By Jennifer Walker; VP, Digital Media
Overview
The digital marketing landscape continues to undergo a major transformation due to evolving trends and stricter regulations prioritizing consumer privacy. Third-party cookies, which are small pieces of data stored on a user’s browser by websites other than the one they are currently visiting, central to digital advertising, were planned to be phased out by major players like Google and Apple. In February 2020, Google announced plans to remove third-party cookies from Chrome by 2024. Just this week, however, Google announced an updated approach that will not remove third-party cookies from Chrome but instead will allow users to make informed choices across their web browsing, which they could adjust at any time.
This update follows similar moves by other major browsers including Apple’s Safari, which introduced Intelligent Tracking Prevention in 2017, and Mozilla’s Firefox launched Enhanced Tracking Protection in 2019, both limiting third-party cookies. These changes, along with Apple’s 2021 iOS updates, allow users to opt out of app tracking, challenging marketers to track consumer behavior and serving targeted ads. As we move towards an evolution of digital marketing that is less reliant on third-party cookies, the industry must find new ways to balance effective advertising with consumer privacy demands.
Targeting Alternatives & Challenges
As of early 2024, 56% of U.S. marketers were testing third-party cookie alternatives, focusing on maximizing the value of existing customers, increasing retention, and leveraging first-party data (Experian Marketing Services, 2024). However, some have been slow to react due to uncertainty about managing the changes and challenges posed by the reduction of reliance on third-party cookies.
First-Party Data and Learfield’s Advantage
In anticipation of the evolving challenges posed by changing privacy concerns, Learfield has focused on safeguarding our partners from disruptions in audience targeting and attribution. By leveraging first-party data, Learfield can not only maintain but even enhance audience targeting capabilities. Learfield has access to over 150 million reachable college fans, with 90 million identifiable, providing a unique opportunity to connect with this audience through personalized and meaningful messages.
Implementing Identity Solutions with LiveRamp
Learfield partnered with LiveRamp to implement their Identity Solution, which maps audience profiles to RampIDs. These unique IDs empower Learfield’s digital teams to segment, analyze, and activate campaigns on behalf of our property partners. This solution ensures compliance with privacy regulations while allowing for robust audience targeting and measurement.
Advantages of Learfield’s Identity Solution
Learfield’s identity solution offers numerous benefits, including improved cross-device tracking, enhanced segmentation with first-party data, robust measurement capabilities, and cost efficiencies in media buying. These advantages help maintain effective digital marketing strategies in an ever-changing digital marketing world.
METHODOLOGY
To test the veracity of the identity solution, we crafted a 12-month-long test. We selected eight property partnerships ranging in size and brand partnership scope so that we could test on a variety of different campaign types. We aggregated these eight properties’ audiences both through pixel-based audiences and RampID-identified audiences. Then, over the course of the year, we activated media strategies in parallel between the two audience segments.
CALLOUTS: SCORE CARD
• 8 Property Audiences
• 12 Months
• 2x Lift in Audience Size
• = Engagement Rate Stability
• 22% lower CPM
• 17.5 % lower CPC
RESULTS
Through the activation and analysis of the test results, Learfield scaled out the identity solution, resulting in 180 million RampID records in our sports fan audiences. We are now integrating these audiences into our media and analytics efforts across the enterprise.
Future-Proofing Digital Marketing Campaigns
As the digital marketing landscape continues to evolve, identity solutions will play a pivotal role in helping organizations adapt to the ever-evolving future of digital targeting. By leveraging robust identity resolution capabilities, marketers can maintain continuity in audience targeting and measurement even as third-party cookies are phased out. Learfield’s proactive adoption of LiveRamp’s identity solution illustrates the significant benefits of investing in this technology early on.