The advertising world can definitely say that there was a before-and-after Facebook. With the appearance of this social media, third parties were able to collect some of the most detailed information about consumer behavior, of which nobody had access until now. This scaled target ads up to a very different level.
Rumors and complaints about user information and privacy have been coming and going for quite a while now, but the Cambridge Analytica leak was definitely one to shake the branches. Researcher Aleksandr Kogan created an app allowing the extraction of data from Facebook users around 2013. Back then, this topic wasn’t as regulated — a situation that allowed data to be much more expansive. Later, Kogan shared this information with Cambridge Analytica without due authorization.
What effect will this have on all of the involved players?
Facebook has definitely had some rough waters, with all of its PR working overtime to control the damage, but in appearance, not much is about to change concerning its business. As long as users continue spending time on the platform, companies will continue to advertise through it. Facebook continues to be larger than any other media platform around except for Google, making it a highly desirable place for advertising.
How will Facebook ensure that its users will continue to find its social platform safe and attractive?
Facebook has promised to improve its privacy and security measures, regulations and policies to guarantee that a leak like this won’t happen again.
Facebook also suggested possible audits to any third parties that could have had access to similar information without authorization.
Some of the largest third-party data producers will definitely have a hard time after all of these measures are applied. Oracle Data Cloud and Acxiom are some of the largest companies devoted to mining this type of data, and it doesn’t seem like they have immediate plans to make up for all the lost revenue. It will be interesting to see how these companies reinvent themselves and what the future holds.
Additional important participants are all the midsize marketers that do not have in house data generators and who have relied solely on third parties to acquire all of their insight for digital advertising. They will have to find another way to get access to this type of information so that they can still be in the game, and this will probably end up generating additional expenses that weren’t on their budgets before.
It’s good news for all of the ad agencies that may be getting a fresh breath of air. Third parties definitely gained terrain as data procurers in the past, taking this responsibility from agencies that used to provide this service for their clients. Since much of this information won’t be available through third parties after all the regulations take place, agencies will again be able to take on this responsibility and offer all of the valuable information and insight for all of the ad campaigns.
Other companies, such as Google, Pinterest, eBay and Twitter, have access to similar information and data but have been forgotten due to Facebook’s increasingly protagonist role. After this blow, it seems as though many of these companies could be back in the game.
The advertising world is competitive and ever-changing but always giving off signals that point toward the road to follow. As an important participant in this industry, Kazoo is highly involved, keeping up with the latest updates and insights about our business. This allows us to always offer the best service to our clients and business partners and keep them up to date with the latest news and events.
Sources: https://adexchanger.com/data-driven-thinking/facebooks-third-party-data-pull-back-winners-and-losers/
http://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-turns-targeting-tool-based-party-data/312912/
