Navigating IOS 14: Strategies For Efficient Marketing In The New Data Landscape

The rollout of iOS 14, and the related privacy changes that Apple embedded in it, have created a safer data environment for consumers by requiring app users to explicitly “opt in” to allow third-party apps to track them across the internet. In May, Ars Technica reported on data from Flurry Analytics showing that 96% of the time, U.S. users opt out of app tracking, although that percentage may have come down slightly as more people adopted iOS 14.5. I believe that enhanced transparency in the collection and use of data by third-party apps is a positive step forward for the tech industry and for consumers.

However, marketers have a new challenge. By raising the bar for data collection, the shift to iOS 14 immediately devalued native audiences that marketers across industries have been accustomed to purchasing from major digital platforms and using to activate marketing campaigns. The new privacy rules, by design, reduce the amount of information marketers can collect from third-party sources and thereby create new hurdles for marketers who have relied on that data to reach target audiences with relevant, effective marketing messages.

Go Direct: Build Up Your First-Party Data

Partner Up: Leverage Your Retailer Partners

Measure Constantly: Look To Objective, Independent Sources

While the iOS 14 privacy changes may be inconvenient for marketers in the short term, I believe they will usher in a new era of transparency that makes the internet safer for consumers and therefore better for all of us. By implementing the strategies above, marketers can begin to benefit in this new data environment.