Are CPG Advertisers Prepared for iOS 14?

Announced in late June, the iOS 14 update and associated changes are quickly approaching the advertising market. While a firm date is yet to be determined, industry experts expect Apple to launch iOS 14 in mid-September along with the iPhone 12.

Consumers may not read the fine print of each update to Apple’s operating systems, but advertisers that leverage programmatic advertising should be concerned about a new provision announced in late June. Advertisers will now have to provide consumers with more information on how they are tracked and obtain permission from each user to access their Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA).

This represents a major change for the industry; previously, advertisers could display targeted ads, track users’ locations, and use information associated with their IDFA without their express permission. Now, engaging iPhone users is about to get significantly more challenging.

What this means for:

Targeting, retargeting, and attribution

With limited access to consumer IDFAs, advertisers won’t have a persistent identifier to build profiles against, which will change how targeting works. Also, without IDFAs, advertisers will struggle to find their target audiences across mobile apps for retargeting purposes. As advertisers lose track of the consumers they’re reaching with their mobile ads, they’ll also lose the ability to attribute impressions and clicks to each user’s mobile device.

Spend efficiency

Currently, managed DSPs serve programmatic ads on behalf of many advertisers; they leverage the data that comes with mobile ad IDs for targeting purposes and provide a measure of reach and frequency. However, if few Apple users opt-in to tracking, the spend directed through these mobile DSPs will likely be just as efficient as buying inventory at random.

Consumer profiles, preferences & identifiers

Some Apple users will opt-in to share their information with advertisers and it will be tempting to use their data to segment and extrapolate their preferences to the larger population. That said, users who allow themselves to be tracked are likely to be very different from the majority, and there’s little guarantee that enough individuals will opt-in to draw significant conclusions about their preferences. Without enough users, advertisers may struggle to build out the profiles they rely on to characterize their consumers.

What can CPGs turn to?

While many industries will face a difficult adjustment period, CPG advertisers do have an alternative; contextual grocery list advertising.

Groups like AdAdapted are poised to use their existing expertise to fill the void left by the changes to programmatic advertising. While Apple users will still have to opt-in to receive narrowly targeted ads while grocery shopping, engaging grocery list app users with grocery specific advertising is still more efficient than a general mobile buy. Advertisers who reach shoppers while they’re planning and making trips to the grocery store know their products are being seen in highly contextually relevant moments.

Using a consumer’s list to determine what they prefer to buy allows advertisers to align their product promotions with users who are more likely to add their product to the grocery list. Because of this, retargeting possibilities still exist for CPGs within these apps; AdAdapted can still provide retargeting directly within its network.

AdAdapted has also developed its platform and proprietary network in a manner that is already compliant with the upcoming standards. Instead of targeting shoppers based on their IDFA, CPGs that leverage AdAdapted build out their target audiences based on category and product preferences tied directly to list building activity.

Additionally, AdAdapted expects that managing a healthy balance between Apple and Android users will allow its clients to accomplish both reach and engagement goals.

For more information on how AdAdapted can help CPG marketers navigate the changes to programmatic advertising, email info@adadapted.com or request a demo.

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