The ad tech industry is in a state of constant innovation and reinvention with new systems, methods, and solutions emerging to address challenges. While the future is always going to be unknown, two key themes had the attention of attendants at this year's Programmatic I/O: 1) Cookies & First-Party Data and 2) CTV. We've gathered some highlights below!
Google announced in January 2020 that third-party cookies would be eradicated. These cookies allow marketers to more effectively target consumers, so the loss is tremendous. Google’s initial announcement stated it would get rid of cookies by the start of 2022 and find a replacement before they are gone. However, Google has delayed this process until the second half of 2023.
Because cookies are eventually leaving, there’s been an increase in first-party data usage.
"While this delay gives advertisers more time to test cookie replacements ahead of deprecation, it also leaves the industry in limbo as replacements and next steps remain largely uncertain. The industry is rudderless in that regard [industry certainty]. To move web standards forward, we need consensus across the board."
"90% of people will not be known in advertising. We need to leverage available 1st party data as part of the spectrum to bridge the gap @TripleLiftHQ #ProgIO”
"Identity will fundamentally change the way we do business, bringing the buy side and sell side together to collaborate and cooperate. @aripap #PROGIO"
"Demand side can't do anything with identity by itself. All the cookie-replacement technologies require collaboration; much more difficult to implement, can't be piggybacked off existing tech. 3rd-party cookies were (are!) seriously powerful tools for advertisers. @aripap#ProgIO"
CTV was a hot topic during this year’s Programmatic I/O. There are millions of viewers in the U.S., and viewership is only growing. Advertising through CTV has great potential moving forward, especially with the approaching loss of third-party cookies. The potential issues include fragmentation and not being able to measure data, but CTV has some time to improve in those areas.
“Only 2.8% of TV spend is Programmatic In 2018 - just starting to take shape #progio”
“Even during the pandemic, when media spend declined initially, programmatic spending grew and is further expected to climb another 17% in 2021 according to Statista.”
"According to research from @magnite, 40% of US households are ONLY reachable by CTV. Pair that with only 21% of CTV users are likely to pay attention to a video ad on social media and it's clear that a cross-channel audience strategy is needed to reach campaign goals."
“We are at a pivotal moment in CTV: viewership is still growing and marketers are unsure about the future of the rest of the digital ecosystem subjected to Google’s whims. The time is now to resolve identity to fulfill CTV’s potential as a powerful channel in the future of marketing.”
“The ability to make more interactive ad units that bridge linear and digital capabilities is one opportunity for marketers adopting CTV. Brands can also use CTV as a storytelling environment to connect and align with target audiences, while using multiple versions of creative or telling a sequential story to avoid user fatigue, Williams said (Kristen Williams - senior VP of strategic partnerships, Magnite)
As ad tech continues to evolve over the next year, one thing is for certain: The loss of cookies will remain a huge concern for advertisers as they look for new solutions to reach the right audience. This will likely hasten the growth of CTV as it shows no signs of slowing.
