Ecommerce Berlin Expo is one of the most renowned international conferences for digital leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs in the e-commerce space. It will take place on the 5th of May 2022, in STATION-Berlin. The event features an impressive lineup of speakers from around Europe who are leading experts in their respective areas - so you can look forward to some thrilling insights!
Ecommerce Berlin Expo always features dynamic and innovative speakers with considerable experience in their fields. This conference is not only about business models and trading strategies, but also about new technologies and future trends. The focus is always on the attendees and what will benefit them most.
Now, without further ado, here are the first speakers of Ecommerce Berlin Expo 2022. More to come though, so look out for future announcements.
The first set of speakers included reps from Sky Deutschland, MediaMarktSaturn, Douglas, Henkel, Hubspot or MYTOYS!
There will be presentations by these outstanding speakers:
Not all of the topics are confirmed, but here is the list thus far. The speakers will be talking about conversion rate optimization, making money with e-commerce, and scaling your business into a global phenomenon.
#1 Buy Now, Pay later
Monique Paulsen and Thomas Ficht from MYTOYSGROUP will be talking about the payment approach that revolutionizes the e-commerce industry. They will be discussing the technology behind it and talk about their vision for the future.
The brand is now at a point where it can share some insights on how the "Buy Now, Pay Later" approach to payment in the world of e-commerce and what it means for businesses.
#2 Content meets Commerce
"MissPompadours Einkaufserlebnis für über 100.000 DIY- Begeisterte" is the title of the presentation that Erik Reintjes, Co-Founder/GF or MissPompadour is going to rock the stage with. MissPompadour is one of the leading paint dealers in Europe. The presentation will concern the world of e-commerce and how it can be made more modern, beautiful, and appealing with the right shopping experience.
The goal is to make people want to buy things - not just by making them look good but also with an emotional component attached to the purchase.
#3 Product Strategy
Product Strategy in eCommerce is really important because your product is your main asset. You need to focus on what you are selling, who you are selling it to, and how you will make money from it.
Fathy Abdelmonam, Product Manager at Zalando, comes with a presentation titled "From a feature request to a problem worth solving. How other teams can inspire your Product strategy?".
Zalando is one of the leading companies in Europe when it comes to fashion and e-commerce. They are well known for their ability to innovate, so we encourage you to check out this presentation.
#4 Marketplaces
Marketplaces are really crucial for eCommerce because it allows businesses to expand their customer base and reach more potential buyers. Miro Morczinek, CEO of moebel24, will cover the topic of "Platform Extreme – the new area of marketplaces post-pandemic", with a focus on vertical marketplaces and retail marketplaces.
The presentation will dive into how marketplaces can be successful and what you should consider before venturing into that space.
Moebel24 is a marketplace with a focus on the e-commerce industry. They are very strong when it comes to categories like furniture, home appliances, or kitchenware - which is why they are one of the most important players in this sector.
This won’t be the only presentation on marketplaces, you can also hear from Sakina Hitzemann, Account Manager DACH for WISH Marketplace - she’ll cover personalised product feeds and expansion in detail.
#5 Data-driven approach
Ecommerce is a competitive and fast-paced industry. With new businesses and innovations popping up all the time, it's essential to make sure your e-commerce strategy is constantly updated and evolving. One of the most important aspects of any e-commerce strategy is using data to drive your decisions - test, learn, and optimise! Cengiz Duelger (VP Digital Performance Hub @Sky) will discuss why using data is so important in e-commerce and provide some tips on how you can start using data in your own business. So watch out - data-driven ecommerce could be the key to your success!
The list does not end here. More speakers and topics will be announced very soon.
Ecommerce Berlin Expo 2022 is going to be one of the most important events in this year's calendar. If you are in any way related to the eCommerce industry, then this is an event that you cannot afford to miss!
Attendees can visit the booths and speak with many great exhibitors during the EBE 2020; BigCommerce, Tradebyte, Hypernode, Namogoo, Global-e, Websale, Checkout.com, Deutsche Post, and Shopware to name a few. They will be eager to exchange feedback and knowledge.
To find out more about the speakers and register for tickets, visit the website here.
The EBE2022 is free to attend.
The E-Commerce Berlin Expo will be taking place for the sixth time on the 5th of May, 2022, at Station Berlin. Doors will open at 10 AM, and EBE2022 is expected to welcome more than 10,000 visitors. The annual fair has become a leading e-commerce event in Berlin with representatives from Google, Facebook, YouTube, Zalando, Otto Groupm, Amazon, and Alibaba Group as past participants. Learn more at http://ecommerceberlin.com
For further questions, reach out to pr@ecommerceberlin.com
Authored by Industry Leaders from Across Europe
Provides Valuable Insights and Key Considerations for In-App Advertising
3rd February, Brussels, Belgium: IAB Europe, the leading European-level industry association for the digital and marketing ecosystem has today released its ‘Guide to In-App Advertising’ to provide an overview of the in-app marketplace, and the ad formats available. The guide also details key changes and challenges we are seeing in the industry with in-app advertising and shares key considerations for buyers in this space.
In-App Advertising is an exciting growth area with Global ad spend reaching $295bn in 2021, providing many opportunities for advertisers today. But as with any new or emerging channel or format, there are still barriers to overcome, including some fundamental industry changes that are affecting digital advertising, such as Apple’s IDFA. The guide has been developed by members of IAB Europe’s Programmatic Trading Committee to help advertisers and publishers to understand the in-app opportunity, the key barriers that need to be addressed, and how to tap into its potential.
Commenting on the role of in-app advertising in the digital ecosystem today, Nick Welch, Chair of IAB Europe’s Programmatic Trading Committee & Head of Programmatic and Publisher Development, Northern Europe, Integral Ad Science said, “With consumers now devoting a third of their waking time to apps all eyes are on the potential that in-app advertising can bring to the ecosystem. But as we move into 2022 and beyond, challenges such as consumer privacy will continue to play a more prominent role in ad targeting, with more support and collaboration needed from the industry to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of in-app campaigns. The guide, written by experts from across the advertising ecosystem, highlights the evolution of, and opportunity for, in-app advertising and encourages the industry to come together to overcome key challenges, including Apple’s IDFA. We encourage all industry stakeholders to read this guide to help maximise the potential that in-app advertising brings.”
Reiterating this point and sharing the value of in-app advertising for brands, Anna Sikora, Client Services Partner, PubMatic said, “With consumers spending more time on their screens than ever before, marketers should focus on building the best possible mobile ad experience and offer formats that mobile users actually want to engage with. In 2021 we have seen more brands investing into the in-app channel, and research shows that shift will continue, with gaming now a central element of the briefs we see from brands.”
Commenting on the value of in-app advertising for publishers, Benjamin Hancock, Global Head of Programmatic Trading at CNN International Commercial said, “In-app advertising has emerged as a key channel enabling publishers to expand their audience and solve a specific challenge around content delivery. In-app users tend to be more engaged with high levels of interaction, enabling high-quality and differentiated products for advertisers. IAB Europe’s ‘Guide to In-App Advertising’, has been pulled together by a variety of industry experts, to provide a full rundown of the opportunities available today.”
It’s been a collaborative effort to produce this European-level industry guide for in-app Advertising, with contributors including the Coalition for Better Ads, CNN International Commercial, DoubleVerify, Google, Integral Ad Science (IAS), PubMatic and Smaato.
The Guide to In-App Advertising can be downloaded from IAB Europe’s website here.
IAB Europe is recruiting a full-time Privacy Counsel to join our Brussels-based privacy team. The candidate should have sound knowledge of the European data protection framework and an interest in its impacts on technological development, especially on digital media.
Scope of the role: Key responsibilities
The Privacy Counsel will report to IAB Europe’s Privacy Director. The Privacy Counsel will be responsible for conducting expert analyses of the impact of privacy and data protection legislation, case law and guidance on the digital media and advertising industry. Tasks and responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Profile
Professional attributes:
Personal attributes:
What’s in it for you?
Location: Brussels
Type: Full-time
Salary: Competitive, commensurate with experience
Contract type: Indefinite
About IAB Europe
IAB Europe is the European-level association for the digital marketing and advertising ecosystem. Through its membership of media, technology and marketing companies and national IABs, its mission is to lead political representation and promote industry collaboration to deliver frameworks, standards and industry programmes that enable businesses to thrive in the European market. Visit our website for more information about IAB Europe and its members.
How to Apply
To apply, please send your CV & a covering letter by email to jobs@iabeurope.eu with the subject line: ‘Privacy Counsel - Application’. While we may not be able to reach out to every applicant, we will contact candidates whose skills and experience are a strong match for the position.
Authored by Measurement and Connected TV (CTV) experts from Across Europe
Provides Valuable Insights on the Targeting and Measurement Options Available for CTV
26th January, Brussels, Belgium: IAB Europe, the leading European-level industry association for the digital advertising and marketing ecosystem, has today released its ‘Guide to CTV Targeting and Measurement’ to provide an overview of the targeting and measurement capabilities currently available in Europe.
This Guide follows on from IAB Europe’s Guide to Connected TV (CTV), Guide to the Programmatic CTV Opportunity in Europe and the Guide to Brand Safety in CTV to address an industry ask to delve deeper into this channel, to explore the targeting and measurement options and best practices for CTV.
As the CTV ad revenue opportunity grows in Europe and more ad budgets flow from linear TV into programmatic and CTV it is crucial that effective targeting and measurement solutions are in place across the supply chain. The Guide to Connected TV Targeting and Measurement has been developed by members of IAB Europe’s Channels & Formats Task Force to provide an overview of the targeting and measurement capabilities currently available, as well as to share key considerations for the buy-side. Given that this channel is evolving so quickly, it also dives into what the future holds for measurement and targeting in this space.
Commenting on her contribution to the Guide, Lizzie Wiltshire, Head of Client Solutions, Samsung Ads Europe said ‘CTV is rightly being recognised by the industry as an exciting avenue for advertisers. It’s an effective way to reach viewers on the biggest screen in the home, and it can also bring the best of digital advertising to its offer in terms of targeting and measurement. However, it can be tricky to understand exactly what CTV advertising offers and what buyers need to consider, as with any nascent technology.
I’m really pleased to be taking part in IAB Europe’s guide to targeting and measurement in CTV. It’s crucial for those of us in the space to actively educate the industry, and it’s great to be doing so alongside other market-leading businesses. As smart TV adoption grows rapidly across Europe, understanding how to reach OTT viewers and what success looks like will become increasingly high on the agenda for leading advertisers. It’s fantastic that IAB Europe is on the front foot to ensure they know what to look for.’
It has been a collaborative effort to produce this industry-leading targeting and measurement guide, with contributors including Comscore, Kantar, Magnite, MediaMath, PubMatic, Samsung Ads Europe and ShowHeroes Group.
Commenting on the importance of this Guide, Kristanne Roberts, Product Management Director at Kantar said: “IAB Europe's latest CTV guide provides a great overview of industry best practices, with further detail on the targeting and measurement opportunities available to buyers. It’s a great starting point for anyone looking to learn a bit more about CTV or for a guide on what to look out for when it comes to buying or evaluating CTV investment.”
Graeme Lynch, VP Demand, EMEA at Magnite also said, "CTV is the new frontier for consumers and advertisers and ad-supported services are at the centre of this evolution. The quality of content and the overall viewer experience needs to be at the forefront of everything being developed. Measurement is a key ingredient that will substantiate the value of advertising on CTV. The IAB's guide is a great resource for understanding the development of addressability and measurement in the CTV ecosystem and will help us continue to improve this important area in 2022."
Download the Guide here.
Contact
For more information please contact Lauren Wakefield (wakefield@iabeurope.eu)
We are jumping into the new year with a wonderful new guest blog post from one of our members, Audiencerate. Filippo Gramigna CEO at Audiencerate, shares some wise words on the ever-changing digital landscape, touching on the developments and trends marketers can expect to see in the next 12 months and beyond.
It is that time of year when industry experts come together to make their predictions about what lies ahead: exciting changes, emerging technologies, and technical developments are all being considered for success. However, as we look forwards, we also think about what we have that is yet to evolve.
The spheres of advertising technology and marketing technology have always run in parallel, and we’re now beginning to see them merge. CMOs, marketers, and publishers are starting to understand that to benefit from emerging data technologies requires combining stacks in the most seamless way possible. Where before there was a disconnect, the future will see a bridge being built between these.
In the meantime, while we watch the ways in which the architecture of the landscape is shifting, there are a number of other areas we need to be aware of; the pillars of the ecosystem to come.
Consent
There are a number of challenges currently defining the landscape: Google’s deprecation of third-party cookies, Apple’s increasing privacy restrictions, and shifting legal structures across the globe. We are already on a clear trajectory towards privacy, and while users are becoming more aware of the value of their data, there is still a lot of uncertainty around what “consent” entails. For this reason, it’s up to brands to lead the way and be transparent around how consent and data will be used and managed. Aside from inspiring trust, companies that enact these measures ahead of time will experience less disruption as a result of future changes.
When it comes to actual data collection, brands need to be more imaginative when it comes to getting to know their customers. For example, interactive communications across multiple platforms — social, digital, and email — openly involve consumers in choosing their preferences and shaping their own experience. Consider Airbnb, who got families to pick photos of their ideal holiday and derived shareable profiles from this, combining a fun gaming activity with engagement to reveal information about personal inclinations.
Interoperability
When it comes to future developments to watch out for, technology tools that can offer a solution to our complex ecosystem while facilitating accessibility and usability will be the main contenders. For current and future operations, data tracking will be vital to master, for as methods change, different structures will be necessary to translate the information gathered into viable input.
Among a number of tools that marketers are adopting to streamline internal — and consequently external — methodologies and applications, Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) are one of the technological developments that have been drawing in investors across the board. CDPs prevent data silos and facilitate the communication and transparency companies will need in a future where, far from losing its value, data will continue to reign supreme. The tool builds comprehensive user profiles and simultaneously manages and optimises campaign performance while maintaining privacy at its core.
Collaboration
Effective collaboration has always been at the heart of success. In order to create impactful campaigns, different departments — across advertising, marketing, research, and analysis — all need to be able to communicate and share both ideas and data. Customer relations can no longer be severed from content; all parts need to be integrated into a working whole to achieve the best results.
But success also derives from external collaboration: be it to source capabilities, to share the burden of investment, or to develop ecosystem-wide solutions through privacy-first environments. The current state of fragmentation and inherent challenges predicts a shake-up of the industry, with many players restructuring their market positioning. Going forward we can expect more consolidation in the form of partnerships or M&As. As an example, we recently partnered with Roq.ad, Europe’s leading independent identity resolution provider, to move closer to achieving cookieless cross-device capabilities and a larger range of data solutions from enhanced targeting and scale options. This collaboration also allows us to extend our reach in proprietary data and data segment markets. Combining forces is all about pooling resources, and doing so can only lead to new creative solutions.
Identity
There’s no question that identity resolution will continue to pose a formidable challenge. Google has received backlash for providing a solution that ultimately favours larger platforms that benefit from more user data. In light of a few satisfactory alternatives, other players have already been developing their own ID solutions, most notably the Trade Desk with Unified ID 2.0 and LiveRamp’s IdentityLink.
The future of IDs is still unclear, navigating questions around authenticated versus anonymous, and industry-wide versus independent, solutions. Whatever the way forward, this is another area where collaboration across disciplines will be paramount to producing the best outcome. Only if publishers and tech companies work together closely can they truly elaborate which solutions will be the most impactful to consumers, beneficial to the company, and safe for all.
We may only be at the start of the evolution of the digital ad sales ecosystem, but we can already see which areas will be more important in defining the landscape ahead. By staying on top of key pillars — such as consent, interoperability, collaboration, and identity — marketers, brands, and publishers can maintain resilience in the face of change and even be the ones leading the transformation. Each pillar helps support the next, and by looking at the ad tech environment both on a holistic and granular level we can meet challenges head-on to build a better future.
After a relaxing Christmas break, it’s time to consider what the new year has to offer. 2022 could be the year to make a difference and have your say, so why not make joining an IAB Europe Committee one of your new year’s resolutions!
IAB Europe’s Committees and Task Forces produced a whole host of insightful and impactful outputs in 2021. We talked about trust and transparency, CTV, in-game advertising, digital audio advertising, and so much more. In 2022 we plan to continue this fantastic work and tackle even more pressing issues such as sustainability & corporate responsibility, disinformation, and post third-party cookie world preparation.
Being a part of an IAB Europe committee gives you the unparalleled opportunity to expand your knowledge and network, and provide valuable education and guidance to the wider community. It allows you to stay up to date on the latest regulatory affairs and public policy initiatives that promote self-regulation, best practices, and industry standards, and possibly most exciting of all, you are also given the opportunity to become a speaker or moderator at large events, which bring together hundreds of industry peers. Being a part of a committee truly lets you directly influence the work we are doing to drive forward the future of our industry.
What’s involved?
Each committee has a monthly conference call with a quarterly face-to-face meeting (when guidelines allow). The committee Chair and Vice-Chair lead each session, proactively involving members to get the very best from each meeting. The latest projects and outputs are discussed each month, giving members the opportunity to select the projects they wish to get involved in. Most committees will focus on two to three key projects each quarter, ranging from 101 guides and white papers to policy discussions and industry research. Those that contribute to outputs are always cited and included in subsequent PR or related events.
What Committees can I join?
Policy Committee – IAB Europe’s Policy Committee represents the interests of Europe’s digital marketing & advertising industry to ensure that future EU policy and regulation enables continuous innovation and sustainable media while maximising the industry’s potential to contribute to Europe’s digital economy.
Legal Committee – The Legal Committee brings together legal experts to help member companies and National IABs understand and assess the impact of EU legislation, European Court of Justice (CJEU) rulings, and enforcement by Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) as they pertain to digital advertising. It works to develop agreed interpretations of the law and compliance guidance to the market on key issues such as the definition of consent, legitimate interest, pseudonymization, verification for access requests, and other data subject rights, that can be promoted with key external stakeholders, including EU and local regulators, advertisers, and consumer associations. The Legal Committee is also involved in the preparation of IAB Europe responses and comments to EDPB and national guidelines, and other policy documents.
Programmatic Trading Committee – The Programmatic Trading Committee is a multi-stakeholder group that aims to increase understanding of the programmatic ecosystem and the impact it is having on digital advertising and influence industry initiatives to improve the ecosystem. 2022 is the year of sustainability, SSP Data best practices and preparing for a post third-party cookie world for this committee; if they are topics that grab your attention, we’d love to see you there!
Brand Advertising Committee – The mission of IAB Europe’s Brand Advertising Committee is to drive brand investment into digital by providing Brand Advertisers with a reliable and trusted Brand Advertising Framework for the converging digital and traditional media environment. The Framework is composed of a set of initiatives designed to be compatible with global programs. If ECommerce is a big focus for you in 2022, this is the committee for you.
Quality & Transparency Task Force – As the first branch of the Brand Advertising Committee, the Quality & Transparency Task Force aims to combat stakeholder quality and transparency concerns and address the challenges that the industry is facing in order to fuel consumer trust and brand investment in the digital advertising and marketing ecosystem. The members of this task force will be leading our well-known Trust and Transparency Month again this year, pushing out valuable disinformation guides, and exploring key issues such as climate change.
Channels & Formats Task Force – As the second branch of the Brand Advertising Committee, the Channels & Formats Task Force aims to increase awareness and drive investment by providing best practices and guidance in emerging and established digital advertising channels and formats. Join this expert task force right now to contribute to a brand new Buyers Guide to ECommerce and an updated Buyers Guide to CTV.
Research Committee – The Research Committee provides strategic insight to drive digital advertising investment by overseeing and inputting to all of IAB Europe’s research activities and formulating an annual research plan. Version two of our Effectiveness Measurement Framework is in the research committee spotlight, alongside CTV/cross-screen measurement and key annual research projects such as the attitudes to programmatic advertising survey.
Post Third-Party Cookie Task Force – This highly relevant task force is a joint IAB France and IAB Europe group, set up to help to shape the technical standards and the future paradigm that will redefine our industry. It brings European National IABs and their corporate members together to both promote “home-grown” European ideas, consolidate and submit feedback on proposals emanating from the W3C and Rearc, including the Chrome Privacy Sandbox.
Providing users with choices that they can make with confidence based on information is the key to ensuring a fair and transparent advertising industry that can sustain the open internet we know today.
Participation in the task force is open to all IAB Europe, IAB France, and other National IAB corporate members (even if those corporate members are not members of either IAB France or IAB Europe).
Technical Committee - Finally, we have the newest IAB Europe committee, created to ensure that work done by other committees and task forces, whether on the policy & legal compliance side or the industry promotion side, is grounded in a thorough understanding of the technology that underpins digital advertising delivery. The Technical Committee is a forum for information exchange and technical projects, discussing how new technology trends in data processing, ad delivery, measurement, brand safety, ad fraud, ad serving and the whole programmatic ecosystem are affecting, and are expected to affect, the digital advertising business in our region and IAB Europe’s ability to support the industry to address the needs of consumers, clients and regulators.
Participants should be technologists or software engineers, or others in a technical role within agencies, ad tech companies and publishers.
There is no limit on the number of committees you can join, so you can be as involved as you wish. For more information on any of our committees and/or task forces, please reach out to the team via communication@iabeurope.eu.
We hope to see you in a committee meeting soon!
In this week’s member blog post, Igor Gubin, Region Manager Europe at Admitad, discusses the changing retail landscape and the current traffic sources for e-commerce businesses. Igor brings us some interesting shopper statistics and highlights some key 2021 learnings.
We are on the home stretch for 2021. Black Friday, Singles Day and the Christmas season have all been keeping us busy. However, this time it is different from last year.
While the European e-commerce markets were focusing on a few dates – Singles Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday – in 2020, this year we see certain growth in different categories such as beauty and home being stretched over a longer period of time, for the entire month of November. It seems, consumers, in times of uncertainty, started chasing sales deals as early as the beginning of the sales period, were willing to spend a bit more on the deals that make sense to them, bought their Xmas presents during the first November week and trusted online media and blogs to drive traffic and clicks.
According to the first estimates by experts such as Adobe Analytics, the volume of online sales in the US on the very day of Black Friday slightly decreased, from $9 billion in 2020 to $8.9 billion this year. This is a logical trend, given that last year, the sales took place during lockdowns in many countries, which means that many buyers were forced to choose goods on the Internet instead of offline purchases.
This year, some users chose to return to their usual shopping process. In addition to that, many brands this year not only launched discounts early before the 26th of November but also promised to extend them after the traditional Black Friday period. This distributes the buying activity over a much longer period.
At the same time, Admitad Affiliate states that the UK increased the number of purchases this Black Friday by 72%, and the orders’ value – by 89%, compared to the regular period. The average online order value during the sales days grew by 10% and reached the mark of $46. More than half of the sales were made on various marketplaces. This year on Black Friday, 23% of online purchases in the country were made via smartphones.
The number of online orders in Germany, being the largest EU e-commerce market, increased by 17% and the order volume by 21% on Black Friday compared to the day before. The Average Order Value (AOV) climbed + 4% to about $ 48; more than half of the turnover came from online marketplaces. The most popular categories were Beauty and Healthcare (28% of all purchases), followed by Credits (13%), Fashion (12,5%), and Travel, namely Hotels (12,5%). It seems Germans remained optimistic about their plans for the upcoming Winter holidays season.
Spaniards were also ahead of the world numbers - the purchases just jumped up to +86% on Black Friday, compared to the day before. Spanish consumers opted for electronic goods making 28% of all purchases, beauty and personal care products (25%), fashion and accessories (20%), and hotels (9%). A slight shift of priorities in this market is clearly taking place.
Several business industries were much more active this year and received more attention during the sale compared to 2020:
Traffic sources
A significant proportion of users (29.7%) decided to buy on the recommendation of online media and internet blogs. Another 26.8% followed the lucrative cashback offers. 14.3% of sales came from contextual advertising, followed by affiliate sites (6.7%) and Facebook (4.7%). At the same time, the income of German advertisers on Black Friday increased by + 48% compared to the day before; the income of British Publishers on Black Friday in total grew by 81%.
Key learnings for the sales period
For Europe, the sale period is very much in the final phase of Christmas sales and New Year’s Eve. The period of increased demand will last until the very end of December as many purchasing decisions will probably be made spontaneously depending on whether the general lockdown rules and regulations apply - meaning buying gifts or spending New Year's Eve in a restaurant.
Brands and advertisers should continue using and monitoring a variety of traffic channels during this period and make sure the offer is delivered swiftly. Santa has not been canceled this year.
The always delightful Christmas celebrations are upon us and a new year is fast approaching. As we ready ourselves for a jam-packed 2022, we must look back at the unique year that was 2021 and celebrate all of the IAB Europe best bits.
From prepping for a post third-party cookie world and promoting trust and transparency in our industry, to diving into CTV and tackling all things audio, this has truly been a year of varied discussions and great digital strides, despite the hybrid nature of our lives. Of course, no event or podcast, webinar, or guide would be possible without the input of our incredible members. We would like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to anyone that contributed in any way, shape or form this year to moving our industry forward, and we are so excited to continue working with you all in the new year.
With that, and to wrap everything up, we’ve put together our top five focus areas for 2021, so you can look back at what was discussed, debated, and delivered throughout the year.
1. Digital Advertising Research, Definitions & Best Practices
Similar to 2020, 2021 put a spotlight on measuring the value and growth of our industry across Europe. In collaboration with members of our Research Committee, and with the support of our Programmatic Trading Committee, we have undertaken a number of benchmarking projects and shared multiple pan-European studies and surveys to help gain a deeper understanding of key topics such as programmatic, in-housing, and more.
Discover some of our top 2021 research projects below:
Some of our 2021 studies are still in progress, so if you would like to contribute, check out these surveys and have your say today:
It is not just the Research Committee doing all the heavy lifting, both taskforces that sit under IAB Europe’s Brand Advertising Committee have also been on a mission this year to increase awareness and drive investment. Our Channels and Formats taskforce has provided best practices and guidance in emerging and established digital advertising channels, helping brands and buyers to navigate the opportunities of new platforms, such as In-Gaming. We have released some brilliantly insightful 101 guides full of carefully curated definitions and detailed case studies; take a read if you missed them:
2. Post-Cookie Education & Guidance
IAB Europe placed a large focus last year on the phasing out of third-party cookies, with a dedicated task force, webinars, a guide to navigating the change, and bi-weekly meetings to keep members as up-to-date as possible. In June 2021, Google decided to delay the process, so instead of removing cookies in 2022, a three-month roll-out will now end in late 2023.
Since the announcement, we have worked hard to continue to help our members stride towards a cookieless world. We’ve looked at the future of brand measurement in an insightful Q&A with experts from our Research Committee, took a deep dive into the future of attribution in a Q&A with our Programmatic Trading Committee, and shared a Guide to Contextual Advertising as one such solution. On top of that, we have centred a number of talks at recent events around a post third party cookie world. Check out the ‘Are We Still on Track?’ talk from our H2 Virtual Programmatic Day here.
Moving into 2022, as we get closer to the new phase-out date, we are gearing up to release an updated version of our Post Third-Party Cookie Guide. If you would like to contribute to the guide, please contact Lauren Wakefield at wakefield@iabeurope.eu.
3. Digital Advertising Trust & Transparency
Trust and transparency have always been a top priority for IAB Europe and this year was no different. In an attempt to overcome some of the industry’s biggest hurdles and increase consumer trust and brand investment in the digital advertising and marketing ecosystem, IAB Europe dedicated an entire month to discuss best practices, current initiatives, the latest policy, and legal regulations to drive trust and transparency in our industry; we will definitely be doing the same in 2022!
Take a look at some of our top 2021 trust and transparency outputs below:
4. Policy, Advocacy, and Legal
As always, IAB Europe represents the interests of Europe’s digital marketing & advertising industry to ensure that future EU policy and regulation enable continuing innovation and sustainable media while maximising the industry’s potential to contribute to Europe’s digital economy.
Let’s talk policy!
IAB Europe has remained deeply invested in policy advocacy work, which is critical as online advertising has become entangled in several EU dossiers. 2021 has seen rapid advancement of discussions on the proposed Digital Services Act (DSA), with some MEPs proposing a ban on targeted ads which necessitated the most active participation of the industry in dialogue with the EU policymaker. IAB Europe’s positioning formed a solid basis for broad EU institutional outreach conducted with the support of National IABs. Conversations with the policymakers benefited from insight coming from research supporting policy advocacy: ‘What would an Internet without targeted ads look like?’ and ‘The wider socio-economic and cultural value of targeted advertising in Europe’.
At crunch time for the DSA, IAB Europe launched the ‘No Easy Wins’ campaign, highlighting how a ban or other restrictions on targeted ads would be an ‘own goal’ for digital Europe with clearly foreseeable negative consequences for consumers, small businesses, and small publishers alike. IAB Europe will continue its active engagement on the European Digital Policy in 2022, including on the DSA, ePrivacy Regulation proposal, Disinformation, and the new Political Ads proposal.
Let’s talk legal!
IAB Europe also remains committed to supporting privacy compliance efforts both through its Transparency & Consent Framework and through the development of legal resources that assist our members as well as the industry more broadly in their compliance processes. Following the switchover from TCF v1.1 to v2.0 in 2020, we have continued evolving the framework over the past year to better to improve its utility to the market and better suit expectations from regulators. Compliance and enforcement measures for CMPs have, in particular, been reinforced, further automated and we launched an all-new vendor compliance program in September 2021. This year has also seen the publication of guidance on legitimate interest assessments as well the launch of a dedicated privacy and data protection hub on our website, which aims to serve as a reference point for anyone wishing to get acquainted with the latest rules and developments on privacy and data protection with an impact on digital advertising.
5. Connected TV (CTV) & Audio
2021 was a big year for CTV and Audio. We see increasing numbers of TV watchers moving away from linear television towards Connected TV, giving advertisers another platform to play with. Similarly, online audio is blossoming around the world through a wealth of new content, new formats, and new experiences; in the space of a few short years, digital audio has become a media planning favourite. We have created some incredible content this year, designed to help businesses take advantage of the opportunities that these platforms offer. If you fancy a recap, here is a list of our favourite bits:
So, that is our 2021 round-up! Once again, thank you to our members for getting involved in our initiatives this year and making all of our outputs such a huge success. If you would like more information about how you can get involved in our committees or task forces, please reach out to the team at communication@iabeurope.eu
We hope you have a wonderful break and we look forward to collaborating and continuing to drive the industry forward with you in the new year.
In this week's member blog post, we hear from Philippa Snare, SVP EMEA at The Trade Desk. Philippa is urging the marketers of 2022 to take notice of retail media and the recent developments that have created incredible opportunities for brands. She also shares some of The Trade Desk secrets to success!
Data has long been heralded as the oil of the digital economy - not only is it a hugely valuable resource, it also plays a key role in keeping the cogs of the online world turning smoothly.
And within this world where data reigns supreme, there is a rising star - retail. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought vast swathes of consumers online to buy everything from tea to toothpaste, a behaviour change that research suggests is set to stay, with 49% of Brits saying that online shopping is now their preferred purchase method. As a result, advancements previously pencilled to take years have instead been condensed into months as demand soared.
Before long, retail will be an advertisers’ bread and butter, sitting front and centre in their core arsenal alongside desktop, mobile and CTV. With that in mind, here’s a couple of things advertisers should know about this exciting new channel as we enter its biggest year yet.
Retail’s special sauce - logged-in users
One of the big developments transforming retail media is the move by key players to launch their own demand-side platforms (DSPs). At The Trade Desk, we have partnered with Walmart to launch its DSP earlier this year. With 150 million customers shopping via the company’s website, app and 4,700 stores, Walmart has an immense volume of unique insight into shopper behaviour. This launch is a key moment for the industry, paving the way for a future that many others will look to.
One such player following Walmart’s lead is a little closer to home - Tesco. The UK’s biggest retailer just last month announced it is setting itself up as a media owner. Tesco not only has millions of Brits logged in to do their online food shopping but its proprietary loyalty card ‘Clubcard’ is used in 80% of all transactions. As a result, like Walmart, it has a vast pool of invaluable data on shopper behaviour, preferences and trends. In fact, in our recent ‘The Future of Retail’ report, in which we surveyed 5000 consumers and 150 brand marketers, a huge 81% of consumers reported having at least one digital account with a retailer - revealing the potential for other retailers, and advertisers.
These developments mean that brands can leverage their own first-party data alongside a retailer’s insights, maximising their ability to both find new customers and reach existing ones at the right moment, in the right place.
It’s particularly noteworthy that such offerings allow advertisers to access logged-in users outside of the walled gardens. Many of the retailers we are collaborating with are convinced that the value of their data is best realised on the open internet, not within the confines of walled gardens. It provides a safe environment for both brands and retailers to protect their most important asset - first-party data.
Closing the loop
It’s easy to see why retail media is so appealing to brand marketers. As the vast majority of consumers now live as much online as they do ‘IRL’, retailers’ ability to link these two worlds has never been more important. Closed-loop measurement means advertisers can accurately measure the online and offline impact of their campaigns via in-store touchpoints. This is particularly valuable for legacy brands, who are now able to quickly pivot to the strategies direct-to-consumer brands have long utilised to disrupt the market.
76% of marketers we spoke to plan to use sales data either “frequently” or “very frequently” over the next year, for this reason. These insights - from both on and offline channels - are giving CMOs a clearer picture of how their campaigns impact consumer actions, with retail media providing connections that other channels can’t.
Ultimately, it’s in brand marketers’ interests to get as close to the point of purchase as possible. Reducing the route marketers have to take between advertisement and purchase is vital to increasing the efficacy of ad investments and making every penny of spend work as hard as possible. Doing this at scale is a marketers’ utopia.
Many savvy marketers are primed and ready to hit ‘buy’ on the retail opportunity. For those that aren’t, we’d say now is the time to check out this exciting new channel and all it has to offer. From where we’re sat, 2022 looks set to be a big year for retail media.
The guide provides up-to-date insight into native ad formats and key considerations and best practices for buyers.
2nd December 2021, Brussels, Belgium: IAB Europe, the leading European-level industry association for the digital advertising and marketing ecosystem, has today released its ‘Guide to Native Advertising’ to shed more light on one of marketers’ most used forms of advertising.
IAB Europe first published a white paper on Native Advertising in 2016 when it was still a nascent and evolving area of digital advertising. Since then, Native has continued to grow in importance as consumers found themselves bombarded with intrusive advertising, which led to ad blocking, banner blindness, and ad fatigue.
This Guide has been written by three experts of IAB Europe’s Channels and Formats Taskforce, which is part of the Brand Advertising Committee, to provide up-to-date information on Native Advertising formats, placements, and best practices so that buyers can ensure effective campaign delivery. The Guide also explores how Native will be key to growth in other digital channels such as eCommerce, CTV, and DOOH. Alongside this, there are a number of case studies to show real-life examples of Native in action.
Commenting on his contribution to the Guide, Agathe Rakowicz, Director, Global Brand Operation at Outbrain said, "It's great to work with IAB Europe on Guides like this because it's a unique opportunity to explore Native Advertising as a unified front. Native advertising has come so far and has truly improved the consumer experience online. It's great to be able to showcase the progression and demonstrate to markers how they can leverage Native Advertising on the open web to grow their reach and diversify their marketing strategy."
Commenting on the importance of industry guides, Jon Westnedge, VP EMEA, Taboola said: “IAB Europe and its research in this report play an important part in demonstrating the potential of native advertising for European marketers - an industry that we at Taboola have spent 14 years perfecting. We are pleased to contribute to this industry guide, which will empower advertisers with knowledge of the formats available, best practices, and key considerations for using native advertising to grow their business.”
Commenting on the development of the Guide, IAB Europe’s Marketing and Industry Programmes Manager Marie-Clare Puffett said: “This guide provides lots of best practices, practical examples and case studies from member organisations to show how native advertising can be used as a non-intrusive format to engage consumers.”
Download the guide here.
In this week’s member-guest blog post, we hear from Filippo Gramigna, CEO at Audiencerate. Filippo is diving into the post-pandemic world of SMEs, looking at their overwhelming importance, the challenges they may face, and the role that Customer Data Platforms could play in ensuring their long-term success.
COVID-19 transformed the marketing landscape. While eCommerce was already steadily moving into the mainstream, real-life restrictions and lockdowns accelerated the transition to online retail. Companies small and large shifted to a digital-first approach to respond to changing consumer demands, as an additional 6% of EU internet users focused their purchasing power online. Nevertheless, a closer look at Europe and the UK reveals SMEs still bore the commercial brunt of the COVID-19: 70% reported reduced revenue and a further 50% could not guarantee they would survive the next 12 months. Coinciding with Google’s phasing out of third-party cookies, SMEs are facing evermore challenges when it comes to competition — especially against larger brands and companies — and questions surrounding privacy and targeted advertising.
The challenge for SMEs
Let’s take a step back to consider why SMEs are so important. According to a recent IAB Europe report, 99% of European businesses are SMEs, bringing in 50% of European GDP and employing over 100 million people, it is therefore understandable that The European Commission considers them “the backbone of Europe’s economy”[1]. The twin challenges to the industry — COVID-19 and Google’s third-party cookie disavowal — injected a high level of pressure to innovate, finding new ways to connect to audiences that respected privacy concerns. First-party data, with its granular insights drawn from loyal customer input, has emerged as a clear favourite substitute as publishers, agencies, brands, and tech platforms scramble for solutions. However, an initial swarm towards new technologies such as videoconferencing, the Internet of Things, and Augmented Reality tailed off following continued economic uncertainty. As first-party data rewards companies which already benefit from both a large consumer base as well as the technology to manage their data — consider Google and Facebook advertising ecosystems — this leaves SMEs in dire need of additional technological solutions.
While the pandemic prophesied an ad spend slump unseen since 1929, reality witnessed a spending surge of 6.3%. UK-centric data echoes this sentiment: half of SMEs considered digital advertising to be an important aspect of business during the crisis, and an even larger proportion (63%) thought digital activity was a good return on investment. Without the limitless budget of larger corporations, SMEs rely, in large part, on targeted advertising to reach their audiences as well as reduce costs. And if these businesses are to continue providing cultural and financial value to the EU and UK as well as contribute towards building a sustainable, digital future, then a blanket ban on targeted ads—as suggested by several MEPs — is not the way forward. So, what is?
Steps to success
Taking into account the myriad considerations of the current landscape, Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) arise as the privacy-first solution to building the personalised experiences consumers have come to expect. Aggregating customer data from individual, disconnected silos, CDPs provide the necessary information that generates 360° customer profiles, facilitating consistent communication across channels and fostering loyalty-building strategies. Furthermore, the industry-approved identifier systems can track and measure ROAS, assisting companies in the continued optimisation of their campaigns.
The strength of CDPs lies in their capacity to unify the swathes of customer records from across multiple platforms and databases, both on- and offline. Enriching data with compliant sources to gain scale, CDPs are then able to segment customers based on behaviour and acquisition. Integrated platforms, on the other hand, allow a business to activate omnichannel campaigns. Another way they can contribute to business growth is by leveraging data independence to accumulate knowledge — having comprehensive access to their own data to help influence business decisions — and continuously expanding the database and refining the algorithms. A CDP can provide a vast range of options to an SME, and the success all depends on how they plan to use their CDPs; options include execution layers and personalisation capabilities, or identity resolution, and customer segmentation.
While the marketing sphere is still in the grips of constant transformation, there are a few certainties for SMEs to keep in mind while adapting to the present and preparing for the future. Firstly: data makes the world go around. Data defines our strategies, structures, and goals. Compared to 2016, estimates envisage a tenfold increase of data by 2025, resulting in 175 zettabytes. Secondly: the pandemic was only the beginning. Multinational corporations such as Amazon, Netflix, and Facebook have long since recognised the importance of and benefited from the consumer data and attribute their success in part to translating these insights into personalised products and services. SMEs that are slow in this respect will not only fall behind in terms of competition, but they may not survive at all.
Digital transformation was key to SME survival during the pandemic, many of which, despite suffering some losses, were still able to develop and push forward technological solutions. However, just because circumstances are returning to “normal” does not mean that businesses should abandon their initial digital dash. Tightening GDPR regulations, omnichannel campaign demands, fluctuating consumer habits and an ever-growing reliance on data demonstrate a very real need to continue investing in tech. CDPs are one answer to the complex problem of customer experience, providing SMEs with the ability to keep up with stiff competition as well as the complex needs of our time.
IAB Europe has three exciting Industry Insiders lined up for our listeners in the coming weeks. With leading industry experts, we are tackling lots of topics, from audio to eCommerce, you won't want to miss a single one!
IAB Europe Industry Insider Webinar with Meta - Key Emerging Trends from ECommerce to Future Proof your Brand & Business
Join the newly named Meta on Wednesday 1st December to talk about all things eCommerce! Zehra Chatoo, Head of Connection Planning for Retail and ECommerce EMEA at Meta, will be diving into changing shopping behaviors and creator commerce, sharing the latest trends for 2022 and best practices from Black Friday campaigns. IAB Europe’s Chief Economist, Daniel Knapp will also be joining to share the latest industry trends in eCommerce.
Register here
IAB Europe Industry Insider with GroupM - State of Pay: The ECommerce Opportunity and How Stakeholders Can Tap into it
In this session, IAB Europe’s Chief Economist, Daniel Knapp will share an overview of the eCommerce opportunity in Europe today. He will then be joined by GroupM and a panel of experts who will dive into how brands are building and adapting their eCommerce strategy, sharing best practices and practical examples. Don’t miss the chance to hear these expert opinions! Register now and we will see you on Thursday 9th December at 12:00 CET.
Register here
IAB Europe Industry Insider with Oracle Advertising– How Tuned in Are You? Unpacking Audio Through Measurement and Context
It is no secret that audio is on the rise and that digital content is embedded in so many touchpoints in our day-to-day lives – increasingly the complexity for advertisers trying to reach the right people, in the right moments and then measure accordingly. But with the right tools and practices in place, progress is possible. Join Moomal Shaikh, Senior Product Manager at Oracle Advertising on Tuesday 7th December, 16:00 CET as she breaks down the state of audio today, and the measurement and contextual solutions at your fingertips that can help inform your decisions of tomorrow.
Register here
