• by Dave Morgan , Featured Contributor, August 22, 2024

There is a lot of talk in ad tech these days about user identity, and Google’s decision to leave browser cookies alone doesn’t seem to have muted it at all.

For sure, a big reason is the growth of connected TVs as channels for the delivery of digital advertising and the fact that of most of the major players in that ecosystem -- TV device manufacturers, premium video publishers and video streaming services -- have all been loath to indiscriminately expose their user data to the ad-tech market the same way so many companies did in the web and mobile media worlds.

No more.

A number of ad-tech players -- including the largest DSP -- have been trotting out offerings to CTV ecosystem players to supplement or enhance their user identity management systems or user sign-ons. Why? Well, more identity in the hands of ad tech means more granular targeting, more granular measurement, more margin, higher rates and more lock-in.

Of course, it’s all about creating a better experience for the publishers, the advertisers and the users, right? No. That might be part of the pitch, but as we well know from ad tech’s history, offerings like these are usually all about me (the ad tech me) and not what is good for publishers and users.

What we’re seeing with the ad-tech-driven distribution of new single-sign-ons and enhanced authenticated identity looks a lot like Facebook Connect, which wasn’t really about making single-sign on life easy for users. It was all about following users everywhere they went on the web (or on their mobile devices), and leveraging that data in what developed into the most powerful and profitable performance ad network the world has ever seen: Facebook Audience Network (FAN).

Why did publishers willingly give Facebook all of their user data? Publishers participated in the beginning because they got paid to be part of it. But, over time, they got paid a lot less, but had become addicted to the incremental revenue from FAN and found it hard to unplug.

Are we about to see a redux of FAN on CTV, just from a bunch of other players? We might. Is it likely going to be driven because of a real desire to improve the experience for publishers and viewers? Don’t count on it.

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