Can you introduce yourself and tell us more about your role at The Trade Desk?
I’m privileged to lead our Data Partnerships team across Asia Pacific. Our team is focused on delivering some of The Trade Desk’s most strategic initiatives in the region. We develop and scale partnerships across Measurement, Audience, Identity and Retail to help our clients drive better results from the open internet.
Could you tell us more about The Trade Desk’s UID2.0 initiative in the APAC region?
As an upgrade and alternative to third-party cookies, Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) is a new industry-wide approach to identity that preserves the value of relevant advertising, while putting user control and privacy at the forefront. With these unique advantages, countless leading companies across the globe from various industries are joining this initiative and accelerating to expand its reach. This trend also extended to the APAC region. Since the introduction of UID2 to the region, various industries in the Asia-Pacific region have officially declared their support for it — from top local publishers like iQIYI in mainland China, to Taiwan's top CTV players LineTV and LiTV, to HK01, the internet and news enterprise with the widest audience and greatest influence in Hong Kong. We’ve also seen advertising technology leaders adopt UID2, such as MicroAD in Japan, to Singapore's largest retailer, FairPrice, to Indonesia's largest local OTT platform, Vidio, India's most prominent digital media conglomerate, Times Internet, as well as Australia's ARN and Southern Cross Austereo. The companies above mentioned are only a few and many companies, too numerous to name individually, are showing interest in UID2 and keep participating. The Trade Desk continues to work with all partners on solutions that help preserve free access to great content across the open internet, for all.
Why have you partnered with Eyeota?
At The Trade Desk we believe in using the power of data to help brands identify and connect to their most valuable audiences. Eyeota has been our long-standing partner globally, making relevant audiences available to marketers via The Trade Desk’s platform using demographic, behavioral and interest signals for online activation.
We are also delighted that Eyeota announced in 2023 its adoption of UID2, providing a superior privacy-centric and cookieless solution for advertisers. This enables greater transparency and empowers brands to utilize future-proof solutions to engage with digital consumers.
Can you discuss the digital advertising landscape in the APAC region and what role digital audiences and UID2.0 play within that?
Driven by factors such as increased internet penetration, a mobile-first approach, and the rise of e-commerce, the digital advertising landscape in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is dynamic and rapidly evolving. APAC is home to some of the largest and fastest-growing digital markets globally. Countries like China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia have vast online populations, with users accessing the internet through various devices, including smartphones, tablets, and personal computers. Unlike mature markets in Europe and North America, where there's a gradual transition from web to mobile, in APAC, the majority of internet traffic comes from mobile apps, CTV, and other open internet channels that don't rely on third party cookies. Additionally, as the region with the fastest-growing and most mature e-commerce development globally, APAC provides significant opportunities for digital advertisers to reach consumers through online retail media and targeted advertising campaigns.
UID2 has garnered attention in the APAC region as an identity solution designed for the open internet that works across channels such as CTV, audio streaming, mobile apps and display advertising. By providing a universal identifier that respects user preferences, UID2 facilitates personalized and targeted ads for advertisers, without relying on third-party cookies. Meanwhile, with the deprecation of cookies, and due to the firsthand and real nature of retail data, retail media is becoming increasingly important. The combination of UID2 and retail data not only addresses privacy concerns but also allows for data matching, linking retail data with UID2. This integration results in a more comprehensive user profile, thereby achieving precise audience targeting and personalized marketing efforts.
How can businesses leverage UID2.0 to improve their advertising strategies?
Businesses can leverage UID2 to enhance their advertising strategies in several ways. By providing a universal identity framework that respects user preferences and enables cross-device tracking on the open internet, UID2 facilitates personalized and targeted ads for advertisers. This allows them to resonate more effectively with their target audience by ensuring consistent messaging and experiences to users regardless of the device they are using, all without relying on third-party cookies.
By connecting user identifiers across platforms and devices, businesses can accurately track the efficacy of their ads and attribute conversions to the appropriate touchpoints in the customer journey. UID2 fosters collaboration and partnership among publishers, advertisers, and technology providers. Engaging in the UID2 ecosystem also enables businesses to tap into a wealth of user data, such as retail data, and insights shared by trusted partners, facilitating more informed decision-making and optimization of advertising campaigns.
What are your data predictions for the year ahead in the APAC region?
Irrespective of whether Google delays the deprecation of third-party cookies further, the time to act is now. Marketers who have started working on viable alternative solutions already have a competitive advantage over others who haven’t. Brands that have a solid first-party data strategy are in a better position to take control of their future. This year we are really seeing an acceleration in brands adopting first party data strategies in APAC and prioritizing consented relationships with their customers.
At The Trade Desk we will continue to prioritise industry wide identity solutions such as UID2 that help marketers manage reach, frequency, data and privacy across all advertising channels—in ways that will represent a significant upgrade for the internet.
Secondly, the surge in e-commerce has pushed major retailers into the spotlight, as they are sitting on a treasure trove of valuable opt-in shopper data. This data includes shopping cart contents, use of loyalty programmes, and spending history. In a world where marketers are facing restrictions to tracking customers’ behaviour online, such retail data has become extremely valuable.
With retail data, marketers can close the loop between advertising efforts and real-world sales, run targeted ads to relevant shoppers on the open internet (beyond retailers’ own digital estates), and leverage create hyper-relevant segments with the goal of predicting if someone is in the market for a new product, has entered a new life stage, or has certain shopping tendencies.
Finally, CTV/OTT will capture a greater level of advertising investment as audiences continue to migrate from linear to streaming platforms. Over half of digital video viewers worldwide are based in Asia-Pacific, offering marketers an opportunity to combine premium content with advanced data for better outcomes.
Reach out to our Audience Specialists at the Data Desk