Before we dive into our experts’ predictions around addressable digital advertising, let’s first look back at the past 12 months.

2022 has been nothing short of a turbulent year for the digital media ecosystem. We have seen the industry’s most loved events, Cannes Lions and DMEXCO, return to in-person, the mobile world turn upside-down with Google’s announcement on limiting Google Advertising IFA (GAID) functionality, certain solutions rise above the rest in solving the identity crisis, and the cookie deprecation timeline been pushed once again. Now, what about the future of addressable digital advertising?

We spoke with experts from across the industry to get an idea of what publishers and advertisers navigating the ever-changing privacy and identity landscape can expect in 2023. Take a look below to learn about the 2023 predictions for the world of identity as shared by MediaMath, DeepIntent, Freestar, Equativ and Unruly.

Fiona Campbell-Webster, Chief Privacy Officer, MediaMath: “advertisers will race to adopt partnerships, interoperable ID solutions, and header bidding opportunities”

Potential billion-dollar industries have been built on cookies. Removing them now is creating seismic changes in the advertising industry. We are in a period of fragmentation, with advertisers, publishers and adtech platforms vying for the top slot as the alternate identity provider for the open internet.

Some advertisers have already begun exploring new options like authenticated IDs, probabilistic IDs, data partnerships using first-party data within a publisher’s environment, etc. For instance, IBM Watson Advertising Weather Targeting partnered with us to enhance its digital ad precision for optimal ad campaigning and audience engagement. In 2023, I anticipate that as alternative solutions become more common and competitive, other advertisers will race to adopt partnerships, interoperable ID solutions, and header bidding opportunities in an aggressive bid to reach their target audiences. The period of fragmentation will conclude once winners emerge as the de facto standard. Advertisers who took the leap early will certainly benefit from longevity and experience in building customer trust, loyalty, and enriching ad experiences.

Christopher Paquette, Founder & CEO, DeepIntent: “advertisers should start running cookieless testing now, while third-party cookies are still online”

Third-party cookies may be going away, but addressable advertising is not. I believe pharma advertisers are well-positioned because of the category’s unique dependency on offline PII-based data sources that are already being used online today in privacy-safe, de-identified targeting and measurement. But being well-positioned doesn’t mean they’re ready. 

Advertisers should start running cookieless testing now, while third-party cookies are still online. These tests can serve as a benchmark of what advertisers can expect going forward that will help them understand the relative impact of cookieless advertising.

Premesh Purayil, Chief Technology Officer, Freestar: “the eventual drop of third-party cookies in Chrome is likely to have a significant impact on digital media publishers”

As many industry experts have predicted, the eventual drop of third-party cookies in Chrome is likely to have a significant impact on digital media publishers. There are several steps that publishers can take in 2023 to ensure they continue reaching and engaging their audiences effectively.

One of these steps is building direct relationships with their audiences. This can be done by growing email lists and collecting data directly from users. This will help publishers to continue to reach and engage with their audiences even without third-party cookies. Publishers can also invest in first-party data solutions. This includes tools and technologies that help publishers to collect and analyze data directly from their websites and apps, rather than relying on third-party cookies. By doing this, publishers can gain a better understanding of their audiences and target their content and advertising more effectively.

Publishers should also consider diversifying their revenue streams. This includes exploring new advertising formats and channels, as well as looking at alternative sources of revenue such as subscriptions, sponsorships, and partnerships. By diversifying their revenue streams, publishers can better withstand any potential disruptions caused by the drop of third-party cookies.

George Blue, Head of Publisher Partnerships, Equativ: “the introduction of CPRA in 2023 is set to change the landscape”

While publishers have had plenty of time to develop their data and privacy policies and protections in response to GDPR and CCPA, the introduction of CPRA in 2023 is set to change the landscape. Publishers, broadcasters, platforms, and intermediaries using any third-party companies as part of their advertising or technology stack will now need to create addendums to their existing agreements to govern these new protocols. While a publisher may be legally protected by an overarching indemnification agreement when a violation occurs their own user and consumer base will hold them – not some unknown tech vendor – accountable. 2023 will see publishers focused on ways to better protect their brand in light of these new regulations.

Rachel Powney, VP Marketing & Communications, Unruly: “to strengthen and solidify television advertising, we can’t lose sight of the importance of programmatic planning”

I think, moving into 2023, we’re going to see even more growth in advanced television (and in our capacity to reach the households watching that television). In order to do this effectively, though, we need better, more enhanced programmatic planning and execution tools – in CTV, over-the-top (OTT) streaming and in traditional broadcast. It’s an area on which we must remain laser focused. If we want to continue to strengthen and solidify television advertising, we can’t lose sight of the importance of programmatic planning and should continue to invest in the tools that make this possible.

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