Introducing the Adweek Podcast Network. Access infinite inspiration in your pocket on everything from career advice and creativity to metaverse marketing and more. Browse all podcasts.
The clock is ticking down on Google’s plans to axe third-party cookies next year.
Today marks another industry step closer toward figuring out replacements for ad targeting, delivery and measurement, as the tech giant announces that developers can begin testing Sandbox Proposals globally. This includes Topics, FLEDGE and Attribution Reporting APIs in the Canary version of Chrome.
The projected timelines for Privacy Sandbox have experienced a fair amount of flex over the last few years, keeping the ad industry on its toes.
“We recognize that companies will need some time to use the APIs, validate the data flows and measure performance,” said Vinay Goel, product director, Privacy Sandbox, Chrome in a blog post. “We are looking forward to companies providing feedback as they move through the different testing phases, which will allow us to continually improve the APIs.”
Once the company is happy with the API developments, they will be available more widely.
The most advanced proposal in the Sandbox was federated learning of cohorts, which shifted to Topics in January, and with it, traded targeting effectiveness for more regulatory compliance.
Origin trials for FLEDGE, which is short for the first locally-executed decision over groups experiment, have been kicked down the road several times—as Google’s deadline has moved to ensure replacements do not unwillingly enhance Google’s dominance in the ad tech ecosystem. The tech giant has agreed to trade body oversight by the U.K. Competition Markets Authority.
FLEDGE operates by making ad auction decisions on the browser itself, rather than at the ad server level, which is the current industry standard.
With this announcement, Chrome said it will begin testing updated Privacy Sandbox settings and controls that allow users to see and manage the interests associated with them, or turn off the trials entirely.
Google’s Privacy Sandbox proposals are not without their critics. Some publishers, such as Stephanie Layser, VP of data, identity and ad tech at News Corp, are more excited by the prospect of the IAB’s seller-defined audiences than the Sandbox targeting proposals. One reason is that Topics perpetuates the belief that marketers can buy the same audiences of The Wall Street Journal in other areas outside the title, which has led to decreasing inventory value for publishers.
Google said it welcomes continual feedback from the early testers and industry trade bodies.
