'Consumers are not averse to ads or sharing data if done transparently and ethically'

Iván Markman is the chief business officer of Verizon Media, a division of Verizon Communications that focuses on media and online business. As the CBO, Iván oversees Verizon Media's revenue and marketing teams. He has 20+ years of strategic and operational experience in Ad & Marketing tech.

He interacted with exchange4media on the future of digital advertising in a cookie-less world. The third-party/browser cookie has been phased out by Firefox, Safari and is on its way out on Google Chrome. Markman spoke about the strategy that brands and marketers should follow to reach consumers in the digital world.

Excerpts:

What implications does the phasing out of third-party cookies have on a mobile-first market like India?

The opportunity for advertisers and publishers will be to reach consumers wherever they spend their time -- predominantly on their mobiles, which is how the majority of Indians access the internet, but also, in a connected future, on devices like connected TV or digital audio. With the demise of third-party cookies, first-party data will be crucial to identity in a post-cookie world. First-party ‘deterministic’ data can accurately identify and target the same consumers across devices through a single sign-on, which increases the chances for conversion. Since deterministic tracking gives consumers the option to opt-in, it immediately respects their choice and privacy. Identity differentiated by direct consumer consent and association to many deterministic signals that can be shared in a privacy-centric way will create a path forward now that the third-party cookie is on its way out.

Brands and businesses will have to thoughtfully build a direct relationship and leverage first-party data, to meaningfully engage with their audiences online and earn their trust. A much larger implication -- we now have an opportunity to collaborate on a better internet that respects consumer privacy, in India and around the world.

According to digital media experts, India’s digital ecosystem never had too much reliance on third-party data sets. In this context, does the Indian digital advertising industry need to be overly worried about the phasing out of third-party cookies?

Dependency on third-party cookies varies by market and by industry. Yet it has been a common system that the online advertising industry has relied on -- to differing degrees -- in supporting ad delivery, reporting and targeting. To that end, this marks the end of an era, a permanent shift. Marketers and publishers will necessarily need new solutions in support of identity resolution. The new breed of solutions will need to bridge the identity gap and deliver revenue — while honouring privacy preferences and maintaining a good consumer experience. There are fundamental challenges ahead, like the sustainability of the “Free Web” that consumers have become accustomed to, which will be impacted severely if publishers aren’t able to maintain monetization. Ads remain essential to the survival of the Internet as we know it.

With users resisting the misuse of their personal data, how can marketers continue to reach audiences with the most relevant message in a privacy-centric way?

You’ve stated the problem right there -- users resist the ‘misuse’ of their personal data. However, consumers are not averse to ads or sharing data, if done transparently and ethically, especially if these lead to tangible benefits for them. Verizon Media research found 88% of respondents saw the advantages of personalised ads, listing “utility” and “relevance” as top benefits. Providing users with relevant, targeted experiences and respecting their privacy preferences and user information must go hand in hand.

Technology has moved beyond traditional contextual targeting which relies mainly on content, topics, and keywords to deliver relevant ads. Where identity cannot be resolved, advanced contextual solutions leveraging real-time signals (such as weather, device, and location) and machine learning will create a path forward to help marketers achieve increased ad relevance. We are already advancing new AI-driven models towards this, to all our traditional audience targeting capabilities that will deliver improved accuracy as well as high performance and measurement for our advertisers as we enter the cookieless realm.  

Will first-party data become the holy grail of digital advertising going forward?

Yes, we are going to see a gold rush in first-party data collection from both advertisers and publishers -- the equivalent to operation warp speed for the ad industry. In the current scenario, players who have created an identity graph composed of owned, consent-based, cross-channel, first-party data will have the upper hand in providing marketers with a host of new and alternative identity, targeting, and measurement solutions.

First-party data will be the holy grail to developing an authentic, trusted relationship with consumers. The ‘logged-in user’, or having a direct relationship with the consumer, is the future of advertising. Customers will connect with and trust brands more when they understand how their data is being used to improve a particular service.

What kind of work is Verizon Media doing to address the issue of identifying and targeting customers in a non-intrusive way?

At Verizon Media, we are well-positioned to help brands. Advertisers and publishers find new paths to success in this changing marketplace by taking an integrated approach to sustainable identity, one that is centered on consumer privacy and choice, and focused on upholding total client confidence in our data compliance.

We are committed to developing sustainable identity solutions that respect the consumer’s need for choice and privacy. Towards this, we recently launched a unified identity solution, Verizon Media ConnectID. Built on the foundation of ‘consumer-first values’ and market-leading advertising technologies, ConnectID helps advertisers buy, measure, and optimise ads while enabling publishers to manage, monetize and navigate audiences -- all of this underpinned by a respect for consumer choice and privacy, while protecting data integrity across demand and supply. We are also developing other advanced cookieless targeting and measurement solutions independent of identity. As part of our overall approach in the absence of identity, Verizon Media is taking audience targeting, buying, and measurement to the next level providing advertisers an end-to-end solution, beyond cookies, content, and app advertising IDs.

On a broader level, we are collaborating with IAB Tech Lab to develop new privacy-preserving addressability standards and industry accountability programs through Project Rearc.

There is a fear in the advertising industry that the phasing out of cookies will increase Google's stranglehold on the digital ad industry?

This will be a new battleground for the largest tech companies.  Players that can offer advertisers access to their own first-party data, already have an advantage. The divide is now sharper between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots.’ Walled gardens with a trove of first-party data will be the ‘haves,’ while under-resourced smaller businesses and publishers will be the ‘have-nots’ in the post-cookie ecosystem.  However, this race is still wide open because of the possibilities offered by sustainable, ‘open’ solutions.

Our own solution, Verizon Media ConnectID, extends across the open web and is transparent and more flexible than the Walled Gardens. We offer unmatched data diversity, have tools for insights, analysis, and measurement, but are also willing to collaborate outside of our walls.