There is a lot of talk in AdTech these days about user identity, and Google’s decision to leave browser cookies alone doesn’t seem to have muted it at all.
For sure, a big reason is the growth of connected TVs as channels for the delivery of digital advertising and the fact that of most of the major players in that ecosystem — TV device manufacturers, premium video publishers and video streaming services — have all been loath to indiscriminately expose their user data to the AdTech market the same way so many companies did in the web and mobile media worlds.
No more.
A number of AdTech players — including the largest DSP — have been trotting out offerings to CTV ecosystem players to supplement or enhance their user identity management systems or user sign-ons.
The ad tech me
Why? Well, more identity in the hands of AdTech means more granular targeting, more granular measurement, more margin, higher rates and more lock-in.
Of course, it’s all about creating a better experience for the publishers, the advertisers and the users, right?
No. That might be part of the pitch, but as we well know from AdTech’s history, offerings like these are usually all about me (the ad tech me) and not what is good for publishers and users.
What we’re seeing with the AdTech-driven distribution of new single-sign-ons and enhanced authenticated identity looks a lot like Facebook Connect, which wasn’t really about making single-sign on life easy for users.
Following users wherever they go
It was all about following users everywhere they went on the web (or on their mobile devices), and leveraging that data in what developed into the most powerful and profitable performance ad network the world has ever seen: Facebook Audience Network (FAN).
Why did publishers willingly give Facebook all of their user data? Publishers participated in the beginning because they got paid to be part of it. But, over time, they got paid a lot less, but had become addicted to the incremental revenue from FAN and found it hard to unplug.
Are we about to see a redux of FAN on CTV, just from a bunch of other players? We might. Is it likely going to be driven because of a real desire to improve the experience for publishers and viewers? Don’t count on it.
This story was first published on MediaPost.com and is republished here with the permission of the author.
Dave Morgan, a lawyer by training, is the CEO and founder of Simulmedia. He previously founded and ran both TACODA, Inc, an online advertising company that pioneered behavioural online marketing and was acquired by AOL in 2007 for $275 million, and Real Media, Inc, one of the world’s first ad serving and online ad network companies and a predecessor to 24/7 Real Media (TFSM), which was later sold to WPP for $649 million. Follow him on Twitter @davemorgannyc
