We understand the value digital advertising generates for business, and we’re dedicated to supporting our clients’ efforts during these constantly changing times. Digital privacy presents an evolving discussion and as such, there is no catch-all solution for all businesses. Our goal is to maintain the strong digital performance clients have come to expect from JAY, while complying with all existing and upcoming digital privacy regulations set by governments and companies alike.
SUPPORT EFFORTS
- JAY has been and is currently in the evaluation stage, communicating with 3rd party vendors and partner reps on privacy changes, performance impact and solutions.
- JAY has already begun working with current Facebook clients to implement ad platform changes in response to iOS privacy updates.
- Domain Verifications
- Define 8 Event Conversions & Prioritization
- Facebook Conversion API Implementation
- Ad performance is always reviewed on a regular basis to understand performance, but close attention with be paid to the effect of these changes (iOS privacy and cookieless browsers) and communicated with clients.
- JAY is a Google and Facebook partner and as such, receives direct support, guidance and educational opportunities from partner resources and platform reps.
IMPORTANT DATES
iOS 14.5 PRIVACY CHANGES:
Apple will roll out a new privacy initiative in the iOS 14.5 update that will require customer permission to track user data across applications owned by different companies.
iOS 14.5 RELEASE DATES:
- Developer Beta & Public Beta: Released Feb. 2021
- Final iOS 14.5: Estimated Release Date March 2021
Apple doesn’t publicly announce when it will release a new version of iOS, but since the developer beta for iOS 14.5 became available on Feb. 1, and the public beta shortly after, and releases come out roughly once a month, we can expect to see the final version of iOS 14.5 sometime in early April 2021.
GOOGLE BLOCKS THIRD-PARTY COOKIES:
Apple’s Safari and Mozilla’s Firefox have already blocked 3rd party cookies, but the change for Google has a larger impact due the popularity of the Google Chrome browser, which is the most popular website browser used by over 60% of users worldwide.
END OF CHROME COOKIE TIMELINE:
- Phase-out process will be completed in 2022
iOS PRIVACY UPDATE
iOS 14 gives users more control over their data by allowing them to decide how advertisers can track them. Data that has historically been used to target users and improve algorithms may now be limited, which could affect digital advertising performance.
With over 60% of US mobile devices running on iOS, it’s possible critical mobile iOS data could be lost as a result of users not opting-in for tracking for both iPhones and iPads.
IMPACT ON DIGITAL ADVERTISING
Overall, the update will lead to fluctuations in delivery and performance on ad campaigns that run on iOS, particularly regarding conversions and performance. The areas that will be most significantly impacted are ad platforms that utilize off-site behavior and assisted metrics, e.g., Facebook and Display networks, as well as app advertising campaigns overall.
Targeting
- Smaller remarketing audience sizes and lower customer match rates, impacting retargeting and lookalike audiences.
- Interests-based targeting on Google campaigns will see data loss and performance decline. Google is working on solution, Privacy Sandbox.
Performance
- Conversions will still happen but will not be trackable if iOS users opt-out. Platforms will rely on aggregated and estimated statistical modeling to account for lost data. With missing conversion data, campaigns may struggle to optimize (machine learning) for conversion-based goals, e.g., purchases, leads, etc.
- Cost per conversion may increase. With iOS conversions being un-trackable, the number of tracked conversions will decrease, causing cost per conversion to increase.
- Facebook advertisers will now only be able to track a limited (8) number of online events per verified domain.
Attribution
- Assisted Metrics (Attribution) may no longer be accurate or experience a significant decrease unable to track iOS users.
GOOGLE BLOCKS 3RD PARTY COOKIES
Third party cookies are used for ad retargeting and behavioral advertising. By adding tags to a page, advertisers can track a user across the web as they visit different websites. This allows advertisers to build a profile of their customer based on online behaviors to deliver more relevant content. Digital marketing vendors also sell this behavioral data to advertisers to target their campaigns.
IMPACT ON DIGITAL ADVERTISING
Overall, the update will impact advertisers’ ability to track and capture user behavior online, either as part of a campaign or in prospect targeting. There is industry concern that Google’s changes will give them an unfair advantage, since they still collect data from its search engine and other platforms like YouTube for ad targeting, which is considered first-party data for Google. There are currently a number of legal battles between digital marketing businesses and Google for the court to disallow Google’s update.
Targeting
- More reliance on first-party data vs. third-party data capture opportunities (JAY has relationships with first-party data partners already in place).
- Behavioral targeting (e.g., brand affinities/ in-market status) will be impacted. JAY’s solution is centered around contextual targeting (the content being viewed).
- Retargeting in the form of following users across their browsing would be eliminated.
- Audience extension and lookalike audiences created through online behavior would be eliminated. All lookalike modeling would be established through first-party data.
Performance
- Loss of in-market behavioral audiences could result in less relevant advertising and thus, a decline in engagement.
- First-party cookies that marketers collect through the informed consent of internet users on their websites are not affected.
Attribution
- Multi-touch attribution models will become less accurate:
- View-through attribution (behavior after viewing ad) will no longer be possible- drastically impacting video advertising attribution.
- Click-through attribution will be impacted but providers are working on solutions
Interested in JAY digital media services contact us today!
