In today’s privacy-first world, , cookie-based targeting has been a central pillar that both advertisers and publishers have relied on heavily for decades. According to a Deloitte survey, the average projected revenue risk ranged from around $91 million to $203 million per year, with some companies risking upward of $300 million in revenue. A Google study showed that for the top 500 global publishers, the average publisher revenue decreased by 52% with a median per-publisher decline of 64%.

Publishers who have exclusively relied on third-party cookies have begun to feel the heat. Much like advertisers, publishers have been evaluating other strategies to help them grow their revenue while remaining privacy-compliant. Beyond business-as-usual, the progressive loss of signal and reach of cookies presents publishers an opportunity to future-proof their business and generate new revenue streams. This approach is not just a short-term fix, but a sustainable, long-term strategy to future-proof the business against privacy changes.

How are publishers riding the Data Privacy-First World wave?

Publishers are looking to continue to expand their readership and audience trust and audience trust in a privacy-first world, where privacy compliance and transparent data usage are becoming paramount. While large tech companies have traditionally dominated the advertising space, publishers are now taking more control over their ad inventories through privacy-compliant solutions.

​​Topics API is the Privacy Sandbox entrant that was initially introduced as an alternative to third-party cookies, to enable privacy-first, interest-based advertising. To make the most out of Topics, publishers and advertisers must use them with other tools to develop more innovative marketing strategies that cater to the new-age audiences.

Leveraging First-Party Data for Better Targeting

While third-party data has been a staple for targeting, publishers are increasingly focusing on first-party data, which is more reliable and privacy-compliant. Information that audiences willingly share can be used alongside Topics for a more tailored and relevant targeting approach. First-party data is a gold mine that publishers can leverage to monetize audiences and boost revenue numbers. Secure collation of first-party data is essential to collate privacy-safe media that can be monetized by publishers, but they must be cautious with personal data, ensuring that they only use it with user consent and in accordance with privacy regulations with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to avoid potential legal risks.

"The amount of data publishers can collect from first-party sources is growing, allowing for more personalized and relevant ad targeting".

Evaluating and Upgrading Tech Stacks to Enable Privacy-Safe Data Collaboration

Publishers are working towards evaluating their current tech stacks and upgrading them to create more data clean rooms that enable privacy-safe media collaboration. Publishers can collaborate with advertisers and monetize the data by giving them access to the valuable repository. Effective consent management is crucial for publishers to ensure that the data they collect is used appropriately and in compliance with privacy regulations.

AI-Powered Contextual Advertising: Boosting Monetization and User Experience

AI-powered contextual advertising offers publishers a cookie-free solution that aces targeting and better utilizes first-party data. Contextual ads are proving to be a game-changer for publishers by enabling them to navigate privacy regulations and create a sustainable monetization strategy.

• Contextual AI analyzes the written content of a page and empowers publishers to provide advertisers with an environment that offers the highest levels of brand safety and suitability. Machine Learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities of contextual advertising enable understanding of nuances in language and the ability to semantically interpret editorial content. Brand suitability bridges the divide between risk and opportunity and provides context-based protections for advertisers and publishers. Brand safety ensures they steer clear of any negative or harmful content that can impact user perception and damage the reputation of publishers or advertisers.
• With contextual ads, publishers can have a higher impact on users as they are relevant ads displayed alongside high-quality content. The ads are more relevant and impactful as they speak more directly and personally with the readers, increasing the likelihood of users paying attention and engaging with contextual ads. Publishers who host contextual ads unlock a new, steady revenue stream as the relevance to the content users are currently consuming increases brand recall. Better brand recall and ROI on dollars spent increase the chances of advertisers continuing to buy inventory. By using AI-powered contextual advertising, publishers can expect higher conversion rates as ads are more relevant to the audience’s interests.
• Contextual advertising also enables publishers to enhance the overall user experience. Contextual ads are more relevant to the real-time interests of users, are less intrusive, and do not hamper their browsing experience. A more pleasant overall experience will help publishers grow their readership as users are more likely to come back and recommend them to other readers. It allows publishers to focus on reaching and engaging the right audience, ensuring that the ads displayed are highly relevant and impactful.

Collaborating with a contextual partner will help publishers unearth new monetization opportunities and provide a superior user experience. Engaging creatives, content alignment, and intelligent ad placement ensure contextual ads are seamlessly integrated with the on-page content, thus maximizing visibility, impact, and revenue potential.

Embracing a Privacy-First World for Sustainable Growth

We have partnered with over 11,900+ digital publishers across the globe, and our combination of relevant data and new-age technology helps them make the most out of every ad placement in a privacy-first world. 80% higher viewability, 15% longer in-view time, and 1.3% more click-throughs; our unique, data-backed targeting strategies and innovative methods like custom AI, backed by our in-house contextual AI solution, Liz, have delivered exceptional results when compared to exclusively relying on cookie-based targeting practices.