Apple Privacy Changes: Facebook is in trouble

4 Min Read

At the end of April, Apple released their much anticipated iOS 14.5 update to the public. The new iOS included the ability for consumers to opt out of tracking for ad targeting purposes, and (to the surprise of no one) this feature immediately became very popular. According to data from Verizon-owned Flurry Analytics, almost every Apple consumer has been choosing to turn on restricted ad tracking. The rate among U.S. consumers who are still willing to be tracked was 4% on launch day, and has since fallen even further to only 3%. 

Facebook Privacy Woes

Facebook already knew they were in trouble once this Apple feature went into effect. Ever since this update was first announced, Facebook has been campaigning against it. Back in December, the company even released a series of full-page ads in major newspapers that decried the need for such privacy updates. Facebook’s argument to consumers is that opting out of ad tracking will affect the ability of companies like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter to remain free-of-charge for their users. 

And with Facebook’s fears being realized due to such a large number of consumers opting-out of ad tracking, many advertisers are looking to move their budgets. In an interview with Fast Company, AppsFlyer’s U.S. president and general manager Brian Quinn described how this will change the advertising industry moving forward, “A lot of these changes are forcing the industry to advance quite quickly into more technologies that are better for consumers from a privacy perspective, and forcing us to innovate faster.” Ultimately, these advertisers will need to find other ways to target consumers and measure their campaigns without having the ability to track users through their mobile devices.

Enter Performance TV

One channel that brands can definitely count on to weather all of these privacy changes in the world of advertising is Connected TV. While some still see CTV as an extension of the more linear TV advertising, we have found it to be most effective when used as a direct-response performance channel. In fact, a report from Hulu found that direct-to-consumer shoppers already spend 70% more time streaming TV each week than they do on social media sites. 

Performance TV allows advertisers to combine the impact of direct-response video campaigns run on big-screens with the attribution and targeting available through digital channels. Just like those digital channels: 

• Advertisers can track cross-device campaign performance in Google Analytics to measure their full impact. 
• They can retarget site visitors to ensure that their Connected TV ads are reaching the most interested consumers, and even extend those campaigns to reach the same viewers on other devices.
• They can target 3rd party audiences via integrations with LiveRamp and other trusted data providers, unlocking audience segments that can be broken down by interests, demographics, geolocation, and more.

And with the growth of CTV advertising expected to reach $13.41 billion in 2021, it seems that advertisers are already taking notice of the benefits of running their campaigns through this channel. 

What This Means for Advertisers

The issues that Facebook is facing due to Apple’s iOS 4.5 privacy changes don’t apply when it comes to running campaigns on Connected TV devices, so marketers won’t miss a beat if they switch to advertising through streaming TV ads. Advertisers who once leaned on Facebook for performance campaigns can launch with the same strategies, target desirable audiences, and drive measurable performance—all during premium, ad-supported channels provided by well-known networks on Connected TV. Ultimately, this is a major opportunity for advertisers looking to keep utilizing the digital capabilities they are used to, but through the power and prestige associated with television.

Sign Up for the Connected TV Report

Subscribe to the report Apple, Amazon, NBC and more use to get their CTV news.