The conversation around third-party cookies, digital IDs, Universal ID2.0, and other potential solutions is a hot topic in ad measurement. Protecting PII is key going forward.

Without cookies, advertisers face difficulties to target and measuring their online ads. In fact, a March 2021 study by Adform shows that:

1. 75% of global companies say that the elimination of cookies will likely impact their business, and 
2. 78% of marketers polled admitted that they have no tested solution yet in place, with only a handful having adopted a first-party ID solution thus far. 

This shift will greatly impact how marketers engage, track, and target customers.

What’s Next in Ad Measurement?

An eMarketer study asked U.S. marketers and advertisers what types of ad measurement and/or research might become more important in a world without ad cookies. The top three answers were sales lift research, ad effectiveness research and media mix modeling.  

With a greater focus on ad personalization, the more likely a company will financially benefit, according to PostClick’s 2021 State of Ad Personalization Report. 

Gaining Control of the ID Ecosystem in a Post-Cookie World

Gaining control of the ID ecosystem is a high priority right now. Consensus is building around The Trade Desk’s platform of Universal ID 2.0 (UID2). This method looks to rebuild the cookie concept by using a person’s email address as the basis. 

Using Log-in based IDs for PII

The two main UniversalIDs (UID 2.0 and LiveRamp Ramp ID) are mainly sourced from publishers’ authenticated first-party data. They work differently from 3rd party cookies, and some publishers do have concerns to contribute the email:

• The cost and effort to get authenticated PII;
• Loss of control of PII and privacy concerns;
• Loss of the competitive edge

But there’s a bigger challenge for ID adoption by brands. Due to privacy, these IDs can’t expose the full hash email (which is still PII) to external players. Plus, the TTD and LiveRamp (ATS) consent management mechanism cannot be applied to this type of users’ customers.

To have better connectivity for first-party data owners, multiple IDs may be required. However, the challenge is that every time a person adopts a new ID, the person sends a copy of their PII out and can completely lose control of the data. 

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For first-party data owners, the question is how to keep control of their data. First, never send the PII out. 

Just receive what’s needed one way; work with the best mix of ID providers. 

To succeed, email-based log-in-based identifiers are likely to require consumer consent and the support of large tech platforms. 

I support the need for secure data sharing providers, and to that end, I am facilitating more effective and safe connections between advertisers and publishers to improve ad measurement.