Publishers have an identity problem. Index Exchange is seeking to solve it through a partnership with Target’s Roundel.
In June, Index Exchange announced its partnership with Roundel, in an approach to programmatic advertising that uses Target customer data sets to inform media buys. According to Andrew Casale, president and CEO of Index Exchange, the partnership “brings addressability through first party data like never before.”
“Traditionally, addressability and attribution all came down to the cookie. But the cookie is kind of going away,” says Casale, speaking with BeetTV during Advertising Week. “In the new world, first party reigns supreme and Roundel has rich data from their guests, which is enabling a new paradigm in addressability.”
For publishers, that means audiences can be created based on shopping behaviors by Target customers, including in categories like CPG that have struggled to access first party data and figure out addressability. That attracts business from marketers. The overall goal is to reach audiences proactively, not passively. According to Casale, traditional tracking through the cookie was about passively collecting data.
“That doesn’t roll anymore,” says Casale. “There’s a platform war at play, the consumer is rising in every way, and control is of the utmost importance.”
Platforms currently have the advantage. Companies like Google, Amazon, Netflix and Facebook can collect customer data through authentication – customers have to log in and identify themselves. Media companies that offer free content have given up customer identification. Casale believes that that will start to change, if media companies want to survive.
“Some form of authentication will come to bear to enable the exchange between free content and some form of identity,” says Casale. “Otherwise, we are concerned our ability to drive marketing outcomes will be compromised, which will certainly have implications on our ability to drive revenue and sustainable economics for a media company.”
This video is part of a series of interviews conducted during Advertising Week New York, 2019. This series is co-production of Beet.TV and Advertising Week. The series is sponsored by Roundel, a Target company. Please see more videos from Advertising Week right here.