2023 promises to be a challenging year in the programmatic space, as the cookieless rubber finally meets the road. What options do publishers have to meet ad buyers’ requirements for addressability at scale, and how do we ensure that stakeholders across the ecosystem are working together toward the right solution?

Recently, our own Peter Cunha, Managing Director of Sovrn Ad Management, dug into these timely topics at ID5’s Identity 2023 conference. He partnered with Justin Wohl, Chief Revenue Officer at Salon.com, to host a session titled, “How Publishers Can Fill the Identity Gap.”

Key insights from their conversation include:

• In general, advertisers are working with smaller budgets this year — and they require new data tools to activate those budgets effectively.
• Scalability is an ongoing challenge with many possible solutions, but universal IDs appear to offer significant potential value.
• Publishers have an opportunity to take control by creating data-driven audience segments based on first party-data, observed reader behavior, and more.
• Adoption of universal IDs is growing, and the market is consolidating behind a few primary vendors.
• While there is no “silver bullet” solution to the addressability problem, publishers should stay agile and be willing to experiment as the situation evolves.

Addressability benefits of Signal + ID5

In late 2022, Sovrn and ID5 tested the efficacy of combining Sovrn Signal and the ID5 universal ID to deliver privacy-safe solutions for enriching and segmenting first-party data. In the study, permissioned first-party data from the Sovrn Data Collective was linked to an ID5 ID on each applicable user visit, then passed to buyers for evaluable. Results showed that using Signal plus the ID5 ID allowed publishers to realize nearly 2x lift in CPMs.

Watch the full session from ID5 Identity 2023 for more data and insights on filling the identity gap. Then download the case study to learn more about the power of Signal plus ID5 universal IDs.

The post ICYMI: Filling the Identity Gap (ID5 Identity 2023) appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

But without a firm date on the horizon, it can be difficult to focus on preparing for life after third-party cookies. Publishers have countless priorities competing for their limited time and resources, and the task of implementing alternative data solutions to replace  third-party cookies can seem overwhelming. Some are taking a wait-and-see approach, while others suffer from “analysis paralysis” because the fear of making a bad decision — or missing out on the “best” solution — is keeping them from moving forward at all.

However, doing nothing is literally the worst thing you can do right now. Instead, view Google’s extended timeline as an opportunity for action. There are a number of deliberate steps you can take to strengthen your ad strategy today and position your business for success in a cookieless future.

Here are five ideas to get you started: 

1. Diversify your revenue.

With the eventual loss of third-party cookies, experts predict that ad revenues could drop by $10 billion across the industry. So if your monetization strategy relies heavily on advertising — like most publishers — it’s time to investigate new ways of making money.

The good news is, you have endless options for expanding your revenue mix. Affiliate marketing is one obvious area to explore, including tactics like curated shopping, price comparisons, product reviews, and other types of commerce content. While it’s difficult to predict which techniques will be successful at any given time, diversifying your revenue streams will help to smooth out the inevitable ebbs and flows across the industry.

2. Use data and insights to optimize ad performance.

Regardless of uncertainty in the ad ecosystem, you should be squeezing every bit of revenue out of your ad inventory. Effective optimization of your ad strategy requires access to the right data, along with the ability to evaluate ad quality, monitor trends, and recognize potential problems.

Sovrn Signal provides robust data and analytics capabilities that make it easy to track ad performance and benchmark your inventory against the market. With insights from the Signal dashboards, you can easily identify opportunities and take action to drive your business forward.

3. Start testing now.

It’s important to remember that traffic on Safari and Firefox — more than 40% of all online traffic — is already free of third-party cookies. That makes these browsers an ideal environment to experiment before the ad ecosystem goes entirely cookie-free.

Take this time to assess your cookieless traffic and set up tests to see what kind of results you can achieve without cookie data. Consider an investment in addressability within these environments to help drive higher CPMs. Engage with advertisers to demonstrate how they can effectively reach their target audience without third-party data. The work you do now can not only increase the current value of your inventory, but also set you up for success when cookies eventually go away.

4. Bolster your ad operations.

If 2024 were here today, would you have the right team in place? Digital advertising is a complex business, and getting the right support for ad operations can help to ensure you’re earning as much as possible on your ad inventory. Even if you’re already outsourcing your ad ops, it’s good business practice to re-evaluate your ad ops partner from time to time.

As a Google Certified Publishing Partner (GCPP), Sovrn Ad Management has access to exclusive tools and products to help maximize your income potential — as well as customized training and technical support from Google. Our experts leverage the most innovative advertising technologies, to optimize your advertising strategy and increase ad revenue.

5. Conduct a thorough assessment of your ad stack.

While you’re reviewing vendors, this is a great time to evaluate your ad stack from top to bottom, including your DSP, SSP, DMP, analytics, optimization, and retargeting tools (and so much more). The ad ecosystem is incredibly diverse, with a wide array of tools and solutions to build a successful ad strategy. Having the right ad tech in place — and the right partners — can help to ensure your ad program is ready for whatever the future brings.

Bonus tip: Leverage audience attention to drive ad higher revenue.

 Today’s ad ecosystem depends on cookie data for tracking user behavior, authenticating identity, and setting ad rates — but it doesn’t have to be that way. By tapping into audience engagement signals, publishers have a unique opportunity to identify, target, and sell highly desirable audience segments hosted on their own sites — and regain control of inventory pricing.

Solidify your monetization strategy with Sovrn

Now is the time to make sure you’re doing everything you can to optimize your monetization strategy — and Sovrn can help! We’re constantly investing in new products, services, and functionality to help publishers diversify their revenue and grow their business faster. 

• Advertising: The Sovrn Ad Exchange provides everything you need to connect with advertisers, set pricing for your valuable inventory, and maximize your ad revenue. 
• Commerce: Affiliate marketing is one of the easiest ways to diversify your earning potential — and Sovrn Commerce proves all the tools you need to build and manage your affiliate program. 
• Engagement: Our Signal data tool lets you tap into the power of audience attention to measure, compare, and monetize your most engaged readers and drive higher ad revenue.
• Ad operations: Sovrn Ad Management takes the headache out of ad ops with advanced technology, expert support, and robust reporting to keep your ad program running at peak efficiency. 
• Data: We’re working to provide publishers with a standard and scalable way to transact their first-party-data and increase the value of their proprietary data through data enrichment. 

To learn more about all the ways Sovrn supports publishers, just email us at sales@sovrn.com. Our team will be happy to provide more information and get you started with any of our publisher tools.

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This temporary reprieve is good news for publishers, but 2023 will be here before we know it. And it’s fair to say that the vast majority of publishers are not prepared for a cookie-free future. In fact, a recent survey by ENGINE Media Exchange (EMX) found that while 98% of publishers plan to implement cookie-less solutions, less than half have taken steps in that direction. 

To provide some motivation for publishers who are dragging their feet on the cookie conundrum, this blog post will dig into the impact of cookie deprecation and offer some tips to help publishers prepare for their coming demise.

The impact of cookie loss for publishers

There’s no question that today’s programmatic advertising ecosystem runs on third-party data. Cookies are used across the internet to identify and authenticate website visitors – which means that when third-party cookies are turned off in 2023, a huge portion of audiences will suddenly become invisible. 

That means it will no longer be possible for publishers and advertisers to:

• Segment an audience list to deliver targeted, personalized ads.
• Evaluate the potential value of ad inventory for pricing and bidding.
• Apply frequency and recency caps to avoid annoying visitors with repeated ads.
• Target and re-target audiences across websites.
• Measure the effectiveness of ads, especially across devices.

The end result is that publishers will be unable to monetize traffic effectively. Recent IAB research found that publishers could lose up to $10 billion in ad revenue when cookies are disabled, and Google reports that publishers stand to lose 50-70% of their revenue without a new approach to audience data.

Ad campaign attribution is another area that’s likely to feel significant impact from cookie loss. Third-party cookies are often used to link ad impressions or views on one site to user actions (like page visits or purchases) on another site. If cookies can no longer be used to connect an ad to the actions it drives, advertisers and publishers will likely be forced to return to last-click attribution – a far less accurate and effective measure of ad success.

Why do third-party cookies have to go?

The short explanation is that consumers are increasingly concerned about their online privacy and demanding greater control over their information. While third-party cookies aren’t inherently dangerous (like malware and viruses), they allow companies to track every website an individual visits and collect a vast amount of data. Consumers have little control over who is collecting their information, who has access to the data, and how it will be used. 

It’s important to note that not all cookies are created equal – there is a clear distinction between first-party cookies and third-party cookies (the kind that will be blocked). 

• First-party cookies are created by websites that an individual visits directly, in order to collect analytics data and remember preferences that contribute to a good user experience. 
• Third-party cookies collect data from a variety of sources that may have no direct relationship with the individual. The data is then aggregated and sold to any number of entities for marketing and retargeting purposes.

3 things publishers can do to prepare for a world without cookies

Living in a post-cookie world may seem daunting, but you don’t have to go it alone. As a publisher, you should rely on your technology partners to help you navigate the coming changes and find new ways to capture and monetize audience data. Here are three areas of opportunity as we move toward a cookie-less future:

1. Shift your focus to first-party data.

Now is the time to dig in and truly understand your audience, to uncover the insights you need to effectively monetize your traffic. Start building your first-party data lake using all the audience data available to you, including email capture, on-site behavior, purchase records, demographic data, and content consumption. A tool like Sovrn Signal can analyze every action a visitor takes on your website, to help you measure and benchmark engagement.

2. Find ways to enrich your proprietary data.

To increase the value of your audience to advertisers, you need to enhance your visitor profiles and increase your “known” audience. Using a tool like Sovrn Data Append, you can supplement your first-party data with off-domain insights and scale your authenticated traffic by matching your audience data with hashed emails, mobile advertising IDs, and other identifiers. In fact, data enrichment with Sovrn can increase your authenticated visitors by up to 10x!

3. Start testing in Safari.

It’s important to remember that browsers like Safari and Firefox – which account for 40% of all online traffic – have already eliminated third-party cookies. This gives publishers the perfect environment for testing out monetization strategies before the advertising ecosystem goes entirely cookie-less. Work with your partners to run the right tests so you can start to build an effective monetization strategy before the 2023 deadline.

With an enriched data stream and a solid strategy that doesn’t rely on third-party cookies, you’ll be better able to package up audience segments for advertisers and communicate their value, so you can maintain – or even increase – your overall ad revenue. 

Contact us at sales@sovrn.com to learn more about how our Identity solutions can help you transition to a world without cookies and generate the best possible outcomes from your site traffic.

The post The Coming End of Third-Party Cookies: What Publishers Can Do Now appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

While this announcement generated plenty of media coverage, it shouldn’t come as news to anyone who’s been following the topic of third-party cookie deprecation. We’ve put together a quick FAQ for you, but here’s the main takeaway: you shouldn’t stop any privacy-first plans you’re already making. 

What are Alternate Identifiers?

Alternate user-level identifiers include trackers such as third-party cookies and Universal IDs (UIDs).

What does this change for Google?

Nothing, really. Google has been consistent in moving away from individual addressability and towards solutions that are intended to be more privacy preserving. This announcement is nothing new—it’s just a restatement of that position

What does this change for publishers? Should I be planning differently?

Also nothing, at least for the time being. And no, it doesn’t change anything about the ways publishers should be planning. The third-party cookie will remain supported by the Chrome browser until Q1 of 2022. Sovrn still recommends adopting one or several UIDs, collecting first party data about customers, and keeping an eye on what is coming from the standards bodies.  

Why are we hearing so much about it?

Some people see the Google announcement as an attack on UIDs in general.  But the truth is that log-in solutions like UID 2.0 and LiveRamp ATS continue to gain traction. These solutions require consent and give consumers control of how their personal information is used. Today, we’re seeing around 10% of traffic contain a Universal ID.  

Should I still adopt a UID?

Yes. We still recommend you adopt one or more UID and include them in your bid requests. Google has also come out in the press and said that they will support encrypted signals where UIDs can be passed through the bidstream.

How does this impact Sovrn?

This only reinforces our commitment to supporting the technologies that help publishers the most.  This includes the W3C proposals, in addition to technologies from Prebid and the IAB.  Additionally, it highlights the importance of Sovrn’s support for IAB-led initiatives to address accountability and consent.

The post Google Won’t Build a Cookie Replacement: FAQ for Publishers appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

Although the importance of collecting and activating your first-party and contextual data from your properties cannot be overstated, there is a problem of scale. The largest online publishers, with millions of unique monthly visitors, have begun to capitalize on alternative revenue streams to programmatic advertising such as subscriptions and data sales. Not all of these strategies are available to every publisher. So, the question remains: without third-party cookies, how will regular publishers ensure that relevant advertisers continue to spend on their inventory when they lack traditional methods of targeting, frequency capping and attribution? Adopting a UID offers one alternative.

What is a Universal ID?

A UID is a persistent, anonymous, and shared identifier that can be created with first-party data to recognize user identity across the web. Although this may sound eerily familiar to the functionality of third-party cookies, there are some major differences that make UIDs a privacy-centric and transparent solution for a free, open web. 

First, in order for a UID to work, a reader must consent to share their information through some form of authentication (sign-up) through which they willingly share their email address or other personally-identifiable information. Unlike third-party cookies, UIDs can work across devices (e.g. web, in-app, CTV), which means a UID could portray a more complete picture of user behavior than a cookie. For example, you may not consume the same content on your smart TV as you do on your mobile phone or your laptop. That unification of data makes the UID appealing.

Furthermore, a UID doesn’t burden websites with a latency-inducing sync process, which has long been a bane of publishers. And finally, because the information is provided by readers themselves, relevant advertisers can be more confident in who they should and should not target, thus providing your audience with a better experience.

Although there are other solutions under construction that seek to help with the issues of scale (W3C’s Web Advertising Business Group & the Privacy Sandbox), UIDs are working to solve the issues of scale—plus, they exist (in abundance) today. 

The UID marketplace

Fortunately, in order to make use of UIDs all you have to do is adopt those that align with your priorities. Unfortunately, there is no straightforward answer to which solution(s) are right for you amongst the ever-growing list of UIDs out there. 

There are some actions you can take, however, to get closer to finding which UIDs make sense for you.

• Talk to similar publishers to see which UIDs are working for them.
• Make sure the UID’s are supported by your technology stack. For Prebid publishers, UIDs that have a Prebid User ID module (see below) are a great place to start.
• Ensure the UIDs functionality does not rely solely upon third-party cookies, as these will likely not work in the long-term
• Look for interoperability – UIDs that work with and compound upon one another, they may have more coverage 
• UIDs often come with contractual requirements. Make sure you are comfortable with the tems 

If you are currently using Prebid as your header bidding solution, you already have access to their User ID Module. This enables various UIDs to pass effectively through the bidstream. You can find an overview of which UIDs the module currently supports and how to implement it here.

The post What is a Universal ID? appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

Know your audience

There are countless identity resolution proposals in discussion across the industry today—but the market hasn’t spoken yet. As talks continue, advertisers are seeking solutions that provide them with audience data that is privacy-centric, transparent, and that can outlast any future fundamental change to the web advertising ecosystem.

Publishers already have solutions at their fingertips, whether or not they’re aware of it: first-party data, which is information collected by publishers directly from the audience on their websites, and contextual data, or information on the topics and keywords that describe the contents of a particular webpage. 

Know what you have

Within every site you own lies a treasure trove of first-party and contextual data that buyers are eager to utilize for advertising: you have audiences that may actually want to buy their products! More importantly, you can use your data to understand who your audience is, how they engage with your content, and what they like seeing the most. 

What you can do now

Universal IDs

It’s time to consider adopting a UID. A UID is a shared and persistent ID that recognizes individual readers across different platforms, many of which are driven by encrypted and/or hashed emails. Again, there are many, and right now there’s no single “market leader” you need to throw your weight behind. We currently support all UIDs supported by Prebid, so adopting now will give you plenty of time to do your own research and testing.

Emails

Continuing to focus on the quality of your content will inevitably produce more engagement on your site, but if you can tie that engagement to an email address willingly provided by the reader, you enhance your data even more. 

The way in which you obtain email addresses may come in many forms and be as creative as your content itself, it all just depends on what you find will work best with your readers. You can do something as simple as having them sign-in to your website to access premium content, or you can delve into new territories like email newsletters, downloadable content, polls, and surveys. 

Where the industry is going

Using first-party data

Generally, this involves dropping a first-party pixel on your website that will gather information such as clicks, scrolls or any number of events that track reader behavior. Once collected, this data can be organized and segmented into groups that you can learn from and/or activate for buyers to act on. If you have the resources, this second step can be done in-house. For the vast majority of publishers, the likelier option will be to outsource this work to a data management platform (DMP) or to an SSP that has similar capabilities. 

Contextual data

Contextual data isn’t new to digital advertising, but it’s back on people’s minds. Contextual data comprises information on the topics and keywords that describe the contents of a particular webpage, which can then be used for advertising purposes. As a publisher, you might not know a user’s name, but you can understand what they’re looking at and how they’re interacting with your site. That’s valuable information for advertisers.

Right now, first-party and contextual data can be used for deals, but it can’t be passed through the bidstream in a standardized way. However, the first step towards using first-party data is to collect it and understand what it means. The sooner you do that, the better you’ll be prepared for the future.

Why it matters

Don’t forget that third-party data as it stands is important because it lets advertisers micro-target readers with advertisements they believe will be relevant and tailored to their interests. The more information an advertiser has on a unique reader, the more valuable that reader is to them. That won’t change—but without third-party cookies, advertisers won’t have a single, ubiquitous, and shared way to identify readers and track them across the internet. They’ll need to find new ways to get the most value out of their campaigns.

And remember, reader data is cumulative, not a “pick one” system. The more data you can layer for your advertisers, the more signals you can pass on, the better you’ll be able to communicate with buyers about who’s in your audience and why it’s valuable. That’s good for you.

Power to the Publisher

This is new terrain for many publishers. Getting the most out of your data will require more work than the “set it and forget it” approach to your ad stack that 3rd-party cookies allowed. With that said, by effectively extracting and activating the first-party data that you own (we can’t emphasize ‘YOU OWN’ enough), you can begin to find new ways of connecting with your audience. Every touchpoint, whether it’s an article, app, video, or email, creates new opportunities to get closer to your readers—and, in turn, to your advertisers.

Ultimately, the balance of power in online advertising is beginning to shift. While publishers will have more responsibility to provide advertisers with the data they need, they’ll also hold sway over web advertising’s currency. Preparing yourself to leverage your first party data now will set you up for success in the future.

The post The balance shifts: how first-party data empowers publishers appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

What is a Google FLoC?

A FLoC is, most simplistically, an aggregate of anonymous users with similar interests. These similarities are gathered through predictive and contextual signals, such as a reader’s website and page visits. Advertisers can then identify FLoCs relevant to them, and show ads to those FLoCs. 

How is a FLoC different from a cookie?

Google FLoCs are different from a third-party cookie in a number of ways. Most importantly, individual users aren’t given a unique identifier—rather, they exist only as part of a larger cohort, which needs to be of a certain size (Google says at least a thousand anonymous users) in order to maintain anonymity. In addition, the user information contained in a FLoC is passed on the user’s device, rather than shared across the internet. Per TechCrunch, Google says that “The idea is to make it so that no one can reconstruct your cross-site browsing history.”

As of March 2021, advertisers will be able to access and test Google FLoCs through Google Ads. Google is currently exploring ways that advertisers will be able to use FLoCs to build audiences—for example, so that advertisers can remarket to prior website visitors.

What FLoCs mean for publishers

Publishers and advertisers alike will be pleased to hear that Google’s initial experiments suggest that FLoCs preserve “At least 95% of the conversions per dollar spent when compared to cookie-based advertising.” That means minimal revenue loss for publishers. Remember, identity—especially post third-party cookie—isn’t an “either/or.” Signals such as FLoCs can be aggregated and layered on top of other data. If FLoC is widely adopted, it will provide an additional, trusted signal for publishers to communicate to buyers about who is in their audience.

Potential problems with Google FloCs

FLoC doesn’t solve everything, including frequency capping—a regular reader complaint. But perhaps the biggest remaining questions about FLoCs (in addition to the all-important “How well do they work”) have to do with Google’s titanic role in the advertising industry (many responses have accused Google of acting in the interest of solidifying their ad monopoly), and how effective FLoCs are at preserving and growing reader privacy. Google hasn’t shared hard data on “how private” FLoCs will be, or objective measurements of reader privacy in general.

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None of these are new topics. But the economic and industry changes brought on by the Coronavirus made all of them more immediately urgent. And while we’ll be spending this year exploring in-depth answers to all of these questions, here’s our bird’s-eye view of the top 3 publisher issues for you to keep top-of-mind in 2021.

Identity resolution

Currently, there is no “cure all” solution for the absence of third-party cookies. There are, however, several initiatives aimed at limiting any negative impacts that could be inflicted upon the ad tech ecosystem. These initiatives are open to any publisher to join, and are currently the best way to understand the industry landscape, hear from other publishers, and follow the development of best practices as they emerge. They’re all slightly different, so here’s how each of these groups is aiming to achieve identity resolution.

• IAB Tech Lab’s Project Rearc is focused on achieving addressability through a universal identifier, an authentication solution, and clear-cut consumer privacy preferences
  
• The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) proposes standardized targeting through browser-based technologies, as proposed and developed by Google’s Privacy Sandbox and members of the ‘Improving Web Advertising Business Group’ of the W3C
  
• Other Universal Identifiers (UIDs), of which there are many. A UID is a shared and persistent ID that recognizes individual readers across different platforms, many of which are driven by encrypted and/or hashed emails (e.g. LiveRamp’s IdentityLink and Unified ID 2.0)

Revenue diversification: eCommerce

The drop in ad spend that followed the COVID-19 outbreak meant that publishers suddenly found themselves scrambling for additional streams of revenue. Our data showed just how effective revenue diversification is at protecting publishers from economic shifts. Over the past year we’ve seen publishers leverage a number of strategies focused on both building and diversifying their revenue streams. Subscriptions, memberships, podcasts and paywalls have all been duly tested and found to be—depending on the publisher—effective. 

One of the biggest global shifts over the course of 2020 was the sheer volume of purchasing behavior that moved online, even as COVID-19 restrictions relaxed. Of course, that increased traffic had merchant ramifications: for all intents and purposes, Amazon has completely dropped affiliate commissions, while Walmart temporarily cut their rates to zero. Similar shifts often happen seasonally, but publishers who diversify their merchants are in a better place to succeed. What’s clear is that eCommerce isn’t going anywhere, and a solid commerce strategy will be key to the continued success of publishers of all sizes.

First-Party Audience Data

For years, ad tech has given third-party data top priority. The primary focus has been to predict intent by following readers/audiences from site to site, mostly without their knowledge. First-party data, on the other hand, places privacy and transparency at the forefront, as it can only be collected by the site itself and not by any outside party. Both privacy and transparency have been regular fixtures in the media landscape, and the likeliness of continued tech regulation and privacy legislation in the US and elsewhere makes first-party data all the more important.

Once third-party cookies are dropped on the Chrome browser, first-party data may well become the new currency of web advertising. All publishers—no matter the size—have the ability to extract it from their readers. However, there is no standard through which to pass these data segments. This shift from third- to first-party data puts publishers in a position to do what they do best and get rewarded for doing it well. By creating unique and engaging online experiences, publishers build trusted relationships with niche audiences that are willing to share their information in exchange for quality content.

The post The top 3 publisher issues of 2021 appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..