Why Did iOS Ad Bids Drop 14% After Apple's Move?
Ad bidding rates on iOS dropped 14% between September 15 and October 8, while ad prices fell 4% on iOS and 11% on Mac, following Apple's block on identity resolution companies.
Ad bidding rates on iOS devices dropped 14% between September 15 and October 8 and remain about 8% lower, after Apple began blocking identity resolution companies that collect data on people from their email, phone numbers, IP addresses, and device details. Data from Aditude's customers showed that bidding rates on Mac devices fell about 25% with no sign of recovery.
The crisis began when The Trade Desk ads stopped working in the Safari browser following the latest iPhone update, after which it became clear that Apple had also blocked ID5, LiveRamp, Permutive, and Audigent. In early October, Apple partially re-enabled The Trade Desk's ad server while identity companies remained blocked, before explaining on October 19 that Safari blocks identity resolution companies that re-identify individuals across websites and devices.
The impact extended to publishers. According to Aditude data, WebKit-based browsers (which include Safari and all browsers on iPhone and iPad) account for 30% of ad impressions and 28.5% of ad revenue for its clients. Revenue per ad opportunity fell 6% on iOS and 20% on Mac devices, while effective ad prices dropped 4% and 11%, respectively.
Permutive, one of the blocked companies, notes that ad inventory without identifiers sells at an average discount of 42% compared to the Chrome browser, yet identifiers only cover about 30% of the bidstream. It states that leveraging publishers' first-party data raised prices by 76% in direct deals and 32% in private marketplaces, indicating that the market is shifting toward contextual targeting and aggregated data instead of individual identification.
What do these terms mean?
Identity resolution: A technology that collects data such as email, phone number, and IP address to link a person's activity across different websites and devices.
WebKit: The web browser rendering engine used by Apple in Safari and all browsers on iPhone and iPad devices.
CPM (Cost per thousand impressions): A metric representing the revenue a publisher receives for every thousand times ads are displayed.
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