iOS 14.5 – The Future is Now Here

Apple launched their update to iOS 14.5 end of April and users are starting to install the new release. The update comes with Apple’s new App Tracking Transparency framework which is intended to provide more transparency to consumers in terms of data usage. 

While there is a lot of talk in the trade press about what this might mean for the future of targeted advertising, as a business born and raised in Germany, we believe, this privacy-first approach to digital advertising is a positive step, for both consumers and the industry.

We are sure you do want to know what these changes will mean for you, our global advertising partners. With our cutting-edge spatial, audience and movement data, Adsquare has been well prepared for some time and ready to continue supercharging your campaigns. Here’s why: 

• Adsquare was founded in Europe and respected data privacy even before GDPR came into play.
• Adsquare only collects data from partners with explicit consent from end users for this data to be shared.
• Adsquare offers planning, targeting and measurement solutions that are based on a focused methodology that prioritises accuracy over volume – certified by independent bodies.
• Adsquare’s Proximity Targeting allows you to target the right local context of users without relying on any online identifiers.
• Adsquare invested into new innovative products, e.g. with Audiences in Motion we combine location context with audience index scores, actionable on a spatial level.  

If you’re our customer, it is important you understand what these changes will mean for each of our solutions.

Audience Targeting
It is a reality that Audience Targeting based on large volumes of IDs is going to play less of a role in the future. The industry will find new ways to target audiences with the right messages and at the right moment. Adsquare’s Proximity Targeting is key to this innovation and will play a fundamental role in the new era of digital advertising we see emerging today.

Proximity Targeting
Proximity Targeting is a dimension of contextual intelligence, where advertisers can reach audiences based on their location context in the moment of ad impression. You may also refer to it as Location Targeting or Geo-Contextual Targeting. As previously mentioned, Adsquare’s Proximity Targeting allows you to target consumers without relying on any online identifiers. Hence, this targeting solution is therefore not affected by iOS 14.5 at all. 

Footfall Measurement
Our store-visit attribution solution calculates uplifts by comparing the exposed user group against a control group of users that hasn’t seen the corresponding ad. Both groups are based on the exact same panel and therefore Adsquare will continue to provide accurate numbers, enabling you to understand the effectiveness of your campaigns by comparing line items as usual. What’s likely to happen is that the overall location data panel will be reduced in size but our teams ensure that a statistically relevant mass will always be available. Learn more how we measure incrementality on our blog. 

OOH Planning & Activation
Our Out-of-Home Planning solution is based on historical data to calculate audience distribution in the real world. Though you might see a moderate decline in total visits going forward, all derived metrics and the quality of results will remain the same. The indexation for audiences will not be affected by Apple’s update to iOS 14.5. 

If you have any further queries about the iOS update in general, or something specific about your current campaigns, please let us know. One of our experts would be delighted to discuss this with you further. As always, we remain at your disposal.