need to actively uplift and invest in them, as they are vital to the ecosystem’s growth.

Looking ahead, these themes will clearly shape our strategies, push us to think differently and drive us to work more closely together. The future of revenue is bright, but only if we embrace these lessons, act with urgency, and follow through on our commitments made at forums like this one.

If you missed Lynne and myself chatting about these themes, check it out on AdMonsters LinkedIn

The post PubForum Boston: Three Emerging Themes Redefining Revenue’s Future appeared first on AdMonsters.

Navigating these complex challenges is essential for maintaining trust with consumers and brands.

Unique publishers (diverse, small, and niche) must navigate these complex waters to maintain their competitive edge in an industry where data privacy and transparency are under intense scrutiny. According to Jamie Barnard, CEO of Compliant, “The ad tech ecosystem was never built for privacy,” making it especially challenging to retrofit existing systems.

These smaller players are vulnerable, with privacy concerns mounting and regulations becoming stricter. They may not attract the same advertising spend as larger entities. Still, compliance with privacy laws is critical—not only for legal reasons but also for preserving their relationships with advertisers.

During our conversation with Jamie Barnard aboard a yacht in Cannes—over cheese and pepperoni—we discussed how brands and agencies can support unique publishers in navigating compliance challenges. He stressed the importance of adapting to the rapidly changing landscape. “Those who fail to adapt will find themselves in precarious positions,” Bernard warned. By approaching compliance as a collaborative effort between publishers, brands, and consumers, these publishers can create bespoke advertising experiences while upholding essential privacy principles.

Why Building Strong Compliance Models Matters More Than Ever 

Developing robust compliance models is no longer optional for unique publishers, it’s essential.  These models should go beyond merely responding to current regulations. They should be proactive frameworks anticipating future changes. Flexibility and adaptability are key to ensuring these publishers can withstand the inevitable shifts in the regulatory environment.

Creating a culture of compliance involves more than simply adhering to rules. It requires a deep understanding of privacy and data protection. This is particularly crucial given the widespread use of third-party tracking and data leakage — practices increasingly under scrutiny. As awareness of these issues grows, larger brands and consumers demand higher transparency and accountability from their partners.

“In our industry, where trust is everything, compliance is the foundation,” Bernard said. “When we approach compliance as not just a checklist, but a genuine commitment to our audience’s well-being, we unlock the potential for deeper connections and long-lasting loyalty.”

Publishers must go beyond compliance to educate their teams and stakeholders on this importance. By cultivating a culture of awareness and diligence, they can embed compliance into every facet of their operations. This shift will mitigate risks and bolster the publisher’s reputation in an industry where consumer trust is increasingly paramount.

Ad Tech’s Role in Adapting to Regulatory Changes

The ad tech industry’s transformation is largely driven by the need to comply with evolving privacy laws. While these changes may seem reactive, they present new opportunities for innovation in both technology and operational practices. With Google’s new 3PC consent framework, smaller publishers have a huge role in reshaping the industry standards moving forward. 

Smaller publishers should leverage technology as a compliance tool to take advantage of this shift. For example, artificial intelligence and machine learning can monitor data practices, identify potential compliance issues, and automate consent management processes. These technological advancements not only streamline operations but also enhance the precision and effectiveness of compliance efforts.

 As regulatory demands evolve, ongoing education and experimentation are crucial. Publishers should stay informed about the latest trends and changes, adapting their strategies as necessary. Abrupt changes brought about by decisions like Google’s back-and-forth dance with turning off third-party cookies, serve as a stark reminder of how quickly things can shift. 

Continuous learning should be embedded in the organizational culture, positioning compliance as not just a set of rules but as a dynamic practice driving industry evolution. With the U.S. regulatory environment beginning to catch up with the EU’s more stringent standards, the pressure to adapt has never been greater. As Bernard pointed out, education, transparency, and consumer empowerment must be top priorities for publishers moving forward.

The post The Ad Tech Ecosystem was Never Built for Privacy appeared first on AdMonsters.

Who said cookieless targeting doesn’t scale?

Dotdash Meredith’s cookieless targeting tool, D/Cipher, has propelled the publisher to a 12% increase in digital ad revenue year-over-year, marking the second consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.  

D/Cipher is proving its worth in driving campaigns like the one the media company conducted with Pandora. The campaign resulted in 76% higher foot traffic when compared to other targeting methods. 

But this isn’t just about impressive numbers. It’s about Dotdash Meredith setting a new standard in the industry. With third-party cookies becoming obsolete, their ability to pivot and innovate with tools like D/Cipher is a masterclass in adaptation. 

“The performance is amazing because the industry is always trying to find ways to tie media buys to real results. This proves that Dotdash Meredith can drive national brick-and-mortar sales for a brand without any cookie or identifier,” Lindsay Van Kirk, Senior Vice President and General Manager of D/Cipher told ADWEEK. 

The publisher’s success is part of a broader narrative vividly discussed at the recent AdMonsters Publisher Forum in Boston. Let’s connect the dots between Dotdash Meredith’s achievements and the strategies shared by top publishers.

Connecting the Dots from Publisher Forum

Several sessions highlighted how publishers leverage data to secure ad spend and ensure brand safety, aligning perfectly with Dotdash Meredith’s success story. Conversations weren’t merely about surviving the post-cookie apocalypse — they were about thriving.

Data-Driven Strategies:

Patrick McCarthy, SVP, Programmatic Monetization, Dotdash Meredith, emphasized the importance of big data in ad operations. “We are a very data-driven company. When you go into meetings with our C-suite team, hunches really aren’t acceptable. Our whole programmatic and advertising part of our business is really driven by our CFO and Chief Innovation Officer, who is a former data scientist. Data is absolutely paramount to making your case for new investment, for new products to be rolled out,”  he said.

This reflects D/Cipher’s ability to utilize first-party data and contextual signals to outperform traditional cookie-based methods. He also highlighted the role of predictive analytics and real-time data applications. The publisher is proving that first-party data and advanced analytics are the future.

Echoing the power of data, Jesse Waldele, SVP, Digital Operations and Client Success at Dow Jones, shared how they’ve ditched third-party data in favor of first-party insights, fueling more effective ad solutions. Their “Thematic AI” tool, which predicts the best content placement using AI, has driven noticeable performance lifts for advertisers. Dow Jones’ focus on real-time measurement ensures that advertisers keep rebooking.

While the benefits of big data are clear, reliance on it also comes with obstacles. The high cost of data management and the risk of data privacy issues can be a significant barrier for smaller publishers.

Brand Suitability and First-Party Data:

In her keynote, Jana Meron, Vice President of Revenue Operations & Data, The Washington Post, discussed the power of first-party data in achieving brand suitability and effective ad placements. She noted, “The intersection of deterministic and probabilistic first-party data is where we get our power.”

The Washington Post observed a 3x performance lift when using first-party data compared to third-party data with standard display, and a 5x lift when integrating custom ad units designed for their audience.

While first-party data offers significant benefits in targeting and personalization, the session also highlighted potential downsides, such as difficulties in scaling deterministic data due to the reliance on user logins, which can limit reach. Additionally, there are concerns about balancing privacy with data collection, as overly aggressive data strategies might lead to consumer pushback or regulatory scrutiny.

Still, The Washington Post’s direction is a fundamental shift in how publishers view and leverage their audience data. By focusing on the nuances of their data, publishers can create a more personalized and effective advertising ecosystem, which is essential as consumers become increasingly wary of invasive data practices.

Harnessing Audience Power: Future’s Strategy

Jeff Goldstein, Head of Programmatic at Future, offered a compelling keynote on the importance of understanding and harnessing audience passions. He explained how Future’s approach to audience segmentation — dividing users into “practical intenders” and “passionate intenders” — has allowed the publisher to optimize its content and ad strategies.

Goldstein shared that through their first-party data platform, Aperture, Future has identified high-intent users, leading to a 30% higher purchase likelihood among these users. He emphasized the value of deep audience insights and the role of AI-driven data in refining targeting strategies.

Future’s approach underscores the value of deep audience insights, enabling them to create more personalized and effective media products. By leveraging AI and contextual data, Future exceeds advertiser expectations, driving better outcomes across its 200+ owned and operated properties.

ID Bridging: Navigating the Benefits and Risks

In another session, the topic of ID bridging was explored in depth, highlighting how this technology enables publishers to maintain addressable audiences in a cookieless environment. Ianna Feliciano, Senior Director, Programmatic Advertising, Raptive, and Jasper Liu, Senior Programmatic Yield Analyst, Daily Mail, explained how ID bridging allows for deterministic and probabilistic matching across devices and browsers. While deterministic matching offers precision, it often lacks scale. On the other hand, probabilistic matching provides greater reach but with potential trade-offs in accuracy.

The speakers also explained the risks associated with ID bridging, such as increased complexity in managing multiple ID partners and the potential for data leakage, which can have severe privacy implications. Additionally, the costs associated with ID bridging can be significant, especially when considering the need for continuous vendor management and compliance with evolving privacy regulations.

But when connected with the right partners, ID bridging is becoming essential for maintaining campaign effectiveness in the face of increasing privacy regulations and the decline of third-party cookies. The session emphasized the importance of choosing the right ID-bridging partners and continually testing and adapting strategies to balance accuracy, scale, and compliance with privacy laws.

Innovative Revenue Strategies:

The “One Big Problem” session, a town hall publisher-only conversation, underscored the challenges and strategies in ramping up revenue. One standout solution was monetizing social media audiences. Publishers are turning their social followers into a goldmine, leveraging these platforms to drive engagement and revenue. This strategy, highlighted by some ad ops leaders shows the innovative ways publishers are navigating the post-cookie landscape.

This strategy doesn’t come without its downsides though. Relying heavily on social platforms means publishers are subject to the algorithms and policies of those platforms, which can change suddenly and impact reach and monetization.

Another exciting approach discussed during the Forum was Deal Curation as a Service (DCaaS). This strategy empowers publishers to showcase and monetize high-quality inventory effectively, leveraging first-party data for improved targeting and higher CPMs. Yet, implementing DCaaS can be resource-intensive, requiring significant investments in technology and data management. It can also lead to increased operational complexity, as publishers must manage and coordinate with multiple partners and ensure the integrity of their curated deals. 

In the long haul, DCaaS enables publishers to regain control over their inventory, creating a more curated and valuable marketplace that benefits publishers and advertisers alike. As Scott Messer of Messer Media explained, DCaaS alleviates costs, aggregates sales efforts, and delivers a good product.

The Existential Crisis and Future-Proofing Revenue

Despite Google’s flip-flop on third-party cookies, savvy publishers are already adapting. Our recent Publisher Pulse report, Ramping Up Your Revenue: Digital Publishers Reveal Key Growth Strategies, shows that 71% of publishers are investing in new tools and technologies to drive revenue growth, with the most invested tools including audience segmentation (65%), identity resolution (50%), and AI-driven/advanced analytics platforms (40%).

But this isn’t just about technology for technology’s sake, it’s about addressing the existential crisis of trust and relevance. Publishers like Dotdash Meredith, The Washington Post, and Future are leading the way, demonstrating that investing in first-party data and contextual targeting is key to thriving in a cookieless world.

As Dotdash Meredith’s McCarthy explained, predictive analytics and real-time data are revolutionizing how we approach ad operations, ensuring we stay ahead of the curve. This aligns seamlessly with the broader industry trends discussed at the Forum, showing a unified move towards data-driven, privacy-safe ad tech solutions.

The landscape is shifting, and those who don’t adapt will be left behind. Since many of these approaches may require significant investment in technology and talent, it’s a survival of the fittest scenario, where only the most innovative and forward-thinking publishers will thrive. Regardless of the size of your operation, your best bet is to start small and keep testing iteratively.

Innovation must be balanced with caution — embrace your data, invest in the right tools, and keep innovating.

Editor’s Update 08/14/2024 An earlier version of this article omitted insights from Jesse Waldele, SVP of Digital Operations and Client Services at Dow Jones, and Jeff Goldstein, Head of Programmatic at Future’s keynote.

The post Dotdash Meredith’s Cookieless Conquest and the Publisher Pulse: Notes from AdMonsters Publisher Forum Boston appeared first on AdMonsters.

In response to challenges posed by privacy regulations and AI-driven changes in search traffic, 71% of publishers plan to invest in new technologies. To sustain revenue growth, publishers are investing in AI-driven analytics, customer data management, and identity resolution. As one publisher noted, personalizing content and engaging audiences will be key in the coming year.

But, it’s not all smooth sailing. Publishers are grappling with significant challenges, including privacy regulations and changes in consumer behavior. These factors underscore the importance of diversifying revenue streams. With audience data, subscriptions, and licensing emerging as planned new streams, publishers are laying the groundwork for sustainable growth in an evolving digital ecosystem.

While the digital ad landscape faces headwinds, the coming year looks promising for publishers who are agile enough to navigate these challenges. Publishers who invest in direct deals, audience development tools, and diversified revenue streams are well-positioned to thrive in 2024 and beyond.

For more insights and a look at the full study results, visit the Publisher Pulse report page, and enter your information at the bottom to download your copy.

The post Publisher Pulse: Key Revenue Drivers and Strategic Shifts for 2024-2025 appeared first on AdMonsters.

Worldwide, finding a consensus on nearly anything is just about impossible. Yet, when thinking about the way people interact with brands online, there are two glaring truths: consumers demand personalization and privacy in nearly equal measure.

Studies show time and again that nearly 90% of consumers want to do more to protect their online privacy, and almost as many consumers will choose one brand over another if that brand provides a personalized experience. Both of these aspects of digital advertising and commerce are now table stakes. Striking the balance between the two, however, can be difficult, particularly for upstart brands. 

On the privacy front, many brands must contend with increased regulation. Especially in a more globalized marketplace, brands need to conform to international regulations, including GDPR, CCPA, and many more, which can limit the amount and type of consumer data they can collect.

This is all leading to the eventual depreciation of third-party cookies. While it’s true that Google has walked back from its plans to eliminate cookies in Chrome, other browsers have degraded their value, and their continued use in global commerce can run afoul of privacy regulations. Moreover, even if cookie depreciation is slow, brands can find a point of differentiation by offering services that demonstrate respect for consumer privacy. Traditionally, this means turning to transparently collected first-party data.

Yet for smaller advertisers, building up stores of that valuable data can be nearly impossible; third-party cookies are a cheap and abundant way to deliver that needed personalization at scale.

Looking to the future, data clean rooms can be a conduit for advertisers to continue offering highly personalized experiences while also respecting consumer privacy through multiparty collaboration and first-party data access.

What Are Data Clean Rooms?

To understand what a data clean room is, it’s first essential to know why it rose to prominence about a decade ago. For smaller brands and advertisers, there isn’t the luxury of vast amounts of first-party data for targeting and personalization efforts. However, if advertisers could share data with other smaller entities, perhaps everyone could benefit from those insights. 

Data clean rooms provide a secure virtual environment where multiple parties can analyze and collaborate using shared, anonymized data sets without the risk of exposing or sharing the underlying data. These virtual platforms provide the necessary data protections that can enable collective user data programs while remaining above board with regulators.

The Importance of Multiparty Collaboration in Data Clean Rooms

As regulation increases and consumer sentiment moves more towards privacy, brands and advertisers will need to rely more heavily on their first-party customer data. Collection of this data must be ethical and based on a value exchange, with consumers willingly offering their information in exchange for exclusive offers, access to gated content, rewards programs, and much more.

For larger brands with massive customer bases, accessing this first-party data provides a major competitive advantage over smaller brands. If you already have a user base of hundreds of thousands of customers, turning that user data into something actionable is almost as simple as flipping a switch. Smaller brands don’t have that same luxury, which is where collaboration becomes essential.

Data clean rooms level the playing field for smaller advertisers by pooling first-party data to create a unified resource that all contributors can access.

What Advertisers Can Do With Pooled First-Party Data

By working together, small and mid-tier advertisers can enjoy the same insights as larger brands with massive stores of first-party data through data clean rooms.

The utility of this pooled data can’t be understated; bringing in anonymized consumer information from multiple brands can dramatically improve customer experience across each brand’s channels. By analyzing aggregated data, advertisers can identify patterns and trends that might not be evident from their data alone. Zooming out and broadening the pool of insights enables more precise audience targeting, which can improve the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

Advertisers can also leverage this pooled data for performance tracking and benchmarking campaign efficacy against industry standards or competitors to help identify areas for improvement.

Data clean rooms help facilitate this collaboration, extending beyond data sharing. It can also enable advertisers to co-create targeted campaigns with partners, which can help optimize ad spend and maximize reach.

Why We Need Clean Room Standardization

Once you understand the utility of data clean rooms, it’s pretty easy to see the difference they can make industry-wide. Unfortunately, one of the biggest challenges of data clean rooms that threaten their adoption is a lack of rules and standards for contributors.

Standardization works to ensure consistency and trust across platforms. Establishing uniform protocols and frameworks for data security, privacy, and collaboration can facilitate seamless data sharing and analysis between different parties, reducing complexity, enhancing efficiency, and encouraging continued collaboration.

Additionally, locking in set security protocols guarantees that all parties adhere to the same stringent regulations, thus protecting consumer data more effectively.

In early 2023, the IAB Tech Lab set out to create a set of unified standards for data clean rooms. While this project is still ongoing, it opens up the conversation for parameters of collaboration in the future.

Data clean rooms are not without faults, but their adoption is critical to enable small and mid-sized advertisers to compete with larger companies as the availability of third-party data dwindles. Coming together, creating a standardized methodology for data clean rooms, and using that combined data effectively can be a major win for the entire industry.

The post The Crucial Role of Data Clean Rooms in the Future of Digital Advertising appeared first on AdMonsters.

As Google’s Android Privacy Sandbox gears up for its anticipated 2025 launch, mobile marketers need to stay ahead of the curve. Remerge, a leading Demand Side Platform (DSP), is at the forefront of this transition, collaborating  with Google and other ad tech partners, such as Verve, AppsFlyer, Adjust, and Singular, to ensure a seamless shift. Luckey Harpley, Staff Product Manager at Remerge, sheds light on what this means for the future of mobile marketing and how to navigate this new landscape.

Why Is Mobile Marketing Shifting to Privacy-First Advertising?

The rise of AI and sophisticated machine learning algorithms showcases the benefits of new technologies, but it also highlights the dangers of these advancements. People want more control over how big tech businesses manage their data. The advertising world is moving towards a privacy-centric future and marketers must adapt.

Apple made the first privacy move on mobile with the launch of its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework in 2021. Google’s answer is the Privacy Sandbox, a set of APIs to facilitate the selling, buying, and targeting of in-app ad placements, without requiring third-party cookies in Chrome or cross-app identifiers on Android. For Android, this will provide tracking and reporting via its Attribution API, targeting through Topics and Protected Audiences APIs, and data collection and handling via the SDK Run Time.

Why are DSPs Like Remerge Already Working on Solutions for the Android Privacy Sandbox?

It’s important to avoid a situation like the ATT rollout, where advertisers and publishers were left in the dark before its launch and struggled to understand how to run campaigns after it came into effect.

We want to ensure everything is ready for mobile marketers to run privacy-compliant advertising campaigns on Android without experiencing a drastic decline in performance. Android maintained its position as the leading mobile operating system worldwide in the first quarter of 2024, with a market share of 70.7% so this transitional period is crucial for the well-being of the mobile marketing ecosystem.

Does Google’s Decision to Keep Third-Party Cookies on Chrome Change Anything?

Google recently announced that they no longer plan to deprecate third-party cookies on Chrome and emphasized giving users the choice to opt-in to tracking. This update is unrelated to mobile. A similar approach is likely to happen on Android, where the GAID remains intact, and users can choose whether to share this with advertisers. In this scenario, nothing would change for mobile DSPs and their investment into Google’s APIs – the Android Privacy Sandbox would remain an essential framework for privacy-preserving advertising campaigns.

What Has Remerge Tested and Why Should Mobile Marketers Take Notice?

Remerge’s Research and Development team has been working on the Sandbox for over 1.5 years. They’ve focused on testing the Protected Audience API, which will allow advertisers to run retargeting campaigns on Android.

Tests have been completed with Mobile Measurement Partners (MMPs) like Adjust, AppsFlyer, and Singular. This includes developing a proof-of-concept for Custom Audience Delegation, a mechanism required for remarketing in Sandbox. This allows an MMP SDK to add users to custom audiences on behalf of advertisers based on their in-app behavior. Additionally, the first DSP/SSP on-device bidding test was conducted with Verve. These are small steps but important milestones for Sandbox testing, demonstrating that the Protected Audience API and custom audiences mechanisms are working as planned and validating product capabilities.

How Will a Mobile Marketing Manager’s Life Change When the Sandbox Rolls Out?

Advertisers won’t experience a considerable change in the buying process. At Remerge, marketers will continue to share their user data, desired campaign segmentation, and budget with the Account Management team as usual. Remerge will still be able to target users according to activity within an advertiser’s app and run creatives such as static and video. There’ll be no changes to CTR and CPX reporting, and for ROAS reporting, the data will likely have limited dimensionality, focusing on campaign and country-level reporting.

Google and its partners are doing the heavy lifting on the technical setup. Compared to ATT, the Android Privacy Sandbox is not only far more powerful with its targeting capabilities but also much more complex. This is a completely new tech stack with privacy-preserving mechanisms, and while we might see some performance dips initially, the long-term benefits are expected to be significant.

What About User Acquisition (UA) Campaigns?

While the focus has been on retargeting and the Protected Audience API, the Protected App Signals is supporting UA on Android. Although no industry players have made proposals on the Protected App Signals API yet, advertisers should reach out to their UA partners to discuss their plans.

What Can Mobile Marketers Do Right Now?

Advertisers should start finding a partner equipped to run mobile marketing campaigns on Android. Early adopters like Remerge, who have helped shape components of the Privacy Sandbox framework, will be well-positioned to hit the ground running when it launches.

The post What Should Mobile Marketers Know About the Android Privacy Sandbox Launch? appeared first on AdMonsters.

At this point, it’s not news that years of ongoing changes in data privacy regulation have created massive amounts of change in the way that data is being used (or not used) across the advertising industry.

As IAB Tech Lab CEO, Anthony Katsur, often says, “Just like energy, finance, or healthcare, advertising is now a regulated industry.” As part of this trend, publishers face challenges in creating sustainable revenue growth.

Navigating Data Privacy in Advertising

Whether it’s the continuing decline in ad revenue that digital publishers are grappling with or the never-ending struggle that the streaming television industry is having to reach profitability it’s clear that owners and publishers of media are feeling the effects of these changes.

One of the areas where these changes are most visible is within the publisher’s data technology stacks. Increasingly, publishers are centralizing the many data sources they need for monetization within their data warehouse. While this evolution brings the promise of insights and connectivity, publishers also need a purpose-built application layer to help them activate and get the most value from their data.

DMPs: From Central Role to Obsolescence

For years publishers relied on DMPs to be at the center of their monetization efforts. As cookie-based monetization becomes less and less dependable and publishers’ distribution channels continue to fragment outside of the web these systems have failed to develop new solutions for key functions like app and historical data collection, 2nd-party audience enrichment, and programmatic activation.

This leaves most legacy DMPs relegated to web-based data collection, audience segmentation, and simple ad-serving activation. Additionally, traditional DMPs were not built with important capabilities such as data clean rooms, identity resolution, and PETs which are extremely important in our privacy-centric world.

Data Warehouses: A New Hub for Monetization

Many DMPs have responded by integrating large data sets through mergers and acquisitions to help fill gaps around identity, some are playing catch up by trying to build more privacy-centric features like identity and clean rooms, and others have decided to completely go out of the business. A response to this lack of innovation by DMPs in recent years has been more organizations investing in their data warehouse to centralize their various audience data sources. The question is, is the data warehouse alone enough?

The Missing Piece: Purpose-Built Applications

As we talk to customers in the market it’s clear that they need applications that can work with their data warehouse to create efficiencies and grow their revenue. One of the biggest challenges is actually activating data.

Data warehouses often rely on applications and integration providers to make data more actionable which leaves publishers building expensive custom solutions and navigating complicated operations.

Similarly to how the Composable CDP movement has stepped up to help marketers evolve how they activate data in their warehouse, media owners and publishers (and new companies like retail media) need solutions that are purpose-built for both the era of privacy as well as ad monetization use cases.

Embracing the Future of Audience Monetization

Audience monetization platforms of the future need to be able to combine the streamlined audience building and activation (in both programmatic and direct)  that legacy DMPs relied on, while also allowing for more complex tasks like normalizing various data sources, running complex identity resolution models and collaborating within data clean rooms.

As free and scaled 3rd-party cookie data goes away the monetization is shifting to the publishers and media owners who are investing appropriately in their 1st-party-data, and there’s a major opportunity to create profitable growth. Investing in technology to help power this growth is crucial and will separate the winners from the losers during this period of change.

The post The Data Warehouse Has Replaced Many DMP Functions, but Is It Enough for Publisher Data Monetization? appeared first on AdMonsters.

The past few years have been tumultuous for publishers. The on-again/off-again deprecation of cookies, concerns over MFA sites making programmatic advertising risky, and the rise of generative AI search decimating referral traffic have all posed significant challenges. Despite these hurdles, publishers continue to innovate. As a result, the majority anticipate revenue growth in the coming year.

In July 2024, we surveyed and interviewed publishers to gain insights into their revenue outlook and identify their top opportunities for growth. This report summarizes our findings.

Of course, much has changed since our survey, including Google’s decision to forgo cookie deprecation for the foreseeable future. Still, what’s clear to us is that the talk of cookie deprecation has prompted them to rethink the way they do business and how they can generate revenue.

Key Findings: Direct Deals & Audience Data

• On the whole, revenue will grow. Most respondents (60%) anticipate revenue growth, with 19% expecting significant growth and 41% anticipating moderate growth.
•  2025 will be the year of the direct deal, with 68% of publishers saying it represents their best opportunity for revenue growth.
• Monetizing audience data (50%) and creating new products (46%) are also seen as significant opportunities for growth.
• Looking ahead, 33% plan to leverage audience data, and 23% each consider subscriptions and licensing/syndication as new revenue streams.
• To support these growth plans, 71% of respondents plan to invest in new tools or technologies to ramp up revenue.
• The most invested tools include audience segmentation (65%), identity resolution (50%), and AI-driven/advanced analytics platforms (40%).

Enter your info to download your copy below!

The post Ramping Up Your Revenue: Digital Publishers Reveal Key Growth Strategies appeared first on AdMonsters.

No pun intended, but the ad tech industry is still hashing out its privacy concerns. With Google essentially pulling the plug on third-party cookie deprecation and instead heading in the direction of an opt-out mechanism, ad tech’s privacy terrain is still in a state of limbo. 

But as publishers and advertisers search for the privacy-compliant tech that works best for them, the FTC reissued a warning about hashed IDs. 

In a recent blog post, the FTC reiterated a critical privacy principle: hashed IDs are not anonymous. Despite some companies’ claims, hashing—a process that transforms data like email addresses or phone numbers into seemingly random strings—does not render data anonymous. 

Data is only anonymous when you cannot trace it back to an individual, according to the FTC. This misinterpretation can lead to significant privacy violations, as bad actors can still use hashed data to identify and track users, potentially causing harm.

Hashing provides a layer of obfuscation but does not eliminate the potential for re-identification. The FTC has highlighted several cases where companies misused hashing, believing it ensured anonymity. Notable instances include the 2015 case against Nomi, which tracked consumers in stores using hashed MAC addresses, and the 2022 case against BetterHelp, where hashed email addresses were shared with Facebook, compromising user privacy. 

A Quick Refresh on Hashed IDs

Companies often use hashing to obscure personal data. Hashing transforms information such as email addresses or phone numbers into a consistent numerical value, known as a hash. 

This process ensures that the same input data will always generate the same hash, making the original data difficult to guess.

The advantage of hashing is that it allows companies to store data without directly revealing identifiable information. A hash appears meaningless and preserves user privacy, as companies cannot easily trace it back to the original data. This is why companies often use hashing when they are reluctant to record or share direct identifiers but still need the data for future matching.

However, according to the FTC, the belief that hashing fully anonymizes data is flawed. Companies and bad actors can still use hashed IDs to identify users, and their misuse can lead to harm. They warn that companies should not claim that hashing personal information makes it completely anonymous. The FTC will continue monitoring and addressing deceptive privacy claims to ensure that companies comply with the law.

Hashing Out Industry Sentiments

The ad tech industry is all in on alternative IDs as a go-to solution for privacy complaints. But, the FTC just threw a wrench in the works by declaring that hashed IDs aren’t truly anonymous. A shift might be on the horizon. This revelation puts universal ID formats like TTD’s UI2 and LiveRamp’s Ramp ID—those that hash and encrypt personal data—under the microscope, suggesting they might not be the ultimate fix we once believed.

Where will the industry pivot after this? 

Third-party cookies and hashed IDs will not stand the test of time, according to Adam Schenkel, EVP of GumGum. Schenkel instead upholds that contextual targeting will be the next wave for privacy-compliant solutions. 

“This news and the FTC’s commitment to safeguarding data privacy for Americans indicates that privacy-invasive targeting tactics like third-party cookies and hashed IDs will not stand the test of time,” said Schenkel. “Instead, advanced contextual advertising emerges as a superior solution once again because not only is contextual respectful of a user’s privacy, but it’s also able to match ad content with a user’s real-time interests and mindset.” 

Publishers Hash Out the Sit-and-Wait Approach

Sam Cheng, Director of Advertising Operations, TeamSnap, noted the uncertainty and potential difficulties ahead when asked about his initial reactions to the ruling. “It’s too soon to know until major publishers start taking an approach,” he said, emphasizing a cautious outlook.

Cheng highlighted the complexities in finding the next ID solution to comply with the FTC’s rules, noting that HashID will likely stick around until a new one surfaces. For now, he’s taking a wait-and-see approach.

He also emphasized the tough challenges publishers face in meeting the FTC’s data anonymity and user tracking guidelines. He acknowledged that implementing a new solution would be a pain, especially for companies lacking the technical bandwidth to adapt quickly. 

“Assuming most companies don’t have the technical bandwidth, it will be challenging to implement a new solution when it does come out,” he explained.

The post The Perils of Hashed IDs: FTC Reasserts They Are Not Anonymous appeared first on AdMonsters.