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In 2022, AdExchanger spilled a lot of digital ink covering two opposing forces: the causes of signal loss and the proposed solutions.
Targeting signals became increasingly difficult to come by, due in part to Apple’s policies and as a result of data privacy regulation, as well as anxiety about state laws coming into effect in just a few weeks. Not to mention Google’s plan to remove an important signal (IP addresses) from Google Analytics.
On the solutions front, advertisers and media sellers went on a clean-room launching spree in 2022, announcing partnerships and building products that claim to allow for safe data sharing. Meanwhile, AI is increasingly being infused into products to help make sense of incomplete data, and old-school tactics like media mix modeling (MMM) are being fused with newer techniques like MTA (multi-touch attribution).
But 2022 wasn’t just about struggling to adapt to change. The ad industry also discovered new and compelling advertising surfaces, including in-game ads. Advertisers want to chase eyeballs, and gamers are notoriously hard to reach.
Gaming is setting the stage for further ad growth, and updated standards will make buying in-game advertising easier and more accessible. Advertisers just have to be careful not to mess with the player experience.
Finally, ad tech M&A continued in 2022 despite economic uncertainty and inflation raining on the parade. As some public companies drop in their valuations, there’s a chance 2023 will spur privacy equity buyers to take struggling companies private and polish them up in anticipation of better market conditions.
We hope you’ll give this recap a listen as you bake some holiday treats. See you next year!
