In continuation to our previous article, this post focuses on what share does Safari have in the digital display delivery and how we can future proof for a cookie-less future.
What share does Safari have of media delivery in AU?
Safari browser represents 40% share of digital display delivery measured between May 2018 -April 2019.
Future proofing for a cookie-less future:
Google Chrome
It is unlikely that this will be the end of Apple’s updates as they become increasingly stringent on user tracking and privacy, and given the scrutiny on global ad tech / mar tech players approach to user privacy in a post-GDPR world, it is likely that the other major browser Google Chrome will follow suit with similar updates. In contrast to Apple, Google have a huge global advertising business which has relied on cookie measurement and has established as a global market leader by bringing the world’s biggest brands the opportunity to buy audiences through their technology solutions. Any major updates to Chrome will likely happen once Google migrate their DoubleClick ID’s to a unified Google ID, allowing their advertising solutions to still operate when less reliant on cookies.
Publishers
Authentication cookies are secure and are therefore exempt to the cookie changes in ITP 2.1, so publishers will be able to track their logged-in readers past the seven-day window. Over the past 12 months, there has been a noticeable turnaround in-market of publishers in AU willing to decouple their data potentially in response to changes like GDPR in Europe and ITP giving them a shelf life of opportunity to sell an asset previously seen as off limits. Forward thinking publishers will look to build their logged in users to offer addressability to brands.
Data Management Platforms (DMPs)
DMPs are investing heavily into their respective identity graphs to build out capabilities beyond cookies, mapping them to more robust signals such as device IDs, and email address.
DMP integrations with data partners will likely accelerate as they look to build a robust persistent ID that can be used for collection, unification, distribution, and targeting in a post-ITP world.
Resolution initiatives to mitigate ITP impact:
Walled Garden Interoperability
Operating in a cookie-less world is nothing new to Resolution and its agency brands. Non-web based advertising solutions such as Facebook, YouTube, mobile app, and more recently connected TV advertising are examples of environments that do not support cookies, and instead utilise people based identifiers for audience targeting – the benefit being a logged in user can be identified across device and is 100% deterministic, but does mean an increasingly more fragmented buying approach.
Resolution will continue to work closely with walled gardens such as Google, Apple and Facebook to provide measurable solutions to clients.
Non-cookie Audience Development
Development of audiences comprised of user signals, contextual signals and predictive modelling (machine learning) that operate in cookie-less environments will be a key focus for Resolution moving forward, as will be the ability for brands to leverage their CRM data & other data signals with key partners. Resolution will continue to partner with data providers allowing us to be nimble versus our competitors.
Custom bidding algorithms & buying techniques
Given the high penetration of Apple devices in AU and ever-increasing mobile usage, removing safari from buys isn’t ideal. Custom algorithms are very much in their infancy but may offer brands an opportunity to create custom bidding rules to mitigate the impact and drive overall business outcomes. An example of this would be using conversion and media performance data from browsers not impacted by ITP and applying the learnings across Safari.
Data Guidelines & Partnerships
Resolution continue to lead the market in our approach to industry governance and will soon be releasing documentation focusing on data. Along with collection methodology, privacy compliance, and accessibility for Resolution tools & measurement - we will be looking closely at their plans for future proofing their business against changes such as GDPR and ITP to ensure long-term longevity.
Measurement & Analytics
The Digital Analytics team will be thoroughly investigating robust resolutions to ensure data fidelity in the wake of WebKit’s ITP 2.2 & impending 3.0 releases until platform vendors release their official countermeasures.
Viable workarounds to maintain the persistence of analytics tracking cookies will need the involvement of client and external partners’ developers. Annalect will work closely with development teams to assess setting tracking cookies over a HTTP response rather than the current method of dropping them via JavaScript.
Resolution will also work with clients’ developers to develop server code that monitors if a user has undertaken a meaningful interaction on-site and then change expiry dates of measurement tracking related cookies across Safari browsers from one-day or one-week on to the universally set duration of two years.
Conclusion
Finally, a solution should be developed with client teams to help whitelist all tracking related cookies and have all browsers recognise them as set from the host server.
On-going site audits to measure traffic and tag integrity from Safari across each client’s sites to forecast the impact ITP will have on conversion measurement & attribution. Of course, best-practice recommendations will continue to be made on the implementation of tracking scripts to ensure maximum measurement.
Read the Part 1 of this series here.
