Changes in data protection, the use of cookies, blocking, and browser providers are creating more and more obstacles for programmatic advertising. Although programmatic advertising proved particularly useful in times of the COVID-19 virus, due to the fact that personalized advertising was able to reach more target groups thanks to home office mandates and lockdowns, experts are also watching the spectacle with concern.
But why worry? Zenith stated that by the end of 2020, almost 70% of online advertising would be programmatically discontinued, and that applied to all channels, including TV and radio. The goal is to close all gaps in the customer journey, so that at some point every person, no matter where they are, will be addressed with a message that suits them.
The flip side looks ominous for programmatic advertising. Google is in the process of phasing out third-party cookies, even though programmatic advertising feeds on tracked data. Politics and data protection are also making it difficult for programmatic advertising. Tracking for advertising purposes is to be made even more difficult in the upcoming years, even in the mobile sector. The massive loss of tracking data that will accompany these changes is already being called the “IDFA apocalypse”. The large amounts of data will then be in the hands of large US platforms, which will of course ensure that as little as possible gets leaked.
Thus, it is highly recommended to look for cookie alternatives. There have already been one or two clever ideas from service providers such as NET-ID Foundation, Trade Desk, or Liveramp. However, the ideal alternative has yet to be discovered. Service providers should also not rely too much on the alternatives, as there could still be changes in the future that require the flexibility of service providers. In particular, companies that have built themselves up through programmatic advertising are currently feeling particularly threatened.
Liveramp has already demonstrated what the post-cookie era could look like with its “Authenticated Traffic Solution” identity solution. This solution does without cookies and conventional data generation methods. The IAB Tech Labs Rearc project is also working on a solution that will attempt to set up standards for marketing measures that are both privacy-compliant and personalized.
First-party data, however, is expected to become more important. Nevertheless, there are obstacles here as well that users will face, such as marketers’ data not always necessarily being compatible. It is quite certain that several solutions will coexist and deals will be struck between marketers that combine these possibilities. For individual businesses, this means keeping an open mind and experimenting.
