YIELDBIRD IDENTITY GUIDE

Google has announced that it will stop using 3rd-party cookies in Chrome from late 2023 following in the footsteps of Firefox, Safari and other browsers.

But why has Google decided to take this step? There are several reasons for them having done so.

For one, there are the privacy issues (in a word, 3rd-party cookies allow for the tracking of users). But 3rd-party technology also has had an impact on other issues like ad and web speeds, which are important for Publishers. Without the ability to target users, Buyers will not be able to offer high rates, which could reduce Publisher revenues by up to 50%. Many unknowns have appeared on the horizon.

Will Advertisers’ budgets shift more towards walled gardens due to more reliable data access? What about 1st-party data?

But the end of 3rd-party cookies will not mean an end to targeting. We have seen an abundance of alternative solutions appear on the market. By creating Privacy Sandbox, Google has not left us empty-handed; although the solution needs both more work and testing.

One thing is certain, Publishers cannot sit on their hands, and they should start working on a strategy aimed at securing revenues. We trust that this article will set Publishers on the right course in terms of achieving this aim.

What is it / How does it work?

 

1st-party data – data collected by the Publisher based on the Publisher’s 1st-party ID – it might be used to create 1st-party data segments as well as to enrich universal IDs (example: Publisher-Provided Identifiers can be added as an additional parameter in ID5) or data platforms (CDP, DMP) with user-related data (demographics, preferences etc.) It will provide additional value but only when the Publisher can sell it; for instance, putting a higher price on a Programmatic deal targeted on his 1st-party data set.

 

Implementation – engaged teams

 

Data Team (DMP, 1st-party segments), Developers / Webmasters (1st-party ID implementation, integration with 3rd-party tools)

For the teams listed above, typical tasks will include:

Data Team – setting up data collection and processing based on 1st-party IDs; user segmentation with use of data available to Publisher and 1st-party IDs; setup of 1st-party audiences in Publisher’s DMP and making them available for internal (adserver) and external (SSP/DMP) activation.

Developers – development of application responsible for 1st-party ID distribution; integration with external tools such as: export of audiences to selected DMP’s, integration with identity providers; export of audiences (adserver, SSP/DMP).

Webmasters – front-end tools for data collection; integration of 1st-party IDs with Programmatic environment (usually prebid) and adtech software (such as adserver).

 

Technical requirements

 

Adserver, SSP, DMP, 1st-party identifier.

 

For whom?

 

Sites with or without logins, ecommerce, bigger sites.

 

Potential impact on eCPM

 

high / moderate / low

What is it / How does it work?

 

Publisher Provided IDentifier (PPID) – is a GAM 360 feature. It is an identifier that can be used for audience segmentation and targeting (alongside other audience-based ad-delivery, frequency capping, etc.). It can be used to create interest-based segments of users visiting specific sites or sections of sites (sport, technology, cooking etc.) those segments can be sold via Deals (possible in future also via Open Market). Currently PPIDs supplement cookies as a primary identifier in GAM, but after 2023 they may increase in value.

 

Implementation – engaged teams

 

AdOps, Developer/Webmaster, Analyst.

 

Implementation

 

AdOps/Analyst defines audiences and generates pixel script in GAM360 interface, and the Developer implements it on selected parts of the site.

 

Technical requirements

 

GAM, Pixel implementation.

 

For whom?

 

Mid-sized and large Publishers willing to segment users based on their browsing behaviour and content, or other available data.

 

Potential impact on eCPM

 

high / moderate / low

What is it / how does it work?

 

Direct relations with Advertisers: Our recommendation is that every Publisher who has such opportunities should collect data about users and content. They can later use this data in the implementation of the Private Marketplace campaign. The secondary issue is technical – will it be the Publisher’s DMP or Key Value, or other solutions available in ad server, e.g. marking specific groups of users per ad unit, etc.

1st-party audiences created by a Publisher are exported and made available on owned and operated inventory for buyers. For Publishers using GAM or Adform this process is fairly simple as both companies offer a DSP-DMP-SSP combo.

 

Implementation – engaged teams

 

AdOps, Sales

 

Implementation

 

Deals are created in GAM/SSP interface by AdOps team according to what the Sales team has agreed on with the client – targeting, additional data, deal bid price etc.

 

Technical requirements

 

Adserver with PMP support e.g. GAM/SSP with PMP and 1st-party data support. Example of the available options is Adform’s SSP with Flow DMP, which can be configured to use 1st-party ID’s in bidstream.

 

For whom?

 

Mid-sized or bigger Publishers with Sales team and direct contact to buy-side.

 

Potential impact on eCPM

 

high / moderate / low

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What is it / how does it work?

 

This new category has been created by Google as a direct replacement for 3rd-party cookies on Chrome, aiming to cover the core use cases which cookies currently provide. Privacy Sandbox – consists of several proposals in the form of APIs and methods. Most of it is under construction or undergoing trials. From our ad-related perspective, the most interesting ones are: Topics API (replacing FLoC) and Fledge API

Topics API – enables Chrome to register a number of “topics” representing user’s interests based on browsing history. Those topics will be then shared with advertisers to serve relevant ads. Users will be able to disable it or to remove certain topics freely.

Fledge API – allows for the creation of “interest” groups by Advertisers, it could be used for remarketing.

No longer developed: FLoC – a way of clustering large groups of users with similar interests and using identifiers for cohorts instead of individuals. In mid-January 2022, Google announced it will be replaced by Topics API.

 

Share

 

(the number of users enabled for such targeting method)

Privacy Sandbox works for Chrome users (69% of the market).

APIs can pass additional information about user interests or contacts with a given brand, etc. increasing the value of the inventory. However, this is probabilistic data which is less valuable to Advertisers than 3rd-party cookies.

 

Implementation

 

For Google demand (Adx, Adsense) implementation is done automatically with no work on the Publisher’s side.

 

Technical requirements

 

Both Topics and Fledge will require user consent, however the legal aspect of that have not been agreed yet in EU.
Works only on Google Chrome, however Google is considering sharing it in the future with other browsers as well.

 

For whom?

 

All Publishers

 

Potential impact on eCPM

 

high / moderate / low

What is it / how does it work?

 

Deterministic identifiers are based on emails / logins which are used to identify the same persons across multiple domains and devices.

Examples are TTD’s Unified ID 2.0, Liveramp ATS

As solutions such as Liveramp IDL (Identity Link) and Liveramp ATS (Authenticated Traffic Solution) are using fairly persistent and cross-device identifiers, they not only offer great levels of precision but are also tools for linking offline and online audiences. However, they will work only if users login into a service and agree to share their data.

 

Implementation – engaged teams

 

AdOps

 

Implementation

 

Adops team implements ID module into the prebid script. Sometimes it may require additional scripts [like liveramp ATS].

User logins can be acquired in multiple ways e.g. newsletter sign ups, content articles for logged-in users etc.

 

Deterministic identifiers can be implemented alongside probabilistic identifiers – they then complement each other – the system will simply choose a login-based identifier when available, otherwise it will go with a probabilistic ID.

• Prebid Unified IDs from different vendors like ID5, Criteo, Pubcommon ID, User ID and more will work in different DSPs, so please refer to the current documentation on org
• Prebid.org’s User ID Module
• QuickWrap solution with different ID possibilities

 

Technical requirements

 

Prebid script access

 

For whom

 

Sites with logged-in users

 

Potential impact on eCPM

 

high / moderate / low

What is it / how does it work?

 

These identifiers do not require logins. They create unique IDs based on a set of commonly known criteria such as IP address, operating system, geo etc. Once these systems (e.g. ID5, SharedID ) are plugged into numerous websites, they can store information about users’ history without keeping any personally identifiable information. In other words, users are identified based on the information which will always be available publicly without encroaching on privacy.

 

Implementation – engaged teams

 

AdOps

 

Implementation

 

The same process as in the deterministic approach. AdOps team implements ID module into the prebid script. Sometimes it may require additional scripts [like liveramp ATS].

 

Deterministic identifiers can be implemented alongside probabilistic identifiers – they then complement each other  – the system will simply choose a login-based identifier when available, otherwise it will go with a probabilistic ID.

• Prebid Unified IDs from different vendors like ID5, Criteo, Pubcommon ID, User ID and more will work in different DSPs, so please refer to the current documentation on prebid.org
• Our article on Prebid.org’s User ID Module: Will Header Bidding Come Out On Top In The Cookieless Future

 

Technical requirements

 

Prebid script access, prebid adapter

 

For whom?

 

All sites / Publishers

 

Potential impact on eCPM

 

high / moderate / low

What is it / how does it work?

 

Tech solutions that are not universal IDs but allow ID management / connecting / analysis or transfer. They simplify the implementation process and enable the Publisher to implement a certain ID solution (probabilistic or deterministic) through a few clicks. Examples:

• QuickWrap – Yieldbird’s wrapper has an easy ID module with multiple providers already connected
• Pubmatic Identity Hub enabling easy universal id connection and analysis of coverage.
• Adform Flow supporting Publishers in the 1st-party ID buying process. One of the specific features is Cleanroom – a connector that interprets a Publisher’s 1st-party ID with the Advertiser’s and then makes the connection. It requires a common ID (the same for the Publisher and the Advertiser)

 

Implementation – engaged teams

 

AdOps, Developer

 

Implementation

 

Depending on tech, the implementation usually requires: pasting a new script in the head section of a webpage; updating prebid with selected modules; creating an application responsible for passing 1st-party identifiers in a safe and privacy-preserving way.

 

Technical requirements

 

Prebid or compatible wrappers

 

For whom

 

Publishers using Prebid

 

Potential impact on eCPM

 

high / moderate / low

The effect of identification on CPMs: CPMs will be higher if the Advertisers know user interests. This is because the more Advertisers know about users, the greater the chance that they will match the opportunity.

The Publishers who don’t take any actions will not be left with nothing. The contextual targeting is on the rise. Some Advertisers use companies like Grapeshot, Peer39 or Illuma to automatically check the contents of the websites and use this data for targeting.

 

The effect on CPM:

 

Contextual targeting ads will have a lower CPM than an ad based on 3rd-party cookies or identifiers. This is because of the lower effectiveness of reaching a specific user – potential client. There are some solutions on the market relating to contextual targeting.

 

Key values for contextual targeting:

 

Publishers can use GAM key values to pass on information about the context of the page. They can be used to target Direct campaigns as well as deals.

 

Smart Data Marketplace

 

SDM is a Smart solution which has a product called Semantic Contextual Targeting. Publishers can direct deals and other campaigns to predefined semantic segments. These segments are built by Smart with the use of web-page classification technology based on artificial intelligence. They fall into 3 types: IAB Tier 1 (the highest level of IAB content taxonomy, e.g. Family&Parenting, Food&Drink), IAB Tier 2 (the second highest level of the IAB content taxonomy, e.g. Scholarships, Alternative Medicine) and the language of the page.

 

In general, the rule is not to prevent context-targeting robots from checking the content of the page.

What is it / How does it work?

 

More and more Publishers are willing to share their content for a fee, with no ads or with a minimum amount of advertising. This free content also includes additional articles. There are different models, but there is always a balance to strike in terms of how much to share for free. And the big question here, is: How much ad revenue do we lose if we block too much?

Such proposals appeal to some users already convinced of the concept. People who pay for Netflix, online games, Patronite, etc. will have no problem with spending a few dollars a month for the accessing of content on their favorite website.

This figure may only be 1-3% of a Publisher’s users, but the earnings from them will be several times higher than the ad impressions that the Publisher could generate.

 

Implementation – engaged teams

 

Developers

 

Implementation

 

All implementations require development work, the extent of which depends on the tech provider.

 

Technical requirements

 

• Self-developed paywall (large Publishers)
• Commercial paywall technology e.g. io, caldera (mid-sized Publishers)
• Simple login+payment method (small Publishers)

 

For whom?

 

Publishers of different sizes with unique content and dedicated users

 

Potential impact on eCPM

 

high / moderate / low