StrikeAd weighs-up Facebook launch of 'Facebook Exchange' and RTB

In a digital advertising first, the world’s most popular social network, Facebook, plans to let advertisers deliver impression-level targeting to its users who have been previously cookied on the web elsewhere. Deals have been signed with a number of demand side platforms to enable real-time-bidding on its ad inventory through Facebook Exchange.

StrikeAd's head of EMEA, Tim Finn, looks at the implications of the launch from a wider mobile advertising perspective, in particular the need for robust re-targeting.

To download a high resolution image of Tim Finn please click here.

As a DSP, StrikeAd welcomes the announcement of Facebook Exchange as Facebook is an integral part of many advertisers' plans. However, whilst RTB enabled Facebook mobile inventory is not yet available to the digital DSPs that have been selected, the eventual availability of this inventory on mobile will introduce a global audience of mobile advertisers to the benefits of programmatic buying via RTB.

Our core mission at StrikeAd is to bring the proven benefits of RTB to all mobile advertisers and to empower them with the technology to engage with users in multiple verticals and states of purchase intent. We do this by manoeuvring mobile specific variables, currently unavailable to them, in the digital DSP landscape.

Facebook Exchange will enable brands to re-target users on an impression-by-impression basis via their selected DSP. So for example, a travel site may be interested in reaching a user who has searched for a flight but for one reason or another did not complete the purchase. With Facebook Exchange, this travel website can now show that user a related ad on Facebook.

eMarketer is projecting that RTB spending will make up $2 billion of the roughly $15.6 billion expected to be spent in desktop display this year and with more brands eager to follow consumer 'eyeballs', we see mobile business traded via RTB as a major contributor to this growth.

The need for robust re-targeting

The complexities and fragmented nature of the mobile eco-system currently prohibits the scaling of a robust re-targeting solution. As a result and due to our licensed partners demands, StrikeAd is launching our own proprietary re-targeting solution to market later this year.

To identify devices uniquely, StrikeAd Fusion anonymously and without retaining any personal data, uses unique identifiers such as cookies, UDID, WiFi Mac addresses. StrikeAd syncs these IDs across various exchanges and media types, such as mobile web and apps to create the StrikeAd ID, and is then able to re-target a user truly without limitations across traffic type or device.

Users are always clearly informed of this tagging and are always given a quick and easy way to opt-out of the process. To do this, the StrikeAd ID belonging to the user are marked as “do not track” and no other data against these StrikeAd IDs is ever stored again.

This exchange syncing service allows StrikeAd to ensure that a user is uniquely identified regardless of the proprietary identification mechanism used by the exchange while still clearly complying with all EU and USA regulation and best practice.

Re-targeting must be accurate and compliant with all legislation protecting the rights of the mobile consumer. Only this way will Facebook Exchange enable advertisers to realise globally the full potential of its mobile consumer audience.

If you are interested in exploring this issue in greater depth, or in using this comment, please contact Leon Emirali by email on lemirali@iba-international.com or telephone on 01780 721433. I would be delighted to set up an interview or provide you with any required further information.

Kind regards,
Leon Emirali
IBA - PR for StrikeAd
01780 721433

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