Why ID Solutions?
In the programmatic ecosystem, identifying consumers across their various media interactions has been a keystone for marketers to find customers at scale across the global open web, supporting the growth of large and small publishers alike. Recent developments- both regulatory changes and actions taken by large platforms- operating systems and web browsers, have resulted in diminished availability of traditional consumer identifiers like 3rd party cookies and mobile identifiers e.g. Apple’s ID for Advertising (IDFA).
The 3rd party cookie, a widely used identifier available on web browsers, has already been disabled by Apple Safari browser and Google Chrome has announced that it will be completely phased out by the second half of 2024. The other commonly used identifier was the Mobile Advertising ID (MAID) for e.g. ID for Advertising (IDFA) from Apple iOS. While MAIDs are still available on both platforms- Apple and Android- platforms are taking actions to restrict the availability and usage, e.g. Apple’s introduction of App Tracking Transparency (ATT), a requirement for users to opt in for use of IDFA, has already reduced availability to around 30% as per one media report and Android is expected to introduce similar restrictions in future. Together, these developments result in:
- Deprecation of capability to identify consumers
- Loss of cardinality in non identifier based signals, e.g. proxying IP address, simplifying User Agent, referrer URL deprecations
This has created a need for development of alternative technologies and methods to identify consumers across the open internet. Identity (ID) solutions have emerged as a new category of technologies that enables advertisers and publishers to create personalized consumer experiences.
- ID solutions enable universe to universe matching
- ID solutions provide real time audience activation, bidstream augmentation, campaign optimization and frequency capping capabilities
- ID solutions help with calculating reach, understanding audience insights and trends and determining attribution for campaign conversions
ID Solutions guidance
As the use of ID solutions grows, the industry must understand what they are, how they are integrated into the workflows and what is their utility:
- What are the different types of ID solutions and how do they differentiate
- What are the attributes of these ID Solutions
- A high-level view of how ID Solutions work
- A suggested framework for choosing and evaluating ID Solutions
IAB Tech Lab’s Rearc Addressability Working Group has developed the ID solutions guide as an informational guide for advertisers, publishers, media agencies, data collaborators, & ad tech vendors to demystify the landscape, better understand the scope and scale of ID solutions and the technology, so that they can evaluate different ID Solution partners.
ID Solutions Guide can be downloaded here
Please email your public comments and questions to support@dev.iabtechlab.com .
This is part of a series of guidance and specifications being developed by IAB Tech Lab to provide the industry with definitive solutions to better addressability in digital advertising. We are working on developing critical industry resources for ID-less Solutions, Google Chrome’s Privacy Sandbox and overall addressability stack for a private and safe internet.