Measurement has always been the backbone of advertising.
With the loss of signals and the expansion of new types of media channels, traditional approaches are becoming obsolete.
A new methodological framework is emerging to address these challenges.
Today, privacy regulations and continuous innovation are redefining advertising strategies. The lessons learned in the mobile sector illustrate the importance of adaptability and secure collaboration. By adopting a signal-agnostic and media-agnostic approach, advertisers can optimize their campaigns despite constant changes. This is the beginning of an era where modern measurement shapes the future of marketing.
The Evolution of Advertising Measurement in the Mobile Era
Since its inception, measurement has always been the backbone of advertising. However, with the advent of mobile, the rules of the game have radically changed. The loss of signals, the expansion of new types of media channels, and stricter privacy regulations have made traditional approaches obsolete, even ineffective. Mobile, as the primary testing ground for many innovations, has served as a laboratory for testing and refining new measurement methods.
The mobile advertising sector has faced major challenges, such as the disappearance of mobile advertising identifiers with the introduction of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT). This evolution has forced the industry to rethink its strategies and adopt more robust and privacy-conscious solutions. Furthermore, the rise of walled gardens like Google, Facebook, and Amazon has highlighted the risks associated with tying measurement to media ownership.
In light of these changes, a new measurement framework is beginning to emerge, inspired by the lessons learned from mobile. This framework, while familiar to mobile professionals, has only partially influenced web advertising so far. Nevertheless, concepts developed in the mobile sector, such as adaptability to signal loss and secure data collaboration, are quickly becoming essential in other media channels.
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Why Mobile is the Testing Ground for New Measurement Methods
Mobile has historically served as a catalyst for innovation in advertising. Due to its rapid evolution and the unique challenges it presents, the sector has been forced to develop advanced solutions to maintain the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. The loss of mobile advertising identifiers, for example, has prompted advertisers to turn to first-party data and contextual targeting methods.
Additionally, the rise of closed platforms has demonstrated the importance of having independent and transparent measurement solutions. Advertisers now demand impartial insights that are not biased by the interests of media owners. This demand has accelerated the adoption of media-agnostic solutions, which provide objective analysis of campaign performance across different channels.
Mobile has also pioneered the integration of secure data collaboration technologies, such as clean rooms. These infrastructures allow advertisers and their partners to share sensitive data without compromising privacy, paving the way for deeper and more ethical collaborations.
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Adopting a Signal-Agnostic Approach: Key to Resilience
One of the most important lessons learned from mobile is the importance of a signal-agnostic approach to measurement. With the gradual disappearance of third-party cookies and mobile advertising identifiers, it has become essential to develop measurement frameworks that do not depend on a single or fragile signal. Such an approach ensures that advertisers can continue to measure and optimize their campaigns, regardless of technological or regulatory changes.
A signal-agnostic strategy involves integrating a diversity of identifiers, ranging from identifiers provided by publishers and first-party data to contextual signals and addressable identifiers. This flexibility allows advertising campaigns to remain resilient in the face of fluctuations in available tools and changes in privacy regulations.
By adopting this approach, advertisers not only survive technological and regulatory changes; they thrive within these new environments. Accuracy in measuring performance and budget allocation remains intact, regardless of industry developments.
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Media Independence: Towards Media-Agnostic Solutions
With the expansion of walled gardens like Google, Facebook, and Amazon, the boundary between media providers and measurement providers has blurred. However, this convergence presents significant risks, particularly in terms of bias and conflicts of interest. Advertisers are now demanding greater transparency and increased independence in measuring advertising performance.
Media-agnostic solutions meet these expectations by providing impartial insights on campaign performance across all media platforms. By eliminating the inherent conflicts of interest found in proprietary platforms, these solutions enable advertisers to gain a clear and objective understanding of the effectiveness of their advertising spending.
This independence is crucial for a budget allocation based on market realities rather than the priorities of individual media platforms. Advertisers can thus make informed decisions, optimizing the return on investment of their campaigns.
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Prioritizing Privacy: The New Market Requirements
Privacy regulations, such as GDPR in Europe and CCPA in California, have profoundly transformed how advertisers collect, share, and use data. However, a privacy-first approach is not just about compliance; it represents a fundamental shift aimed at restoring consumer trust.
Measurement solutions must now prioritize data security, transparency, and user consent, while continuing to provide relevant insights to guide business decisions. A critical aspect of this approach is the secure data collaboration infrastructure, such as clean rooms. These technologies enable advertisers and their partners to share data securely, ensuring that sensitive information is never exposed.
With the ongoing evolution of privacy standards, the ability to collaborate securely and ethically becomes a cornerstone of effective measurement. Advertisers must therefore invest in solutions that not only comply with current regulations but are also flexible enough to adapt to future developments.
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The Omnichannel Challenge: Connecting the Dots for a Unified View
As audience interactions are no longer perceived as silos by channel, advertisers must adopt an omnichannel approach to connect various touchpoints and create a unified view of the customer journey. Whether it’s to understand how social media influences engagement on connected TV (CTV) or how mobile drives in-store conversions, a coherent perspective is essential.
Without such an approach, decisions remain fragmented, limiting the impact and effectiveness of advertising campaigns. Omnichannel not only allows for a better understanding of consumer behavior but also optimizes marketing strategies based on comprehensive and integrated data.
The transformation of measurement does not stop at mobile. While progress has been made in creating signal-agnostic and privacy-first solutions, achieving a true omnichannel vision remains a challenge. Reaching this goal will require continuous innovation, close collaboration, and a commitment to neutrality and trust.
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The transformation of advertising measurement is largely inspired by the lessons learned from mobile, a sector that has often been at the forefront of the necessary innovations to navigate a constantly evolving landscape. By adopting signal-agnostic, media-agnostic, and privacy-first approaches, advertisers can not only adapt to current changes but also anticipate and shape future market trends.
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