Your first-party data just doubled in value

According to a Pubmatic study that analysed 1 trillion daily programmatic bids, Apple’s iOS 14.5 update lowered IDFA presence by 30 percent. As a reminder, IDFA is a cookie-like identifier for mobile devices used to track and target individuals for advertisements.

The interesting part of this study is that advertisers pay 2.4 times more for an impression on a device with IDFA than on an anonymous device. This makes sense, as advertising on a device without an identifier is a complete shot in the dark. With that in mind, we can see that there is now a concrete and tangible measure for the value of privacy.

Advertisers pay 2.4 times more for an impression on a device with IDFA

The implication is that first-party data is indirectly getting more valuable by the same proportion. Brands are now realising that their opted-in first-party email list is of the highest value. Not only is it qualified by definition, but it is also very cost-effective to reach, especially in the context of the recent challenges with third-party advertising.

In a recent statement, Facebook shared they were projecting a $10B revenue loss in 2022 because of the dramatic decrease in IDFA presence. This illustrates how much value is locked up in data, but it also shows us something else: that the perception of value might be biased, wrongly undervaluing already-acquired customers. We’re by no means advocating against acquisition, but it’s clear that customers who have already opted-in need to be invested in.

There might be no better time to fix the leaky first-party data bucket, so if you need to get budget for your CRM project, these stats are a great proofpoint for the importance of customer-centricity and agile first-party data activation. You might not get 2.4x the initial budget, but this will undoubtedly give it some perspective.