Zeotap Joins Prebid with ID+ Universal Marketing Identity Solution; Amnet, Publicis and Unidad Editorial Join Initiative

Global customer intelligence platform Zeotap has announced that ID+, its universal marketing identity solution launched in July 2020, is now available as a module of Prebid, the most widely used header bidding platform for publishers.

Launched in 2015, the Prebid project is led by a neutral industry organization that makes header bidding easier for publishers by bringing conformity and simplicity to the process. The inclusion of ID+ in Prebid’s User ID module ensures ID+ can be transacted across the ecosystem.

In just two months, Zeotap’s ID+ initiative has been endorsed by more than 25 leading players across the ecosystem. The latest adopters include Amnet, Publicis, HOLA, Unidad Editorial, and Contversion.

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Digital identity at risk

Digital identity has been universally challenged since 2017, but it wasn’t until 2020 when the whole ad tech and martech ecosystem found itself at a turning point. Third-party cookies on Safari have already been blocked since 2019 as a result of Apple’s effort to strengthen consumer privacy.

Google will be joining Apple in this endeavor and will be implementing the same measures for Chrome by 2022. In addition, Apple is also moving to IDFAs (Identifier For Advertisers), a random device identifier assigned by Apple to a user’s device for tracking and customer advertising, to opt-in only — largely limiting in-app targeting and measurement capabilities.

Declining CPMs plague publishers

Publishers are already experiencing media CPM drops because Safari comprises 53% of their mobile traffic in the US and less than 10% of those users allow 3rd party cookies. According to a recent study, CPMs on Safari fell by over 60% since Intelligent Tracking Protection (ITP) became effective in 2017. The imminent blocking of 3rd party cookies in Chrome and the upcoming changes as it pertains to IDFA will accelerate the decline of media CPMs even further.

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Zeotap’s ID+ initiative

Zeotap founded its universal ID marketing initiative, ID+, to enable the future of identity in an identifier agnostic environment and solve the pressing problem of CPM declines. Daniel Heer, CEO, and co-founder of Zeotap said, “Zeotap’s ID+ initiative was conceived on four core tenets: independence, simplicity, interoperability, and compliance. We are inviting the entire ecosystem to collaboratively solve the industry challenge of attaining accurate digital identities across devices.”

Becoming part of the ID+ ecosystem is as easy as integrating a website pixel. Users visiting a publisher’s site are stamped with a unique ID+ identifier that enables programmatic transactions moving forward. When a user browses through a website, Zeotap creates an ID+ cookie (in a first- party context) that is unique to a browser, website, and device. This ID+ identifies each user at a non-PII individual level and attaches all the information that is additionally collected, including the deterministic identities in case they have used a login. The ID+ cookie, however, is created whether or not the user logs in — provided there is user consent.

Currently, Zeotap is also making 3rd party cookie syncing available until they disappear entirely, giving publishers the option to select who they want to cookie sync with from an extensive list of Zeotap’s integrated partners. This makes publishers future-ready, without requiring them to make any changes when transitioning from 3rd party cookies to ID+ in the future.

Industry testimonials for ID+

“We are currently monitoring all solutions that will work in the cookieless future and find Zeotap’s ID+ approach, as a neutral provider, very exciting and promising. We are very much looking forward to cooperating with them.’ – Giorgi Khutsishvili, director data strategy, Publicis Media Germany

“With the third-party cookie deprecation in the offing, it’s time for the digital ecosystem to ‘Pause, Reflect and Prepare’. Privacy and transparency issues have forced all of us to innovate (Focus on Zero Party Data has increased) with customer centricity as the fulcrum. A Single View of the Consumer’ or SVOC has assumed a new dimension and ID resolution is one such initiative that is being undertaken by some partners. I must say Zeotap with its ID+ project is poised to reap early mover advantages while addressing the concerns of all parties involved and also help advertisers prepare for the cookieless future in a more confident manner.’’ – Anil Pandit, Senior Vice President – Programmatic, Publicis Media India

“With third-party cookies continuing to decline and consumer privacy becoming increasingly paramount, this evolution has presented us with an opportunity for data transformation. Zeotap’s ID+ solution is one step forward towards filling the gap created by recent policy changes. Amnet’s partnership with Zeotap is in accordance with our core idea to develop growth and trust in the digital ecosystem.” Salil Shanker, COO Amnet India.