There has been an approximately 15-20% reduction in the availability of audience data within the programmatic ecosystem in European markets since GDPR took effect – with its legal enforcement starting in May last year. This is according to Philip Smolin, Chief Strategy Officer at Amobee, a company that supports media planning using analytics and proprietary audience data, including with programmatic technologies. Amobee acquired the assets of Videology last year. “The 15-20% figure is a range and the impact is different according to verticals, like auto (vehicles) or retail,” he told Future TV Advertising Forum last month.
Smolin believes the impact of GDPR places broadcasters in a strong position when it comes to enabling the kind of data-driven, audience-based media buying that marketers have become used to in the non-TV digital universe. “The reduction in data has put additional pressure on programmatic advertising strategies, as there is less data to work with,” he pointed out. Smolin flagged the opportunity for broadcasters to generate more first-party data themselves and share it with advertising clients and agencies (in a privacy compliant manner) to help buyers expand their audience-buying strategies.
He noted the growth in broadcaster digital services and the way this creates a direct relationship with consumers. Broadcasters have the ability to hold conversations with users and manage their privacy options, which leads to a powerful data relationship. Not only does this generate new insights into consumer behaviour and their profiles; it also means the data is GDPR-safe and remains safeguarded over time. “This is foundational for activating a data-driven strategy,” he says.
You can read about the opportunity for broadcasters to help marketers scale audience-based buying beyond what Amobee views as the current constraints of non-TV digital media in a separate story. That report is here.
