Re-thinking measurement in the advertising dynamic landscape

For over two decades, marketers have relied on user-level tracking to understand campaign effectiveness in driving business goals and leverage these insights for informed optimization decisions.

However, traditional media measurement methods sometimes fail to capture the complexities of today's fragmented media landscape. With the advent of privacy laws and signal loss, which spans from the deprecation of third-party cookies to the restrictions on device ID measurement and the imminent obfuscation of IP addresses, marketers are navigating uncharted territory. All these factors have made it increasingly difficult to achieve the same level of granular tracking that once formed the foundation of performance marketing.

Adapting measurement to today’s needs

As the media landscape evolves, so must advertisers. 

As Darwin famously said, 'It is not the strongest of the species that survives, but the most adaptable to change.' Advertising is a perfect example of this principle in action. In a rapidly evolving landscape, those who adapt and embrace change are the ones who thrive and succeed.

Measurement is a gray area in the ever-evolving advertising ecosystem, but it’s a critical use case that we need to find ways to solve. Without this foundation, advertisers will be left with many blindspots, severely limiting their ability to connect touchpoints to measure business outcomes such as sales. Even the most sophisticated buying processes cannot deliver successful results without the backbone of measurement. That’s why marketers must leverage every tool and methodology—old and new—to unlock meaningful insights and drive success in this complex environment.

Keep relying on deterministic measurement when possible

Digital environments are becoming increasingly diverse, with a growing trend of non-addressable audiences. However, there will still be cases where users are logged in and have provided consent for tracking. In these scenarios, maintaining user-level attribution and measurement is crucial, as it provides the granularity needed for informed media decisions.

Investing in first-party (1P) data and establishing a value exchange with your consumers is essential for success. By working with identity partners, you can connect the dots in a privacy-centric way, even in environments where users are logged in. This approach ensures the continuation of user-level measurement and benefits significantly from the evolution of commerce media networks. One powerful example of how first-party data can be effectively leveraged, offering significant advantages for advertisers, is Retail Media Networks. By utilizing deterministic consumer data from direct relationships, Retail Media Networks provide access to high-intent audiences and create direct links to transactions, making them a valuable tool for advertisers seeking measurable impact. Traditionally, attribution models and proxy metrics have been used to measure incrementality. However, closed-loop measurement now enables a deeper understanding of omnichannel campaign effectiveness, allowing real-time adjustments to improve performance.

Closed-loop measurement offers precise insights into consumer behavior across touchpoints, bridging the gap between digital campaigns and online or offline sales. With ongoing advancements in incrementality models, brands and agencies can better evaluate the true value of retail media and make smarter investment decisions. This is just the beginning of a more sophisticated era in retail media measurement.

Experimenting with Innovative Technologies

The reality is that the majority of inventory will soon be non-addressable, and 1:1 tracking will no longer be as prevalent. This shift means marketers must adopt new methods of measurement and embrace a mindset that focuses on the bigger picture. Instead of relying solely on granular tracking, the progression of AI—still in its early stages—holds significant promise. The best applications of this technology are yet to come, and the use of aggregated data will empower advertisers to gain valuable insights, enabling them to plan thoughtful and data-driven strategies.

Bottom line, advertisers will need to incorporate a mix of methodologies to gain a holistic view of campaign performance. The adoption of new innovative approaches will be instrumental to preserve meaningful measurement and visibility into conversions across environments.

How Yahoo DSP can help you

At Yahoo, we’ve developed proprietary solutions for an identity-constrained world. Yahoo Identity Solutions provides measurement tools for both addressable and non-addressable environments. With Yahoo ConnectID, we enable one-to-one measurement in cookieless settings when users log in and we have integrations with all the leading measurement providers.

Additionally, our commerce offering prioritizes key partnerships with commerce companies in combination with Yahoo proprietary purchase data to provide access to valuable audiences and key measurement capabilities.

For non-addressable environments, Yahoo Next-Gen Measurement leverages AI trained on logged-in user conversions to infer outcomes. Available in the Yahoo DSP, it bridges measurement gaps and delivers actionable insights.

An instrumental part of this approach is also staying open to adopting other innovative industry solutions too. Come talk to us, and we'll help you navigate measurement effectively in the transforming advertising ecosystem.

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