Mediaboss Marketing

Googles data centre. What effect will data collection and privacy have in 2015? Photograph: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA / Rex Features

2014 saw a rapid increase in public awareness of digital privacy and identity. As a result, private organisations and policymakers everywhere are clambering to get-to-grips with the topic, as consumers take action (pdf). With this in mind, what can we expect from digital media and advertising in 2015?

Much is made of these two companies in the fight for brand cash, but lest we forget there is an ocean of difference between the two. Despite this chasm and increased scrutiny on Google and Facebook in the EU you wont see either cool their jets, particularly when it comes to mobile, which has a combined share of 75% of brand spend.

Data management platforms (DMPs) which collect, integrate, manage and activate data for marketers will struggle under Googles expanding directive prohibiting third parties from firing tracking pixels within the Google Display Network (GDN). This filtering process between those who can and cant understand consumer interactions with Google advertising can be seen as a tightening of controls on data collection, but it also means the marketers perspective of consumer activity will be further defined through Googles lens, leading to more money and power for Google.

This polarisation will only exacerbate with Facebooks development of Atlas, increasing the propagation of the Facebook identity into publishing environments, enabling them to garner more behavourial data . Never one to give without receiving, Facebooks audience platform will take a small cut from everything the publishers do along with their data, while allowing them to compete in the world of cross device. This will only superficially increase options for marketers seeking device agnostic solutions.

At the heart of both Google and Facebooks strategy is their ability to link interactions throughout the consumer journey to a single user profile and ID (known as Omniview capabilities a term well be hearing much more of). Their reliance on personally identifiable information (PII) to create a single consumer view becomes increasingly evident, and as advertisers and agencies open their minds to more privacy-friendly identification possibilities, the conversation around identification will take another dimension: how much do we need to know and how much are we allowed to know to promote a product?

The changing data protection laws in the EU, which aim to drive consumer choice and control to the forefront, help frame the discussion:

Respect opt-outs: Consumers must be able to decide who collects their data and have the ability to withdraw from such services. The upcoming rollout of AdChoices to mobile is a significant step. The move was described to us by Nick Stringer, Internet Advertising Bureaus UK director of regulatory affairs as, extending the principles of transparency and control to the mobile environment, and providing a consistent consumer experience across the devices they use.

Deliver anonymity: As our personal lives and digital identities further converge, consumers are increasingly aware of being tracked. According to Ipsos MORIs Global Trends Survey, 59% of British adults are happy for brands to hold information on them as long as its anonymised and cant be linked back.

Put data owners in control: Google and Facebook are starting to ring fence the industry, but they are not the audience owner in every scenario and it is up to media owners to take control, for the sake of their future.

Continued here:
How will data change the media and advertising landscape in 2015?