The year 2022 marks a turning point in the digital advertising industry, both technologically and regulatory.
Recent data mining news shows that the risk of data breaches is almost permanent and the regulatory requirements are increasingly strict. In this changing environment, programmatic platforms that directly connect the advertiser and the publisher offer a more complete overview of the challenges they face.
An optimized unified approach
Traditionally, there have been various tools to connect advertiser demand to publisher pages. Publishers can use a range of sell-side platforms (SSP) to organize their inventory into advertising spaces and deals, while advertisers can use demand-side platforms (DSPs) to organize their creative and campaigns. PHCs and DSP are generally platforms specializing in the supply or demand for advertising space. However, some end-to-end platforms include both SSPs and DSPs, which are able to communicate directly without any information passing through elsewhere. By using an end-to-end platform, publishers and advertisers have more control. If on the one hand advertisers and publishers probably do not want to give up the advantages of programmatic buying, on the other hand they certainly want to maximize their control and minimize the number of intermediaries in the chain. It is by offering this choice to advertisers and publishers that End-to-End platforms can excel.
A platform supported by cutting-edge expertise
Although user privacy in the programmatic advertising has been considered a sensitive subject under the exclusive responsibility of the publishers, this is in fact not the case. Advertisers have their own responsibility to ensure that their users’ choices are respected and that their data is protected. This is where end-to-end platforms are relevant because they are accompanied by consultants who have a global vision of the advertising chain. They follow the complete delivery of an advertisement, from request to final display. On the one hand, they are able to understand the practices and expectations of publishers regarding the data of their users. On the other hand, they understand the needs of advertisers who strive to increase the return on their investments, while ensuring that the consumer remains at the center of attention. Although consultants are not responsible for their clients’ privacy choices, they have the knowledge to support the decision-making process.
Challenges common to all industry players
In some ways, privacy challenges are at odds with the concept of competition. Privacy-conscious publishers are increasingly focusing on first-party data and internal data management practices. Advertisers, too, are encouraged to communicate directly with their publishing partners, cutting out the middleman.
As the case of the APD, the Belgian Data Protection Authority, has shown, the total number of actors having access to users’ personal data is a real concern and publishers, as well as advertisers, are aware. Using an End-to-End platform is an easy and effective way to limit this number of partners. At all levels, the emphasis must be on choice: regulations, guidelines, consumer reactions and technical privacy frameworks. How they should be interpreted, implemented and integrated is entirely up to the ecosystem as a whole.