Neo@Ogilvy Viewpoints | Multi-‐Device Authentication
Some Considerations? There are a number of topics that deserve to be discussed under this heading but will not be analyzed in greater depth in this paper. There is a very short comment on some of these topics below: Other approaches to cross-device attribution: There are a number of other approaches to cross-device attribution, but they do not involve the user self-authenticating (i.e. logging in). Instead, various user devices are associated by a) fingerprinting or b) using Wi-Fi signals to identify devices in the same network. In our opinion, these approaches are less accurate, harder to audit, present privacy challenges and are otherwise less desirable than cross-device tracking based on login. Privacy: There is much to discuss and we will limit ourselves to say that, in our view, Facebook’s, Google’s and Microsoft’s expected approach to cross-device tracking and attribution is likely to be consistent with existing privacy regulations and best practices. Any personally identifiable information (PII) would be stripped out, or not be part of the process from the start, and the anonymous cross-device user IDs need not be shared with third parties. With that said, there may be a consumer backlash; some publications have certainly focused on the potentially negative aspects of this type of tracking.2 Reliance on Facebook and Google data: Today, Google and Facebook (and to a lesser degree, Microsoft) have enormous amounts of data that can be leveraged for cross-device tracking. Although we think this data could be used to improve tracking in the long-term, it has yet to be seen whether these companies will be able to “replenish” their data sources to the degree that the accuracy of their data does not erode over time. In other words, will users continue to log in to sites like Gmail and Facebook at the volumes necessary to sustain accurate cross-device tracking? It is extremely difficult to project whether this will be the case, and/or whether these companies will continue to build and acquire (i.e. Google Plus and Instagram) products that will maintain the levels of data required.
Next Steps Neo will continue to provide updates on relevant product developments as information becomes available. We believe that there will be significant differences in tracking and targeting products released by the major tech companies. As we are given the opportunity to test and to discuss new features, we will provide analysis on potential advantages and use cases. i https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/3419678#estcon_works ii http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/28/facebook-‐acquires-‐atlas/ iii http://community.advertising.microsoft.com/msa/en/global/b/blog/archive/2013/10/23/what-‐advertising-‐ id-‐means-‐developers-‐advertising-‐8-‐1-‐sdk.aspx
2 http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/83965
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