Video monetization has benefited greatly from third-party cookies. Leading brands and publishers depend on them to earn truly jaw-dropping profits. Yet all good things must end, and cookies are no exception. Read on for insights on how you can survive the post-third-party cookies era.
How video monetization currently work
At the moment, video monetization relies on the accumulation of user information. Publishers use the advantage of internet advertising to boost their revenues. All they need is to have a large follower base, which is acquired by producing rich and captivating content. This content needs to be original and licensable.
In internet advertising, publishers make use of cookies. This allows them to target users who are interested in their content, hence saving a lot of capital. They can plan, pick proper media, determine persuasion factors, etc. This helps them to grow their audience and earn more from their publications.
You can also learn about video monetization methods and how to efficiently monetize your app or channel on CTV in our previous posts.
Changes that could impact video monetization
Cookies gave advertisers & publishers a breakthrough in the ad-tech business, but that is about to change. Recently, Google has announced that it’s going to shut off cookies in Chrome, one of the world’s leading web browsers, in 2022.
Google is not the first to make such a move. It all began a few years ago, beginning with tech companies such as Apple. What triggered cookie-blocking were user privacy concerns after the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data-sharing scandal. This event largely impacted online regulations and user behaviour, prompting tech giants such as Apple to provide a timely response.
The shutdown of cookies by Google will have a huge impact on the ad-tech business. To survive it, publishers will need to find alternative means of collecting user data. That alternative method will put publishers in a strong position to monetize their resources, as demand for brands to reach out to new audiences through reliable means will continue to grow.
How will video monetization be affected by this impending change?
The death of the cookies will have a huge impact mostly on publishers. The change will bring the following challenges:
》It will be impossible to control the number of times a visitor is shown an ad. This could annoy visitors.
》Publishers won’t be able to produce a user list for serving personalized adverts (ad addressability). This may cause a drastic increase in the price of programmatic cost per thousand (CPM), especially on unrecognized webs. Targeting users on the internet for ad campaigns will cease.
》It will become harder to test the efficacy of ads. Testing usually allows publishers to plan, choose proper media, determine persuasion factors, make a proper appeal, etc.
How will publishers survive the aftermath?
- Adaptation to future methods of how to monetize videos
Connected TV could save publishers from a lot of trouble. While ad tech organisations work on improving the means of advertising, they can also involve technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML). These technologies will significantly improve the future of advertising by improving every aspect of monetization, from creative-content matching to detailed user analysis and more.
- Creation of relationships with advertisers
Having access to first-party data is one of the ways you can survive this coming era. Already, giants that include the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, etc. have begun leveraging first party-data. First-party data is information that’s obtained directly from the audience (site visitors, customers, etc.)
Creation of relationships with audiences
It’s time for publishers to catch up and begin to use Connected TV (CTV) & Out-Of-Home (OOH) advertising. By the way, none of these platforms use cookies. These are the sort of platforms that will boom as user privacy policies become stringent.
Video monetization via CTV & OTT: What should you know?
Google believes it’s easy to use first-party cookies to learn more about users. For Google, this may indeed be a feasible strategy, because it has sufficient first-party data and resources. However, the same cannot be said for the majority of websites. Most websites cannot obtain enough data from first-party cookies alone.
Advanced TV (ATV) advertising on CTV & OTT is the best solution in this case. ATV advertising reaches consumers via their TVs, as opposed to computers. ATV advertising uses IPs rather than hashed emails. Basically, the IP address substitutes as the identifier in the cookie.
CTV & OTT allows publishers to provide ads without the use of cookies. You can find the majority of ads on Advanced TV on sale through a PMP (Private Marketplace). Additionally, it’s also possible for advertisers to put their adverts up alongside TV shows.
Key takeaways
Users have always campaigned for improved privacy and security, and more transparency from internet giants such as Google. Google answered, and will now block third-party cookies. As of yet, there is no guaranteed substitute for third-party cookies. But tech leaders are brainstorming viable alternative options. Publishers and advertisers can also consider this as an opportunity to move to ATV advertising.