Innovate Or Be Left Behind: How IAS Is Helping Advertisers Navigate Privacy Changes

With Google’s decision to phase out third-party cookies on Chrome in full effect and Apple limiting device tracking through changes to its IDFA, digital advertisers now have two options: innovate or be left behind.

Although Google recently alleviated some of the pressure by delaying the removal of cookies by a further two years, advertisers are currently looking for powerful solutions that can deliver results, while respecting user privacy.

Speaking with B&T, Integral Ad Science country manager ANZ Jess Miles [featured image] suggested there is a strong desire in the Australian market to find new solutions that fit this bill.

“With the impending changes to third-party cookies, innovation is the key to success and we are seeing marketers test different, innovative solutions including contextual advertising in order to maintain performance and efficiency,” she said.

“Advertisers are keen to test, learn and innovate.

“They also recognise their consumers’ priorities and are pivoting to privacy-compliant solutions in response to these demands. Despite this, there is a level of personalisation that consumers appreciate, so brands still need to drive attention and relevancy.”

An area of focus that is proving particularly effective here is contextual targeting. As the name suggests, contextual targeting is all about placing ads next to relevant content, as opposed to collecting personal data.

IAS’s recent Power of Context study found that 86 per cent of consumers want to see ads that match page content, while 69 per cent said they are likely to remember relevant ads.

“Whether an advertiser is tapping into first or second-party data or leveraging UIDs, contextual targeting extends the effectiveness of each solution by aligning the brand message to the content,” Miles said.

“Advertisers looking to drive a personalised experience for consumers can target the right creatives to match the right content. The idea that identity and context are now merging presents an opportunity for us to blend art and science and improve the perception and impact of digital.”

Getting CTV ready

According to IAS’s latest CTV & Ads research, some nine in ten Australians are currently watching content via CTV.

Despite this readymade audience, some advertisers have previously struggled to successfully implement CTV solutions and capture the available revenue.

But increased measurement and transparency, as well as improved targeting options, has meant CTV is finding its feet in Australia.

“As with any digital environment, there is the opportunity for advertising to be effective and successful and the need to eliminate media waste, fraud, or brand unsafe, especially when the marketer has the ability to tap into huge quantities of volume as we see with programmatic,” Miles said.

“CTV media quality measurement drives transparency, enabling marketers to validate what they are buying. Marketers that buy and target based on media quality, ensure they are investing in quality impressions.”

Achieving transparency in the supply path

Supply chain transparency has long been an issue within the ad tech industry. These problems were exemplified last year, when the UK’s ISBA and PwC released a report which suggested that some 15 per cent of programmatic ad spend cannot be accounted for.

The findings led to calls for improved transparency for advertisers, who now want to know where every dollar of their spend is going.

For IAS, improving transparency is a way to help its partners achieve the best results.

“Transparency is king for efficiency-focused marketers and in the current climate, all marketers are focused on maximizing the impact of every last dollar spent while eliminating wastage,” said Miles.

Miles explained that industry-wide standards and the development of new technologies are helping lead this change.

“The starting point to drive trust and transparency is the adoption of industry standards as well as an industry collaboration to drive increased accountability,” she said.

“With standards, like Ads.txt, App-ads.txt, Sellers.JSON, and OpenRTB SupplyChain object and increased accountability, it makes it possible for all parties involved to understand what is spent at each part of the supply path,” Miles said.

“Advertisers can then look to specific supply path optimisation (SPO) technology, like IAS’s Total Visibility to drive increased cost transparency and supply path efficiency. SPO technology can not only enable the marketer to understand their different supply paths but also optimize to the supply path, driving the most performance and cost-efficient quality impressions.”

To find out more about the current state of the industry, you can read the latest IAS Media Quality H2 2020 report.