In our new Ad Tech & Beyond series, we explore the biggest trends and developments in the world of ad tech with our host Kevin Joyner, Croud’s Director of Planning & Insight. In each episode, he puts the questions that matter to a select panel of experts.
In the first episode, we explore life after the third-party cookie – and specifically what this means for user experience (that is the user’s experience and perceptions of digital advertising, rather than UX) and creative. For this first episode, we welcomed Mazen Hussain, Director of Media & Platforms, Maria Evrenos, Creative Lead and Anthony Macro, Head of Social Advertising.
A rapidly evolving landscape
Over most of its history, digital advertising has exploited the ability to collect data from individuals across the sites and apps that we use. In recent years though, there’s been a series of shocks and shifts:
- The EU GDPR
- Cambridge Analytica and Facebook
- Apple’s (increasingly aggressive) Intelligent Tracking Prevention
- Google’s commitment to end support for third-party cookies in Chrome
The first two of these are widely understood in society and business; and the second was a mainstream, front-page event. Plus Apple’s positioning on privacy is a consumer proposition. We can safely say, the changes in our industry aren’t just professional or technical; they’re related to an impact in cultures and society.
We know that targeting and measurement are set to change, and this is a challenge for the professionals in our industry. But – as this is much more user-facing – we might expect that online user experience and digital creative will have to change too.
Part one: Data privacy and trust in digital advertising
First up in the first ever episode of Ad Tech & Beyond, we tackle the question of privacy and trust, posing the following question to our expert panellists:
Do you agree that the public is increasingly aware of privacy, data protection and the operation of digital advertising? If so, does this make any difference?
Part two: Impact on ad creative and user experience
In a post-cookie world, in which advertisers are no longer able to identify individual users and their behaviour, targeting may become limited to broad cohorts. Next up, Kevin asked our panellists what they think this means for creative and user experience:
Will that have a material impact on ad creative and the user experience of advertising?
Part three: Future-proofing frequency capping
With the possibility of cross-site, post-impression data not being available to advertisers in the near future, one of the effects could be a loss of control over frequency capping. Next up, Kevin asked our panellists to share how advertisers can respond to this potential change:
Is the loss of control over frequency capping a problem for advertisers? If so, what can we do to mitigate it?
Part four: Significant shifts in the creative and digital advertising industry
As the post-cookie world continues to put an emphasis on the user, Kevin asked our panellists to summarise the most substantial changes they anticipate to see in the user experience of digital advertising and digital creatives, as a result of this.
What would you say is the most significant way that this shift will change digital creative and user experience of digital advertising?
As we begin to embark on a new era of ad tech, Croud’s Ad Tech & Beyond series explores what the post-third-party cookie world might mean for user experience and digital creatives. In episode one, our panellists unanimously agreed that putting an emphasis on relevancy to the user when developing ads will give advertisers the best results – particularly in a world where data privacy is so important. You can view the full episode here, and watch out for episode two, which we will be launching soon.
To find out more about Croud and how we can support your digital advertising, get in touch.
