A series of tech giant announcements affecting the adtech and martech industries have made the past year memorable. Google says it will follow Firefox and Safari initiatives by blocking third-party cookies in 2023. Apple is assigning a new meaning to tracking by blocking the use of identifiers for advertisers (IDFA), and iOS 15 will start limiting the use of email and IP addresses.
However, the ability to stay private online and on our phones is nothing new. Cookies can be reset at any time, anonymous browsing is a feature on all browsers, and I’ve been able to “limit ad tracking” and reset my IDFA on my iPhone since 2016. So why impose these restrictions now? The stated goal for these changes is increased consumer privacy protection – something we all support. But let’s take a closer look at the impact.
Shifting the value exchange of the internet
These updates are causing significant shifts in how digital marketing works and are affecting the value exchange of the internet. Like most everywhere else, little comes for free on the internet. Recipes, breaking news, the weather – all things we’ve seldom had to pay for because advertisers have been footing the bill – we get in exchange for our attention on prime digital real estate. When pertinent ads are no longer served and advertisers stop paying the bill, the user will be left to pick up the check.
What will really happen
Change is inevitable, yet staying current on the finer points of system updates isn’t a top priority for the average user. Many think that removing cookies or not opting in to tracking means they won’t receive ads at all. Instead, what is likely to happen is the same amount of ads are served; however, they are not as relevant.
I’m redecorating my house, constantly looking online for inspiration, and browsing retailers’ web pages. While searching recently, I was served this ad:
This banner ad is perfect for me and serves two purposes. It has a great call to action (hello, free shipping!), and it gives me some light inspiration for my redecorating project.
I was curious, which ad would be served to me in a cookieless browser session, and this was the result:
I still received an ad, just one I’m not interested in, and for an item I will never purchase.
The role of email
How many email addresses do you have? I have four: junk mail, my work account, my personal email and … a little embarrassing, but I’m still using the email account I created in the fifth grade.
Email is rapidly becoming the data point of primary value for advertisers and publishers to recognize users and ensure they are real people. Never mind resetting a cookie or an IDFA with one click, remembering a password AND which email address was used to register on a website is going to be a challenge for many people.
Watch and learn
I can’t fully answer the why, but here is what I do know. At Acxiom, we take user privacy and consumer rights very seriously. We’ve actually been asking for a national privacy law to establish meaningful and consistent user rights. If I were to ask average users if they would rather pay to read an article or get a relevant ad in the sidebar, I suspect most would take the ad. It will take some time for the changes to take effect, reactions to be gauged, and balance to be restored to the value exchange. I’ll be keeping close tabs on how the industry shifts in the next 12 to 18 months.
Now I’m off to use my fifth-grade email account and research some travel ideas. I wonder what kind of ads I will see.
