The Pivot to Privacy…Promotes Contextual Targeting

The numerous State initiatives and regulations pertaining to data protection and consumer privacy are pressuring and eliminating tech-based ad-targeting techniques. The replacement is likely to be contextual targeting. Both Google and Apple are implementing data privacy initiatives resulting in the near elimination of technology- based targeting systems in the current advertising ecosystem. Cross-device tracking was success only a few years ago. Essentially a marketer could link an individual to all the devices they used, from smartphone to connected TV, to laptop, desktop or tablet. By linking, the devices, the marketer could eliminate duplication and gain a greater profile of a consumer or consumer household. But as a result of CCPA and GDPR the methods used have dropped significantly and in Europe which has been under GDPR implementation and enforcement for over a year these system have all but been dismantled. Similarly, device “fingerprinting” had a windfall when ad tech players deployed it as a workaround to Apple’s anti-tracking blockages. Device fingerprinting is a technique used to forensically identify an electronic device on the internet. Device fingerprinting reportedly can identify unique mobile devices and computers by their distinct characteristics with a reasonable degree of certainty. Device fingerprints are built using information gathered about the hardware and software utilized by a website visitor. Hardware details are combined with the browser information to paint a picture that forms the core of the device fingerprint. This was largely undertaken by cookie technology and data collection. Thus, the identifying characteristics contained within each fingerprint could include internet history, device type, device capability, operating system, and user login. When combined with device data, users can be identified as they move from one device to another factoring in user information as part of a device fingerprint which increases its power and accuracy. Although a complicated and multilayered process, device fingerprinting is a tool that can be extremely valuable to an eCommerce merchant.