Roku Has taken a bold move toward what could be the next generation of online advertising. It has announced that it will implement a technology known as Unified ID 2.0 across its premium streaming inventory.
The streaming platform, which boasts that it serves 83.6 million households, boasted of the technology developed by The Trade DeskRoku’s data sharing will become more secure and precise.
“The UID2 Integration takes the performance of ad campaigns up a notch by enabling advertisers better target, optimise, and attribute campaign results. “They also gain a way to facilitate collaboration of data,” said Roku Director Global Advertising Communications Sarah Saul.
Saul, in an interview with the E-Commerce Times, said that UID2 is a powerful tool for advertisers. It allows them to use first-party data across all platforms and provide a more personalized experience. This enhanced targeting precision increases revenue and demand potential, but also fosters an efficient and cohesive advertising ecosystem.
Rob Enderle is the president and principal analyst of the Enderle GroupHe told the E-Commerce Times that better targeting should result in a higher rate of conversion from viewers to buyers.
Ava Ginsberg is the director of paid media product marketing at Roku. She explained that Roku’s use of UID2 will allow advertisers to reach Roku customers at scale using first-party data. AmperitySeattle’s Intelligent Customer Data Platform. “This allows for both more precise targeting and more privacy-conscious targeted,” she told E-Commerce Times.
Roku can also work more seamlessly and efficiently with The Trade Desk, a platform that focuses on demand. This means more inventory is available to advertisers. Ginsberg noted that “early adopters” of UID2 had reported noticeable improvements. These improvements include increased match rates and a higher return on ad spending, as well as reduced customer acquisition cost.
She added that if these benefits were to be extended to Roku, there would be significant marketing opportunities in this space.
Causing Cookies To Crumble?
Mike Vannelli, head video producer at Envy CreativeThe adoption of UID2 by Roku, a video production company in Simi valley, Calif., is a major step forward for the advertising tech landscape.
“This move will streamline Roku targeting and measurement for marketers, providing a more precise way to reach audiences while also being privacy-conscious,” he said in an interview with the E-Commerce Times. “UID2 improves cross-platform trackers while respecting the privacy of users, making ad campaign more effective and compliant to evolving regulations.”
Ross KernezDirector of SEO Mavis, national tire and vehicle services provider, explained the Trade Desk technology used encrypted identifiers derived from phone numbers or email addresses, creating a secure mechanism to track users. This encryption strengthens user data and reduces the risk of unauthorised access or misuse.
Vannelli said that UID2 provides a unified and open-source platform that can replace cookies from third parties. “It is a hashed, encrypted email address that maintains user anonymity and provides detailed insights into the consumer’s behavior,” said Vannelli. This shift is important as it aligns to the industry’s push for more privacy-focused products.
He said that the adoption of UID2 by Roku signals an increased willingness among online marketers in general to abandon cookies. “The industry’s momentum toward alternative identifiers suggest a collective motion towards a futur where privacy and personalized services coexist.”
Kernez agrees that UID2 can be a viable substitute for third-party cookies. “It provides a privacy-compliant way of tracking and targeting users, without the need for third-party cookies,” said Kernez. UID2 allows marketers to engage with users and identify them while respecting their privacy. This paradigm change ensures that digital advertising will remain effective in the post-cookie age.
Revolutionary Privacy Method
Ginsberg insisted that UID2 was so much more than just cookies. She said that UID2 is a better way to identify and target users for advertising, but it’s also more in line with privacy regulations and expectations.
“Unlike traditional cookies UID2 is based on a structure that emphasizes user consent and transparency,” she explained. It allows advertisers to use first-party data which is increasingly valuable in the post-cookie era. This shift toward first-party usage of data allows companies to maintain customized advertising capabilities while still respecting privacy preferences.
She added that UID2 was able to work across multiple platforms. This cross-platform capability overcomes one of the limitations with traditional cookies that struggled to provide consistent user identification in different environments.
But she also said that UID2 represents a part of the broader digital advertising transformation. She said that as the industry moves away third-party cookies various solutions, each with their own approach, are emerging to balance effective advertising and privacy concerns. “UID2 is one of the most prominent efforts in this area, and has gained support from major players within the ad-tech industry.”
She said, “It is pretty revolutionary in the way it tackles privacy concerns that we hear about all the time.” UID2 uses first-party information to protect user privacy instead of the old-school third party cookies, about which everyone is becoming more and more concerned. It’s a major deal, especially in today’s environment.
Ginsberg said that closed-loop measurements are revolutionizing the way advertisers measure performance. It means advertisers can track individual customer’s behavior within the UID network with greater transparency and access.
She acknowledged that “while it looks promising, we are still in the beginning stages.” “It will be interesting how widespread its adoption is and what impact it has on industry.” UID2 is a promising technology, but we haven’t seen it yet. It could change the way we view digital advertising.
UID2 may be an asset for Roku, especially in the current environment of home entertainment. Enderle stated that “Roku consistently ranks one of the, if no other third-party solution for set-top boxes,” “However with TVs getting this functionality as a standard function, they will be at risk. In order to be noticed by users and advertisers, it’s important for companies to protect what they already have. This solution should allow them to achieve both.”
