68% of UK Marketers Believe the Future of Advertising Relies on Multiple Interoperable ID Solutions

by ExchangeWire PressBox on 18th Feb 2021 in News

Lotame, the leading global provider of data enrichment solutions to drive customer insights and turn personas into addressable advertising, today announced findings from its “Beyond the Cookie: The Future of Advertising for Marketers and Publishers” research. Amongst other key findings, Lotame’s study reveals that the vast majority (68%) of UK marketers believe the future of advertising in a cookieless ecosystem relies on multiple interoperable ID solutions.

Conducted in January 2021, Lotame surveyed more than 200 UK senior digital marketing and publishing decision-makers to determine how organisations are planning for the phase-out of third-party cookies and whether brands are making the most out of their data.

The report findings also indicate a strong interest in identity graphs solutions. Despite relatively modest current adoption rates — averaging at 19% across both marketers and publishers — over half (51%) are actively searching for an identity partner. Moreover, those looking for a partner hope to find the right fit soon; with almost a third (28%) aiming to find one within the next six months and almost a quarter (23%) planning to use an identity solution in the next year. Among the challenges to implementing is budget; named by 16% as a barrier to adoption.

Additionally, the report identified that, for both marketers and publishers, a “context alone” strategy is not enough:

Three-quarters (75%) of marketers surveyed believe that while contextual targeting is a useful tactic to ensure advertising relevance without relying on third-party cookies, it alone cannot replace audience targeting – including one in eight (12%) having zero confidence.

Similarly, although two-thirds (66%) of publishers are confident that contextual targeting can offer an effective cookie alternative, almost half (49%) are looking for a further solution to cover the potential loss of third-party tracking – with 15% using more contextual and intent data while they search for a longer-term solution.

Despite the lean towards contextual targeting, an overwhelming 95% of publishers reported using supplemental data to enrich their first-party data assets. At present, publishers are tapping into a variety of information to accomplish this, including; survey and panel data (49%), marketer data (41%), third-party data from reputable vendors (24%), and second-party data from other publishers (20%). Additionally, almost a quarter (24%) say they are looking for help in finding quality data partners to augment their first-party data offering.

Commenting on the results Chris Hogg, Managing Director EMEA at Lotame, said, “As the deadline to retire third-party cookies edges closer, marketers and publishers need to collaborate to enable advertising that is relevant, responsible, and resilient. These findings also challenge the narrative that third-party data enrichment is dead and indicate second-party and third-party data still hold considerable clout, especially as first-party alone does not scale or capture the complete story of ever-changing consumer habits.

“Marketers and publishers are in critical need of privacy tools and partnership solutions to engage audiences at scale. This is why we’re invested in our Panorama ID, the first global, people-based, privacy compliant and interoperable identity solution for a cookieless web – and one that is, encouragingly, already being supported by many in the ecosystem.”

Launched in October 2020, Lotame Panorama ID, is the only enriched global solution bringing identity to open web traffic. Instead of relying on email addresses from logged-in users, Panorama ID joins together web, mobile, CTV, and customer data.

To learn more about how Lotame Panorama ID builds a connected digital advertising ecosystem for all, please visit www.lotame.com/panorama/id