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How Programmatic Identity Helps Maximize Ad Revenue While Remaining Compliant
Personalization and privacy are two concepts that seem to be at odds in the modern digital landscape. On one hand, consumers have grown to expect highly tailored, relevant experiences from the websites and apps they engage with. On the other, regulatory changes like GDPR and CCPA have heightened public awareness around data privacy, restricting how personal information can be collected and used.
For digital publishers and advertisers, balancing these competing interests presents a major challenge. Personalizing ad experiences requires some level of identifying website visitors and understanding their preferences. However, relying too heavily on third-party cookies and other invasive tracking practices to enable targeting and attribution can now open companies up to hefty fines for non-compliance. So how can digital businesses unlock the revenue potential of premium advertising without compromising on privacy or compliance?
The answer lies in the emerging concept of programmatic identity. By developing a persistent, privacy-conscious understanding of website audiences through first-party data strategies, publishers can still tap into highly targeted and impactful programmatic campaigns. When combined with powerful tools like TradeDesk that connect to demand partners through open internet protocols, programmatic identity represents the best of both worlds.
In this article, we’ll explore why programmatic identity is so valuable in the post third-party cookie landscape and how TradeDesk provides the perfect platform for compliant user recognition and ad personalization.
The Death of the Cookie Opens Up New Opportunities
For over two decades, third-party website cookies have been the backbone enabling advertisers to track web users across the internet and target them with relevant messaging. However, rising antitrust concerns and tighter data regulations have increasingly challenged this over-reliance on invasive cookies. Google’s recent commitments to block them altogether in Chrome by 2024 may have finally sounded the death knell for the technology.
While many publishers worry that restricting cookies will severely limit audience targeting capabilities, others see this etag as an opportunity to develop superior alternatives. Accenture Interactive found that only 10% of companies believed past targeting tactics would remain viable in a post third-party cookie world. However, 79% were actively innovating new strategies to recognize audiences in privacy-conscious ways.
The most promising of these strategies fall under the umbrella of programmatic identity. Rather than relying on external platforms to track users around the web, publishers can focus on building direct, trust-based relationships with visitors to their own sites. Collecting zero-party data like emails through subscriptions and consensual on-site engagements allows publishers to create persistent first-party identifiers. They can then tap into these audiences themselves to run targeted campaigns, or activate them through privacy-first platforms like TradeDesk to connect with external demand.
Programmatic Buying Powered by Identity
To capitalize on first-party audience data for advertising, publishers need a Demand-Side Platform (DSP) built for identity-driven activation. TradeDesk stands out as perhaps the best-equipped DSP for this emerging programmatic identity environment.
Key reasons why TradeDesk is poised to dominate programmatic buying powered by identity include:
Unified ID 2.0 – TradeDesk has spearheaded the development of Unified ID 2.0, an open-source identity solution that replaces invasive third-party cookies with encrypted email-based identifiers. This enables targeted ad delivery based on actual user recognition, not assumed associations.
CTV Capabilities – As Connected TV viewership explodes, TradeDesk provides robust omnichannel activation that still incorporates critical identity signals for measuring true campaign performance.
Prebid Integration – TradeDesk’s integration with the industry-standard Prebid suite allows publishers to organize user recognition strategies across channels while benefiting from increased competition between demand sources.
Industry-Wide Interoperability – Unlike “walled garden” offerings from companies like Google and Facebook, TradeDesk connects with advertising demand from a wide range of DSPs, SSPs, and data exchanges through open internet protocols. This “supply path optimization” drives major efficiency gains.
Cross-Device Graphs – TradeDesk uses probabilistic modeling and machine learning to create household-level IDs that connect users across devices. This allows for true measurement of campaign performance and attribution analysis.
The scale and interoperability TradeDesk provides allows publishers to implement a unified programmatic identity framework. User recognition powered by logins and first-party data can then activate high-value demand from scores of external platforms. All while still upholding consumer privacy through encrypted, consent-based identifiers.
Unlocking New Revenue Streams Through Email Identity
Email addresses have become the gold standard for reconciling advertising delivery with privacy expectations. As early as 2020, eMarketer identified email hashes as the identity solution with the most long-term viability for marketers. However, even within email-based approaches, there still needs to be a persistent linking of those addresses back to individuals.
This is where leveraging email addresses for programmatic identity excels over one-time logins like signing in through Google or Facebook. By getting website visitors to proactively provide their email, publishers can continually identify those users across sessions. The email identifiers can then fuse together behavioral signals to measure preferences, predict trends, and orchestrate targeted ad delivery across channels.
To drive higher email sign-up rates that fuel programmatic identity, publishers should focus on:
- Presenting clear value propositions through lead magnets like exclusive content, newsletters, or contest entries
- Using pop-ups and overlays to collect emails, but not letting them overwhelm site experience
- Offering choice and transparency around email use and explaining the benefits of relevant advertising
- Continually monitoring opt-in rates to optimize sign-up placement and messaging
Armed with a first-party database of email-identified users, publishers can instantly enhance their audience targeting capabilities. User metrics get tied directly to emails, not devices, allowing for cross-device measurement unavailable to cookies. Publishers also avoid the compliance pitfalls of relying on external platforms for audience tracking.
Establishing this “deterministic” approach to identity through logged-in email users offers game-changing revenue access:
- Run higher-value programmatic campaigns by activating first-party data directly or through platforms like TradeDesk that support identity
- Measure performance on identified users to continually refine targeting and creative
- Build superior audience segments based on site behaviors tied to email addresses
- Compete more effectively for ad budgets as brands demand proof of campaign effectiveness
Programmatic identity through email sign-ins balances targetability with privacy. Visitors choose what messaging is relevant through their active subscriptions and engagement. Publishers can then optimize site experiences for recognized users to drive more value – for both visitors and advertisers.
The Time is Now for Programmatic Identity
Google’s 2024 death sentence for third-party cookies lights a fire under all digital publishers relying on legacy tracking methods. Developing superior alternatives centered on programmatic identity is no longer a nice-to-have – it’s a must.
By collecting email addresses and other first-party data signals to identify site visitors, publishers can still enable the targeting and personalization advertisers demand. TradeDesk’s platform provides the perfect backbone to activate audiences through privacy-first identifiers and measure performance at scale.
Now is the time for publishers to start fostering direct relationships with their users built on value exchange and consent. Programmatic identity turns privacy from an obstacle into an opportunity to develop better experiences all around – earning trust and revenue simultaneously. The future of digital advertising will rely on user recognition strategies that put the consumer first. Establishing that identify foundation early through email sign-ups will set publishers up for long-term success.
Programmatic Identity 