Marketing Winners and Losers with New iOS 15
Apple loves to bring consumers new operating systems as regularly as possible. This autumn will see the latest in iOS, with Apple set to release New iOS 15. The changes made for New iOS 15 are all about increasing transparency for both marketers and customers. Moreover, these Apple privacy updates will significantly impact mobile advertising strategies. Discover below exactly who these changes will affect.
Changes to the SKAdNetwork
One of the most major changes is in the data that Apple gives to advertisers through their SKAdNetwork or SKAN. Now, all individual advertisers can opt in to receive data when their advertisements directly lead to a purchase or an app installation.
The biggest loser under this change in New iOS 15 will be the self-attributing networks that came to prominence during iOS 14. Under iOS 14, only specially registered self-attributing ad networks could receive data on advertisement success. Consequently, this gave self-attributing networks all the power in their relationship with individual advertisers. They controlled the much sought-after information on the success of advertisements.
So what does this mean for the self-attributing ad networks? They will now be redundant on New iOS 15. Furthermore, gone are the days when a single network could control the data of the advertisers under them. On New iOS 15, this power is now in the hands of the new SKAN network. Therefore, it is in the hands of the individual advertisers.
Naturally, the main winner in the marketing world from this change are the individual advertisers. These groups will now benefit from vastly improved transparency. Additionally, they can access all the data relating to their advertisements in the rawest form. They no longer need to go through the lengthy process of working with a self-attributing ad network.
App Tracking Transparency Changes
In previous versions of iOS, apps had the ability to track customers in the background without their knowledge. Developers could then use this data to improve the way their apps operate. They could also better target the advertisements. However, as part of their commitment to app tracking transparency in New iOS 15, Apple customers will now choose if they want to be tracked.
The main winner in these changes is Apple itself, especially if they can convince the majority of customers to opt-out of tracking. App publishers will no longer use targeted advertisements to take consumers out of their app. Instead, more purchases that app publishers can convince customers to make will be made in-app. Importantly, Apple takes a sizable 30% chunk from all of these transactions.
Whether Apple customers will benefit or be harmed by the changes to tracking in New iOS 15 is debatable. No doubt, they will find themselves with a higher level of privacy. Advertisers have much less access to their lives. Nevertheless, when customers choose to opt-out of tracking, they could run into difficulties.
Their apps will not work as well. Moreover, the adverts they receive will be irrelevant for them. The advertisements may not even be in the right language. Changes to tracking will oversimplify the matter. Consequently, they force customers to make a binary decision on tracking without enough information.
Will Marketers Benefit from New iOS 15?
Predicting if marketers will be better off under New iOS 15 is an impossible question. Small marketers who had previously worked under self-attributing networks will find themselves with much more freedom and autonomy. However, they will now fall much more under the influence of Apple.
SKAdNetwork changes will give Apple even more control over consumer data. Overall, these mobile advertising transformations represent a significant shift in the industry. Only time will tell how this balance works out.