The Next Era of Data Intelligence: Privacy by Design

In the last few years, the world of marketing and advertising has been caught up in a storm of changes. From Apple’s App Tracking Transparency initiative and the deprecation of third-party cookies to the impact of privacy reforms worldwide, the industry is frantically looking for alternatives and solutions. 

While people seem to be increasingly aware of the problem posed by surveillance-based advertising, the demand for customized experiences has not decreased. But how are brands supposed to get to know their consumers and create customized experiences without access to data?

Data Privacy Reforms: Both Challenge and Opportunity

While many in the adtech and martech world combat the recent regulations and updates, other brands are utilizing this as an opportunity to create trust. For example, Apple has used privacy to promote a brand identity linked to trust and security. 

This has led to the emergence of a new type of data vendor and ad-tech platforms that highlight measures taken to ensure data transparency and privacy compliance. These updates have created an environment that is the perfect setting to encourage innovation and creativity. What’s more, a possible solution has emerged in the capabilities of Identity Resolution technology. 

Navigating a Cookieless, Post-IDFA World with the Help of Identity Resolution 

Identity resolution is the process of combining multiple consumer identifiers (offline and online) to arrive at one unified identity that aggregates the consumer’s varied interests and behavior. 

While the concept is not new, it has been gaining more attention in the last few years due to the developments discussed above. An identity resolution platform can provide brands with a persistent identifier specific to individuals as opposed to a particular device, browser, or household. More importantly, an effective identity resolution platform will be privacy compliant as it has to be GDPR and CCPA-compliant to deal with consumer data.

The main benefit of such a solution is that the plurality of sources used for identifying consumers makes it reliable even in the absence of parameters such as the IDFA or third-party cookies. The solution works by aggregating data from various anonymous sources such as hashed emails, mobility patterns, etc. First-party data, which has been experiencing a resurgence, is also used effectively by identity resolution solutions.

Complementary Trends

First-party cookies and real-world data could be the way out for publishers and advertisers. First-party data could prove to be a goldmine as it is mostly information that is authentic and willingly provided by consumers. Publishers like Newscorp have also created single IDs for individual users using log-in data.

Contextual advertising could also replace surveillance-based advertising, as it uses real-world data points and combines them with available data on consumers’ online habits. 

The Upshot

Effective use of first-party data, compliance with data privacy guidelines, and new ways to understand consumer behavior seem to be the solutions at hand today. 

Publishers can look at building their own data ecosystems, and data partners that have identity resolution solution platforms can work with brands to reach consumers. In this way, data transparency, privacy, and campaign effectiveness are not compromised. 

Gladys Kong is CEO at Near, Americas.