Last month, LiveRamp’s Managing Director of Addressability Europe, Tim Geenen and Head of Publishers UK, Ryan Afshar were given the opportunity to speak with Justin Pearse, New Digital Age’s Editor in its regular podcast series, ‘NDA meets’.
The discussion covered everything from the impact of Google’s third-party cookie announcements and the rise of authenticated first-party data, to how publishers’ relationships with advertisers are evolving.
Here are our four key takeaways:
Cookie deprecation is an opportunity
Google might have announced a delay for third-party cookie deprecation on its Chrome browser but cookies have been disappearing for the past few years on browsers such as Firefox and Safari. Publishers and brands are therefore already familiar with the world in which we are moving to. In fact, in LiveRamp’s latest research report ‘Marketing in the first-party future: publishers, brands and authenticated data’, it was revealed that 78% of senior marketers thought the final withdrawal of cookies would have a positive impact. So, whilst Google’s announcement might be a surprise for some, it doesn’t change anything. We know this day is coming, so why stall it any further?
There is no one-size-fits-all authentication strategy
Optimising the value of authenticated first-party data will be a key factor in the future success of publishers. We are already seeing many of the big publishers looking outside the box to build stronger, direct relationships with users. But remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to driving authentication – not everything works the same for every publisher. Now’s the time to test multiple authentication strategies to find out what works best.
Focusing on the value exchange benefits everyone
There will be a net gain for publishers as they will regain some control over the value of first-party data on quality inventory and reset the value exchange of advertising so it benefits the reader, the advertiser and the publisher. By doing so, together we can build a more trusted ecosystem that will deliver transparency for consumers, stronger revenue models for publishers, and better measurement capabilities for advertisers.
Publishers can build better relationships with advertisers
Ultimately, brands just want to understand their audiences better. Publishers need to use this to their advantage to strengthen those relationships. Now is the time to encourage new, more direct ways for advertisers to reach and engage high-value audiences, and simultaneously explore direct first-party relationships to expand their data foundations and deliver better customer experiences.
To find out more and listen to the full podcast click here.