The ID5 team hit the road this past September, heading to Cologne. We brought together experts from across the advertising ecosystem to discuss the state of digital identity, and to understand how well the industry is prepared for the removal of third-party cookies from Chrome next year.

Don’t worry if you weren’t able to join us in Cologne, we’ve compiled the highlights from the session below. Read on to learn more! 

State of Digital Identity 2023 Preview 

ID5’s very own Chief Commercial Officer, Caitlin Borgman, kicked off the day with a sneak peek at the 2023 State of Digital Identity Report. Caitlin proudly shared that this year’s report included the largest sample size and most varied geographic representation. 

Highlights:

Google isn’t backing down

While there is still some scepticism on whether or not Google will push back their timeline, 70% of respondents believe Google will stand by the phased approach it outlined in 2023. 

The end of third-party cookies might be a good thing

The report found that overall most people agree that third-party cookies are inefficient and this shift opens the door for stronger alternatives to rise in their place. 

Identity isn’t just a browser challenge

Advertising professionals shared that their identity challenges extend beyond browsers but also impact advertising in CTV and mobile. 

Combining these numbers with her professional insights, Caitlin shared the importance of collaboration in the cookieless era. As the industry enters the next phase it should collectively search for a new generation of data identifiers that can solve multiple use cases. Ideally, these alternatives will prevent data leakage, comply with data protection regulations, and solve inherent latency issues. There are a variety of tools the industry is looking at to resolve these identity challenges today. Ultimately these solutions will work in tandem to help professionals overcome the identity-related obstacles they currently face. 

Fireside Chat with the Trade Desk 

After the 2023 State of Digital Identity preview, we moved on to a fireside chat hosted by Joe Quaglia, ID5, SVP of Sales & Business Development, with the Trade Desk’s Jonathan Hauffe, Senior Director of Business Development EMEA.

The two kicked off the conversation with an overview of ID5 and the Trade Desk’s partnership. This past June, the Trade Desk integrated the ID5 identity graph into the identity alliance as a part of their marketplace approach. This alliance aims to achieve household and user-level addressability by clustering determinist and probabilistic IDs to create one unified approach. 

Highlights:

Communicate the value to consumers

Jonathan explained that users have more choices than ever. Most of these choices involve logging in somewhere and this is usually done in walled gardens. When users have so many choices they’ll ultimately go where they can get the best value. Our job as advertisers, brands, and publishers is to collect first-party data from consumers while creating and communicating the best value exchange. To do this the industry needs to come together to scale the solutions in place as well as drive addressability.  

The end of cookies is an opportunity

Echoing the State of Digital Identity statistics from earlier, Jonathan explained that the notion that the industry will be crippled by the deprecation of third-party cookies simply isn’t true. When it comes to testing, Jonathan explained that organizations that implemented and tested alternatives will fare better than those that waited. 

Identity is more than cookies

Identity is more than cookies but extends to other cookieless channels like CTV, mobile, and gaming. Jonathan made clear the important role of scalability when considering growing channels like CTV. 

The keys to solving addressability challenges

Machine learning and interoperability will play a critical role in enhancing addressability. To do this the ecosystem will need to agree on more common languages, not just one but a few currencies.

How Prepared is the Industry for Measurement without Traditional Identifiers?

We finished up the day with a session focused on measurement. The panel hosted by Davide Rosamilla, ID5’s Director of Product Management, included:

• Abdelkader Barjiji, SVP, Product Management Programmatic & Data, Ströer, 
• Katja Henneveld, Benelux & France Country Manager, Adform, 
• Luise Weiß, Global VP Revenue, Adsquare
• Nicólas Bouchet, Global Head of Data & Digital Transformation, Havas Media Network

Highlights

We Can’t Spend if We Can’t Measure 

Many conversations center around targeting and activation, overlooking the importance of measurement. While it is possible to measure in CTV, mobile, and gaming environments. Measurement isn’t quite as simple across these channels compared to the web. Measurement impacts the overall campaign performance and strategy. Without accurate measurement we can’t justify spending, especially in tumultuous economic times.

How to Work with Advertisers 

While the advertising industry generally looks to publishers and agencies to solve identity challenges, the entire ecosystem must come together to develop solutions. We must understand what advertisers’ objectives are to help overcome them, then the technology can evolve from there. 

What do they need from advertisers to do this? Increased data sharing. Sharing data enhances platforms, aids publishers, defines use cases and increases transparency. 

Join us for the next ID5 on the Road: London!

In October 2023 ID5’s team will be back on the road – this time headed for London. If you’d like to join us you can register your interest here: https://ow.ly/lKtO50PQ4Bm

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