Exploring future-proofed identity solutions

Due to restrictions on third-party cookies, 40% of global online traffic is currently unaddressable - a percentage that is set to grow further once Chrome phases out third-party cookies in 2023. While the shift away from third-party cookies gives people more control over how their data is used online, it also presents challenges for publishers with the value of their inventory being significantly reduced.

In order to address this, we at ID5 have been working on creating tools and identifiers that publishers, advertisers, and ad tech platforms can use to recognise users and deliver campaign objectives across different types of devices. This enables companies to receive and share first-party user IDs with their monetisation partners in a privacy compliant way.

Here are some examples from different international markets showing how the solution provides value both to the buy and sell side.

Buy-side focused results

Germany

As with the global percentage, 40% of online traffic within Germany is unaddressable. As a result, programmatic specialist Virtual Minds, and Ströer SSP, along with its joint venture OS Data Solutions, have been working on building alternatives that will enable advertisers to continue to reach users in cookieless environments.

The ID5 ID is a next-generation universal identifier that publishers, advertisers and ad tech platforms can use to recognise users and deliver campaign objectives across different types of devices without relying on traditional identification methods.

Working alongside Mediascale and a German advertiser, the ID5 ID was integrated into the Ströer SSP, Virtual Minds’ Active Agent DSP (by Adition Technologies) and OS Data Solutions’ audiences and tested against two data segments: one using the ID5 ID and the other using third-party cookies.

As a result of utilising ID5 ID, the advertisers saw an increase in reach across all relevant browsers by up to 78% and benefitted from a more competitive eCPM - approximately 10% lower* compared to the average eCPM in cookie-based environments.

*CPMs in cookieless browsers are up to 50% lower than in Chrome, given that buyers are not willing to invest much on unaddressable cookieless traffic. Advertisers leveraging identity resolutions, such as ID5, can effectively address Safari users while benefiting from lower CPMs than Chrome due to the lack of competition. At the same time, publishers see their average Safari or Firefox CPM increase, as various case studies have demonstrated, since their traffic becomes addressable and, therefore, more attractive for buyers.

Sell-side focused results

The Czech Republic

In preparation for the cookieless future, Czech Publisher Exchange (CPEx), an association of leading Czech online publishers, integrated the ID5 ID and then measured the value of the ID with its downstream partners. CPEx leveraged ID5’s Predbid Analytics Module to evaluate the effect that using a first-party identifier had on their inventory. This involved the implementation of A/B testing, with 90% of consented users being assigned an ID5 ID, and 10% being placed in a control group, allowing for a direct comparison of auctions when an ID5 ID was present or not.

The Prebid Analytics results clearly showed the value of the ID5 ID to publishers. SSPs passing the ID5 ID downstream returned more and higher CPM bid responses than those not passing the encrypted ID5 ID to their DSP partners.

CPEx’s average Bid CPM for ad opportunities where an ID5 ID was present was 11% higher than when there was no ID5 ID present. On top of this, the average Bid CPM for ad opportunities in cookieless environments - such as Firefox, Safari and Edge - where an ID5 ID was present was 39% higher than when it was absent.

Italy

A similar approach was employed by Adasta, an Italian digital sales house, which integrated the ID5 ID and measured its value with downstream partners, leveraging ID5’s Prebid Analytics Module to evaluate the effect that using a first-party identifier had on their inventory. It deployed the Module (still in closed alpha) to collect prebid event data, such as auctions, bids, bid CPM by browser, SSP and country. It then used this data to distinguish proxy indicators such as Bid CPM, bid density, bid response rate and no bids percentage to enable an accurate assessment of the ID’s value.

This involved the implementation of A/B testing, with 90% of consented users being assigned an ID5 ID, and 10% being placed in a control group, allowing for a direct comparison of auctions when an ID5 ID was present or not.

The Prebid Analytics results clearly showed the value of the ID5 ID to publishers. Adasta’s average Bid CPM for ad opportunities where an ID5 ID was present was 8% higher than when there was no ID5 ID present across all environments. As well as this, the average Bid CPM for ad opportunities where an ID5 ID was present was 25% higher than when there was no ID5 ID present in browsers such as Safari and Firefox.

Find out more about ID5 here.