iOS 14 and Digital Marketing: What Should You Expect?

iOS 14 and digital marketing have had some big updates recently. Namely, opt-in options with this new operating system will change the effectiveness of ad targeting forever. 

Here’s the scoop on what these updates look like and how Pattern89 customers will handle them. 

Is this really an iOS 14 Ad-Pocalypse?

How Do iOS 14 Updates Impact Digital Marketing? 

Apple updated the rules around their “Identifier for Advertisers.” This IDFA is a persistent ID used by mobile devices running an Apple Operating system (iOS, iPadOS, tvOS). This ID gets shared with app developers, ad platforms, & mobile measurement providers, and it strengthens targeting & delivery of personalized advertising.

So what do the updates to Apple’s IDFA look like?

When iOS 14 is installed on a user’s device, apps that wish to access that user’s IDFA must request to do so. The user is then shown a dialog like this sample provided by Apple:

If the user does not opt in, the app will not get access to the IDFA thereafter. 

This could potentially be disruptive to digital marketing because without access to IDFAs, user-level targeting will be severely limited.

When these targeting capabilities go away, that can mean:

  • Non-targeted ads for users
  • Lower conversion rates
  • Worse results for advertisers
  • Less revenue for publishers

This could potentially lead to publishers going out of business, creating paywalls for content, or introducing more ad units to their apps/sites to make of for lost revenue. None of these are idyllic, especially considering how ad targeting has historically been handled. 

What Will Pattern89 Customers Experience? 

Both brand and agency customers of Pattern89 will see some changes. 

Note – changes related to App Install campaigns are not listed here, but you can review the full

Event Limits: Conversion events will be limited to 8 per domain. 

  • You will not need to make changes to the pixel or your Conversions API implementation.
  • Event selection will be done in Events Manager beginning early 2021.

Dynamic ads may suffer in performance.  

  • As more users opt out of tracking with iOS 14, you may see performance and audience sizes decrease.
  • DPA retargeting ads will be particularly affected.

Some attribution window options are removed. 28-day click-through, 28-day view-through, and 7-day view-through attribution windows will not be supported. Historical data for these windows will remain accessible via the Ads Insights API.

Attribution Window Selection at ad set level: 

  • We will support a new attribution setting at the ad set level.
  • This can be accessed during campaign creation. 
  • This attribution setting ensures that the conversions we measure are the same ones used to inform campaign optimization.
  • It will allow for increased flexibility and clarity when analyzing ad performance. 
  • We will introduce a new API parameter to allow for the querying of results based on this new attribution setting.

Targeting Limitations: The sizes of app connections, app activity Custom Audiences, and website Custom Audiences may decrease

If you want to learn how your brand or agency can roll with the punches of iOS 14, join our webinar on Jan. 11. Pattern89 Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder, Jeff Cunning, will show you how your brand can still survive and thrive. RSVP here.

The post iOS 14 and Digital Marketing: What Should You Expect? appeared first on Pattern89.

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