Alternative ID vendors have been hardcore pitching advertisers for years that email-based IDs can work for CTV.
But skepticism still abounds.
To be fair, email-based alt IDs are a viable third-party cookie replacement for online display and video. And for many omnichannel advertisers, it makes sense to port alt IDs over to CTV, which is incompatible with third-party cookies. Smart TVs mostly run streaming apps, not web browsers.
But many CTV buyers and sellers arenโt convinced it makes sense to use a one-to-one targeting signal like email addresses in a media channel that doesnโt prioritize one-to-one ad personalization. They also worry that alt ID providers arenโt checking whether the data underlying these IDs is accurate and was provided with consent.
Another concern is that many free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels โย which donโt typically have direct access to email logins โย are creating email-based IDs using data sourced from third parties or other questionable sources. The worry is that such arrangements go against the spirit of alternative IDs, which are supposed to be based on a publisherโs first-party data. And if advertisers are being asked to pay premium CPMs for IDs built on the same murky third-party data theyโve always bought, what exactly are they paying for?
These arenโt just hypothetical concerns.
Sources who spoke with AdExchanger shared firsthand knowledge of FAST publishers creating alt IDs using third-party emails โย and their memories of being warned not to dig too deeply into the data behind these IDs or their performance because they might not like what they find.
โIโve been in boardrooms when questions have come about regarding, โIs the data targeting real? Is it accurate? And how do we defend it?โโ said Mike Richter, co-founder and CEO of experiential events company Unplugged Collective and a former monetization manager at CTV publishers TEGNA, Jukin Media and Newsy…