Apple are about to roll out IoS 14.5 and with it, Apples new App Tracking Transparency (ATT) features.
The change itself is a good one for the general populace. Apple are giving users the explicit choice to opt in, or out of tracking in all apps, and with it improving the control that users have over their data.
Most apps that contain ads will be affected by this change, but at this stage what’s unclear is what percentage of IOS users will choose to opt out of being tracked. Publishers and Advertisers alike are watching closely and will be ready to make changes – and perhaps shift some focus to Android – if required.
Facebook is upset!
There is no doubt that the change is likely to have the largest affect on Facebook.
They kicked up a huge stink last year when the initial plans were announced and have continued to complain to Apple publicly about the change. Mark Zuckerberg has said that the changes will hurt the growth of “millions of businesses around the world”, and Facebook have recently announced plans to proactively convince users to give consent. (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/01/facebook-strikes-back-against-apple-ios-14-idfa-privacy-change.html)
Change for Advertisers
If you advertise on Facebook, then this change will affect you too. What are the core changes?
- Attribution windows are going to change. Say goodbye to 28-day attribution windows, we’re going to be focussing on 7 day windows moving forwards, and unlikely to have much in the way of ‘view through’ tracking. Facebook will try and model to make up for lost data, but this will not be perfect.
- Retargeting – targeting and custom audiences are likely to be smaller – but this depends how many users opt out.
- Aggregated Event Measurement – To minimise the impact of data loss Facebook is rolling out a new tracking methodology with an 8-conversion limit per domain – this could be 8 conversion, or pixel-based events. The 8 conversions will be ranked in order of priority and only the highest priority action will be tracked. The domain owner will need to create the list of up to 8 actions and prioritise them.
- Facebook pixels need to be tied to ‘verified’ domains.
What should we do short Term?
- Firstly – check your domain is verified, and if not, get that done as soon as you can. you’ll need this to make sure you can tier your Aggregated Event Measurements.
- Export your historical 28-day view and click and 7-day view through data. This will be available in the API moving forwards, but not in the interface.
- Make sure bidding strategies are tied towards new aggregated conversions, and not to pixel events that you wont be able to use moving forwards
How big an impact is this going to have?
At this stage it is hard to tell. Partly because we don’t know how many users will opt out.
Certainly, Advertisers will have less visibility than they’ve had previously, and the Aggregated Event Measurement is likely to take some getting used to. Advertisers will likely have smaller audience sizes for some targeting audiences, so we may feel that in our performance numbers initially.
But just like with the GDPR, and other big changes to the digital world we have faced before, advertisers will find ways to get things done. It is a level playing field – we are all in the same boat, so its down to advertiser to review the impacts to their own campaigns and make the changes work for them as best the can.
To find out how we can help, why not give Coast Digital a call on 0845 450 2086. Our specialists are experienced in helping clients to find the true value of campaigns, getting them well on the way to meeting their business goals.