In the interim...

For whatever it's worth.

There’s a lot of chatter regarding Facebook and IDFA with Apple.

So, as you patiently wait for the next dispatch (thanks for that patience btw), I figured I’d pop my nerdy little head in and add my thoughts. For whatever it’s worth.

Disclaimer: there’s probably 58,324 people that will have a much deeper understanding and opinion on this. And, a clearer way to present the idea.

But, you’ve got me. In your inbox… Tread lightly.

That said, what do I think?

IDFA or no IDFA, as advertisers, we still have IDFV.

I’m personally banking on the idea that the aggregate on data will be just as valuable in a predictive format (most likely where FB ends up), especially as Facebook moves to an owned position.

Meaning, Facebook will lean more into its own data and apps, while investing further into the build-out of a more predictive model for us advertisers.

Okay… You just lost me, Jake.

First, what the hell is IDFA?!

The Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) is a random device identifier assigned by Apple to an iOS device. The IDFA essentially identifies when you interact with an ad.

Now, what the hell is IDFV?

The Identifier for Vendors (IDFV) is a code assigned to all apps by a developer and is shared across all apps by that developer on an iOS device. Apple said it’s okay to keep using this… Meaning, we still have an ID to tie back to (< this is a good thing).

But, how does this affect me as an advertiser?

The majority of buyers will never notice anything different.

Of course, we’ll see the volatility at play in our accounts for a few days and I’m sure Twitter will be a dumpster fire. But going forward, if you’re already leveraging Custom Audience-type solutions for targeting, and focusing on Facebook’s owned audiences, then I highly doubt that the loss of the IDFA will adversely impact campaigns in the long-term.

After all, the Audience Network is ultimately not what FB is after, in my opinion.

They’ve been ditching it for some time now.

The next level for us as advertisers will be unlocked when Facebook can leverage the ass load of data that they own and build a ridiculously strong predictive model.

We’ll still have a 360-degree view of a customer, just not across the web. It will be across the FB ecosystem (FB, IG, etc).

I believe that view, and specifically or exclusively leveraging Facebook’s massive collection of global user-level data, is potentially going to better for us as advertisers.

Why?

It will lead to less volatility, randomness, and allow for a more stable ad platform.

For me, that’s more impactful and seemingly much easier to navigate.

However, it will be stability at the cost of personalization.

Which, I’m completely fine with.

I’ll take stability! Please. More of it!

Hence the evolution of this newsletter and our move to lean into creative importance.

😉

Moving away from this mumbo jumbo…

If you have questions that you’d like answered in the upcoming creative dispatch with David Herrmann, you can hop on this tweet and ask away.

Looking forward to dropping that dispatch on September, 1st!

Until next time.

Cheers,

Jake the Ad Nerd 🤙