Everything You Need to Know on Apple's Recent IOS 14.5 Update
Apple recently announced and implemented a new privacy update that involves an anti-tracking feature. For user privacy, many believe this is a step in the right direction but, there’s one big question: What does this mean for the Marketing and Advertising Industry?
When users first open an app after the iOS14.5 update, they will be given a prompt asking whether they want to allow the app to track them or ask the app not to track. By opting out, the app is not allowed to track or share any data that might be collected about the user. What does this mean for advertisers? It means the loss of mobile data that marketers have used for vital digital tracking purposes like:
- Using data to develop interest and behavior-based audiences
- Remarketing site visitors and measuring success of campaigns through conversion tracking
It also means that apps and services will have to fund their businesses in new ways as it is expected that a large number of users will choose to opt-out of sharing their data.
Facebook is anticipated to take the biggest hit from this update, but all platforms will be affected in one way or another. Not only will platforms take a hit financially, but this update also means a shift away from behavioral targeting and a shift towards contextual targeting. For advertisers using Google, this will prove to be difficult as Google no longer includes contextual content categories. Unlike Google, Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) will continue to use contextual targeting providers, like Peer39. as changes continue to occur, it will be interesting to see if we see a growth in the use of DSPs. This is where ad agencies go to buy digital inventory like website banner ads, ads on mobile apps, and in-stream video ads.
VI's digital experts are trained to work within an in-house DSP instead of using third-party vendors. This is added benefit to our clients.
Big Tech’s Response
So, what are some of the big tech companies doing in response to this? While we expected that cookies could no longer exist in the next few years, we didn’t expect a privacy update like this. However, companies such as Google and Facebook have been rolling out their own methods to comply with the new update. Facebook rolled out an update for their pixel that includes a software development kit (SDK) and has implemented Aggregated Event Measurement. Google has had a privacy sandbox in the works for some time, but we have not been given a date for when they will release it. With Google’s Privacy Sandbox, they plan to reach people with ads by using groups of people who share some patterns in browsing. By doing this, individuals’ data is not shared, and their privacy is kept intact.
So, what now?
While the new update changes the way we generally approach digital advertising, there are still solutions to use. Two solutions that we have already identified are Facebook’s SDK and Google Privacy Sandbox - these will lessen the blow of the iOS14.5 update to an extent. However, the solution that we believe that we have the most control over is the use of first-party data. For example, you can use the email addresses of people who have placed an order on your site within the last year to re-target those users with strategic digital ads. With this update in place, it's important to stay in the know on all things data privacy in 2021.
Attend Our Cookie-less Advertising Webinar: June 24, 2021 11 AM CST
A cookie-less internet changes everything, and we’ll take a deeper dive in our upcoming webinar. Register to hear from our panel of Google Certified digital experts. As Oklahoma’s ONLY Google Premier Partner agency, we are uniquely positioned to help you tackle the challenges to come.
We’ll also hear from special guest speaker Jeni Mariani, Google’s Team Manager of Agency Performance. Together, we’ll explore the future of campaign measurement, the impact of identity restrictions, and new approaches to measure the impact of your marketing investments.
Sign up to attend in person or join us online on June 24th at 11 AM CDT. Register today!
