It’s hard to prepare for the end of third-party cookies when there’s still a full jar of them on the counter.
Google’s multiple delays to the sunsetting of third-party cookies have publishers locked in a seemingly never-ending cycle of testing potential new targeting solutions.
Meanwhile, tried-and-true signals remain very much in play.
UK-based publisher LADbible Group is testing post-cookie alternatives and building its contextual targeting capabilities. But the social-first publisher has yet to be convinced that any of these alternatives will be a truly viable replacement for the much-maligned – yet still widely used – third-party cookie.
“As an industry, when we lose the capability of using a single currency, then everybody’s in trouble,” Sherzod Rizaev, director of commercial operations at LADbible. “So, we need to find that silver bullet, that unified currency that we can trade off.”
First-party problems
The push for more privacy in digital advertising has prompted more investment in first-party-data-based targeting.
But using first-party data signals for targeting, especially if they fall under the umbrella of personally identifiable information, is arguably more invasive than using third-party-cookie-based signals, Rizaev said.
“Cookies are far less personalized than your email address, home address, name, IP address and so on,” he said. “I don’t mind a bunch of hashed numbers being used to target me versus my email address.”
Still, third-party cookies are unquestionably on the way out, so LADbible is testing just about every possible alternative out there and looking to grow its first-party data operations.
For example, LADbible is considering a paid subscription model or a paywall, but has yet to decide on the most effective method for gathering first-party data or how to take advantage of that data when it comes in.
“What would be the best value exchange with the user is still in high debate within the company,” Rizaev said. “We haven’t defined what would make users start giving us their data or how we can hash it to use with clean rooms, sync with ID providers, use it with SDA [seller-defined audiences], etcetera.”
Testing LAB(bible)
LADbible has also been testing a variety of alternative IDs, including ID5 and The Trade Desk’s UID 2.o.
But the proprietary and fragmentary nature of how alternative IDs work, with certain IDs only supported by certain DSPs, adds yet more layers of complexity, Rizaev said.
For example, LADbible uses Magnite’s Demand Manager to manage its Prebid ID providers and compare their performance to other IDs and its own cookie-based baseline. But the reality of using these alternative IDs doesn’t always match the hype.
Although DSPs might promise that using their preferred ID partner and SSP will cause publishers to see an increase in demand and higher CPMs, “to be perfectly honest, I’ve not seen that this is working,” Rizaev said.
LADbible has also been disappointed by the results it’s seen from retargeting solutions. “We’ve done various tests, particularly in the US, to see whether they can utilize their retargeting capabilities on our users, and it barely took off,” Rizaev said.
And so-called next-generation DMPs have likewise yielded underwhelming results. “They say ‘You’re going to see a 30% increase [in sales],’ and I haven’t seen that,” he said.
Oh, and Apple’s and Google’s proposed cookie replacements also leave a lot to be desired.
Apple’s SKAdNetwork 4.0 hasn’t been a major priority for LADbible because the publisher doesn’t prioritize its app business, Rizaev said, and Google’s Privacy Sandbox offerings aren’t wowing him either.
The now-defunct FLoC was a nonstarter because it didn’t meet Europe’s regulatory standards, Rizaev said, and FLoC’s replacement, Topics, is also being scrutinized by European regulators. Regardless, Rizaev isn’t convinced as of yet that Topics will be an improvement over cookie-based targeting.
Content in context
But there is one area where LADbible feels positive about the future of addressability: contextual targeting. Using its proprietary content taxonomy to categorize content across its various owned-and-operated sites has been a major priority for LADbible.
LADbible uses content tags placed within its CMS to categorize content at the page level and has site verticals dedicated to key categories, such as food, sports, gaming, tech and news, for contextual targeting at the domain level.
The contextual approach also extends to LADbible’s social media channels, which have historically been a key traffic source for the publisher. LADbible operates dedicated social media profiles for many of its individual site verticals.
If a user lands on a FOODbible article after clicking a link from the FOODbible Facebook page, LADbible can package that impression for sale to brands looking to reach cooking enthusiasts.
LADbible is also experimenting with ways to improve its on-site user experience, including integrating user experience optimization service Browsi’s solution for tailoring ad placements to individual users based on their on-site behavior.
Video monetization is another priority through an on-site integration with Connatix’s video platform. “I’m actually surprised how willing Connatix is to put me in touch with their buyers directly,” Rizaev said.
Working directly with advertisers is LADbible’s preferred approach, and the bulk of its ad business has traditionally come from direct sales. But it’s also looking to ramp up its growing programmatic business in response to buyer preferences.
For example, LADbible’s advertisers are starting to embrace programmatic direct or private marketplace (PMP) deals as opposed to direct IOs. There are challenges, though.
Managing PMPs can be costly and time-consuming for a publisher, and just because a publisher sets up a PMP for a brand doesn’t mean that buyer will actually spend through the PMP, Rizaev said.
“PMPs are not committed revenue,” Rizaev said. “And they need to be constantly serviced.”
Correction 12/14/22: A previous version of this article said LADbible is testing an individualized ad placement service provided by Browsee. The solution is actually provided by Browsi, and it is fully integrated into LADbible’s sites.
