Hunter Jensen
Depending on whom you ask, the digital advertising industry is either counting down the minutes to doomsday or entering an exciting new era for engaging with consumers. Apple’s iOS 14.5 update — which effectively ends automatic opt-ins to online tracking and data collection — is finally at hand, and Google aims to phase out third-party cookies next year.
Whether these changes set digital advertisers back 15 years or pave the way to more fruitful interactions with customers remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: This is big. Allowing users to decide what browsing data can be collected, by whom and under what circumstances is a move that will change the direction of the advertising industry.
But the new direction does not have to lead digital marketers to oblivion, failure or poverty. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
With a few changes to short-term strategy — and a longer-term plan that takes into account the fact that people are awakening to the value of their online data — advertisers can form a new type of relationship with consumers. It can be built upon trust and open exchange of value.
It’s up to advertisers to grasp, accept and reap the benefits of the upcoming changes. Because with iOS 14.5, cookie deprecation, and regulations like GDPR and CCPA, one era is ending and a new one is beginning. There’s a new seat at the table in the great bargaining session between advertisers and technology giants. It’s occupied — for the first time — by the user.
The short-term strategy
Advertisers can weather big changes in the short term by implementing several steps.
For starters, developers should update their application SDKs to support Apple’s new SKAdNetwork solution and then verify attribution across each channel. For example, after SDK updates, verify that the number of installs reported from your Facebook Ads matches up to the number of installs you’re seeing reported in the App Store developer console or your preferred analytics provider.
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This can become more complicated the more channels you’re on, but it is important to verify all of your advertising channels’ reporting. Also important is setting your conversion value, because this is the key to getting granular information on your ad campaigns and ensuring the right entity controls the flow of information.
And since marketers will all be asking users to opt in to data collection going forward, it’s worth putting some thought into how best to entice them.
It might be time to ditch tepid-sounding language like: “Allow Facebook to track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites?” and replace it with something that hints at an incentive, like “Help keep our app free by allowing better ads to be delivered to you with data tracking.” Better yet, offer an actual incentive for users to opt in. As consumers learn more about what their data is worth, they will increasingly expect to be offered something in exchange for it.
With the SkAdNetwork up and running, conversion values set, and more enticing language added to data-tracking requests, you can develop the most accurate estimates of “revenue per install,” “customer lifetime value,” and other big-picture metrics. These can be used as a rough estimation of your channels’ effectiveness. As with many industries, measurement is critical to success in digital advertising.
With all of the turmoil, targeting may be less accurate for the moment. This will improve in time. And with the right longer-term thinking, the digital marketing landscape post-iOS 14.5 can be brighter for brands and consumers.
The longer-term priority
Advertisers can keep their conversion rates healthy if they take certain immediate steps, but they should be looking further into the future — far beyond the release of iOS 14.5 — if they want to continue fruitful interactions with consumers.
Web users are growing savvier by the day. The average consumer understands that wherever they roam online, the eyes of advertisers and other interested parties are following them — then selling the information they glean for eye-popping sums.
Consumers are beginning to understand the value of the information their web browsing produces and will be looking for ways to either avoid advertisers altogether or monetize this valuable data.
The sooner marketers realize this, the better, because iOS 14.5 is likely just the beginning of new technology products to safeguard user privacy on the web.
The future could see a wave of innovations that help consumers opt out of data collection. So it’s up to the advertising industry to find ways to get these educated, empowered consumers to opt back in.
Seeking their permission to engage — as opposed to interrupting them — is a great first step, because it shows the advertiser knows the value of the consumer’s attention. Consumers should be making a conscious choice to engage with advertising content.
When it comes to data collection, offering the consumer something that he or she wants — for example, discounts on certain items or digital currency that may appreciate in value — is the key to getting them to click the “opt-in” button.
Web users are aware that their data is valuable, so offering them a cut of that value is the way to get their blessing for data collection. Data is something that should be benefiting all of us, not just the tech giants.
On the web, the pendulum is swinging away from the exploitation of uninformed users and in the direction of transparency and fairness. The advertising industry can be at the forefront of this, but only after accepting that iOS 14.5 is just the beginning, and the era of stealthy online tracking is over.
In the not-too-distant future, I predict consumers will happily consent to data collection because advertisers will be offering them something they value in return.
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