Delays in third-party cookie deprecation, iOS 14.5, CCPA, GDPR, and other privacy regulations have kept us on our toes. But what can we expect in the data and Ad Tech space in the next five years?
Jess Simpson is the Senior Vice President of Verified Tech and Identity at Publicis Media. With 16 years of experience in marketing and product strategy, advertising technology, customer-centric platforms, and thought leadership, Jess is the driving force behind the verified and the consulting teams within her company. Her job comprises structuring business and technical strategies, business use cases and requirements, privacy by design frameworks and architectures. In her spare time, she listens to podcasts to stay on top of her data and tech game.
If you want to hear about Jess’ predictions for the future of identity and tech, make sure you tune in to Infutor’s latest episode of Identity Revolution as she breaks down four major concepts that will, according to her, create a shift in the data and technology space.
What led her to become the SVP, Verified Tech and Identity
“I didn’t have any intention to be in the role that I’m in now. It just found me. I started my career in journalism, and communications and then, by way of curiosity, ended up in this role. I saw it as an area that needed to be figured out. It seems like just the gap that was always where the questions came from the clients, and it always was around measurement and data and technology.
And so that’s where I ended up gravitating towards throughout my entire career, whether it was product marketing or solutions engineering, and then now with consulting. But it’s all been the same thing. And it’s been figuring out how to solve client issues using technology and data, and then pairing that with strategy.”
The importance of organizing first-party data internally
“Invest in the technology that is going to centralize your first-party data so that you can create not just fragmented experiences for the consumers that are privacy-first experiences, but holistic experiences for the consumer.
That’s going to enable this centrifugal force that puts your customer first and helps you get your house in order. But it also enables you to have better facilitation with other second and third parties, be that publishers or brands or what we’re starting to see as what we call data unions.”
There’s more to tech than waiting around for Google
“I think those four types of concepts, and again, it’s hard to test some of those right now ’cause the only one that’s really in the market in full is the publisher driven solution, but there are some AI tests that we’re trying to build out and experiments with Google’s and others. There’s just so much opportunity. It’s just trying to simplify it and frame it up – client by client – and tether it to use cases, so they don’t get overwhelmed.
But people should be encouraged and excited. It’s not just Google, and it’s not just live ramp and ETS. There is so much more out there that you can do that’s not just publisher-specific. So don’t sit around and wait for Google to make their announcement. There’s more we can be doing.”
[6:52] “One of the things I think people are peeling back on is this urgency to do something because cookieless is delayed for two years, and I think that is not a good strategy. And so the easiest thing is sometimes the hardest thing because you have a lack of motivation behind that. But the one thing that I tell my clients all the time is, ‘Get your house in order before you do anything else.'”
[09:09] “Let’s get your consent strategy in place. Let’s get your infrastructure and technology foundation in place, and so you have all of those pieces, and your house is in order so that whatever comes in is clean and sound.”
[15:09] “I like what I’m seeing from the publisher ecosystem in terms of what’s coming out of there. It is a cross-publisher. It’s not a crossover. But it’s good. It’s auction-based. It takes a lot of onus away from the agencies and brands.”
