Jennifer Walker, Vice President, Digital Media
overview
The digital marketing landscape continues to undergo significant change due to changing trends and tightening regulations that prioritize consumer privacy. Third-party cookies, which are small pieces of data stored on a user's browser by websites other than the one the user is currently visiting, are set to be phased out by major companies such as Google and Apple. In February 2020, Google announced plans to remove third-party cookies from Chrome by 2024. However, this week, Google announced an updated approach that will not remove third-party cookies from Chrome, but will instead allow users to make informed choices across their web browsing and adjust them at any time.
The update follows similar moves by other major browsers, including Apple's Safari, which introduced Intelligent Tracking Prevention in 2017, and Mozilla's Firefox, which launched Enhanced Tracking Protection in 2019, both of which restrict third-party cookies. These changes, along with Apple's 2021 iOS update, allow users to opt out of being tracked by apps and require marketers to track consumer behavior to deliver targeted ads. As digital marketing evolves toward an evolution that relies less on third-party cookies, the industry must find new ways to balance effective advertising with consumer privacy demands.
Targeting alternatives and challenges
As of early 2024, 56% of U.S. marketers were testing alternatives to third-party cookies with a focus on maximizing value for existing customers, improving customer retention, and leveraging first-party data (Experian Marketing Services, 2024). However, some marketers are slow to respond due to uncertainty about how to handle the changes and challenges that come with reduced reliance on third-party cookies.
First-Party Data and the Learfield Advantage
Anticipating future challenges posed by changing privacy concerns, Learfield has been focused on protecting its partners from disruptions to audience targeting and attribution. Leveraging first-party data allows Learfield to not only maintain but enhance its audience targeting capabilities. Learfield has access to over 150 million reachable college fans, 90 million of which are identifiable, providing a unique opportunity to connect with this audience through personalized, meaningful messaging.
Implementing Identity Solutions with LiveRamp
Learfield partnered with LiveRamp to implement an identity solution that maps audience profiles to RampIDs. These unique IDs enable Learfield's digital team to segment, analyze, and activate campaigns on behalf of its property partners. The solution ensures compliance with privacy regulations and enables robust audience targeting and measurement.
Benefits of Learfield's Identity Solutions
Learfield's identity solutions offer numerous benefits, including improved cross-device tracking, enhanced segmentation with first-party data, powerful measurement capabilities, and cost-efficiencies in media buying, helping you maintain an effective digital marketing strategy in the ever-changing digital marketing world.
methodology
To test the reliability of our identity solution, we created a 12-month test. We selected eight property partnerships of different sizes and ranges of brand partnerships to allow us to test a range of campaign types. We aggregated audiences across these eight properties through both pixel-based audiences and RampID-identified audiences. We then ran parallel media strategies across the two audience segments over the course of a year.
Callout: Scorecard
• 8 property audiences
• 12 months
• Viewer numbers doubled
• = Stable engagement rate
• CPMs decreased by 22%
• Cost per click decreased by 17.5%
result
Through validation and analysis of test results, Learfield expanded its identity solution to create 180 million RampID records for its sports fan audiences, and is now integrating these audiences into media and analytics efforts across the enterprise.
Future-proof your digital marketing campaigns
As the digital marketing landscape continues to evolve, identity solutions play a pivotal role in helping organizations adapt to the ever-evolving future of digital targeting. Leveraging robust identity resolution capabilities allows marketers to maintain continuity of audience targeting and measurement even as third-party cookies are phased out. Learfield's eager adoption of LiveRamp's identity solution demonstrates the significant benefits of investing in this technology early on.
