Did Apple just kill personalized, retargeted, creepy advertising?

According to the likes of IAB and other ad-tech heavyweights – yes they have. They even wrote an open-letter to Apple last month telling them as such.

According to me? Well, the technology is still available if you really want to retarget. But maybe it’s a good thing by Apple…depending on what client you are (or aren’t) using it for. Let me explain.

What’s happened?

With the iOS 11 update on Apple mobile (and soon desktop Mac) devices – it includes a new default feature dubbed ‘intelligent tracking prevention’ within all Safari browsers. This essentially prevents certain websites and publishers from tracking users around the net – taking the ability to retarget from anywhere up to 30 days TO a single 24-hour window.

So, have Apple really killed the hyper-personalized, in-your-face retargeted ad?

In truth – not really.

1.      Apple have actually been blocking third party cookies on mobile for a-while now – which is where a-lot of retargeting publishers still play (and there are still ways to get around it if you really wanted too…). Apple aren't the entire market with Android a huge player mobile player here in AU too - and Safari desktop is well behind Chrome.

2.     With the new update,  Apple are now blocking first party cookies after 24 hours too – however again, with many premium publishers now relying on frequent login data + apps, this will continue to allow for a personalized approach. Good news for a Facebook and Google too..

But this doesn't make it right or wrong. First, we need to look at the state of play with the customer – which isn’t all too positive. 

The customer experience:

1.      According to Deloitte, 70% find it intrusive when ads instantly appear for things they’ve looked for elsewhere.

2.      This is seconded by IAB, who found in the past year consumers have found mobile web advertising to be 31% more intrusive than last year.

3.      Also according to IAB, in the past year they have found mobile web advertising to be -3% less relevant than last year.

The above sentiment shows that there is an underlying issue – and in part we are helping create it. This is why ad blockers are now used by over 25% of Australian consumers, and a key reason Apple are making these changes now.

So what should we do?

My advice on retargeting, and anything to do with personalized ads, has been that it must be tailored to individual client and product need before being even considered.

There is no use having an agency or group stance on a digital product such as re-targeting when it’s effectiveness is totally dependent on the product, message and specific industry the client sits in.

In my experience, this has led to both using and not using retargeting to great effect - even if it's within similar time-frame.

1.      In one instance, a heavily price-led / offer based advertiser found retargeting tactics to have the most effective ROI and attribution due to the short-term nature of the product.

2.      In another instance, after a category and customer survey – it was deemed that using retargeting would be so annoying to the customer that it would do more harm than good, and we'd likely miss the person anyway given the purchase was so immediate.

Here’s a few things that advertisers must be mindful of:

1.      Start with your customer

Obvious but important. Critically, this will change (and likely make your decision) based on your industry, product and message you are trying to push. Some industries, like Fashion and Apparel are overloaded with retargeting which verges on creepy in all of 2 seconds. Be smarter.

As a first step – conduct an audit of the customer experiences. Run through the industry or competitor product pages similar to yours, drop off the booking funnel, and use devices such as Ghostery to see the multitude of tracking tags being used on an individual user for a product (and what for).

2.      Evaluate based on the specific product or message

Some of your products will work perfectly for retargeting or personalisation, some won’t. Think about the life-cycle of a product and use your existing product research to determine what the funnel actually is. Is it a longer life cycle? Retargeting the same user with a tailored, or different message is usually the better way to go. Tell a story, or try and convert a bigger basket size.

3.      Be holistic with your planning

We shouldn’t be looking at retargeting on its own, ever – which is the #1 mistake I see with many advertisers. Frequency, more than ever needs to be holistic across channels where possible - which is why it’s annoying to see studies that talk to a digital frequency of e.g. 9 for effect. What about everything else?

For this, the onus and responsibility lies with agency and publisher. Unfortunately, what you will see is that many retargeting publishers will try and get away with a very lax rule here – which leads to more conversions for them, but a bad experience for the customer, and not accurate effectiveness for the rest of us.

Final word:

Does a digital tactic such as retargeting still have a place within your digital buys? The answer is..it depends.

It can be super effective, and efficient for ROI and business goals. But we should be looked at specifically the product, message and industry first. Does it work for this particular client? Retargeting should never be looked at on its own.

The media landscape has changed, as we know. No longer can we consider one TV ad to do the job. Likewise, we can no longer think a single retargeting or digital ad is going to do the job either.

Think holistically. It’s naive to think that one ad can garner attention, let alone intention. 

So, thanks Apple...maybe.