Google’s Privacy Sandbox, a contentious cookie replacement, has entered its most critical testing phase. Ad executives are currently examining three major components of the Privacy Sandbox without making any modifications. Adform will be conducting tests for six weeks, while Criteo and Magnite will extend their testing period by an additional two weeks. These tests commenced last week.
Several other ad tech firms, who have chosen to remain anonymous, have disclosed that their evaluations are scheduled to begin next month. This is in line with the regulations set by the U.K.’s Competitions and Markets Authority and Google’s rules on sandbox testing.
Google API
During this pivotal period, ad tech vendors are concentrating on the Protected Audiences API, the Topics API, and the Attribution Reporting API. They are particularly keen on understanding the potential value of these alternatives for publishers and advertisers.
For publishers, this involves closely tracking ad prices, specifically how and why these prices fluctuate. Ideally, Criteo and Adform aim to attribute price changes to the effectiveness of the ads, rather than just variations in spending.
Importance of Stability in Ad Prices
Maintaining stable ad prices is crucial for advertisers. This ensures that ad tech vendors can accurately evaluate the effectiveness of advertising using these APIs in generating revenue. The more stable these prices are, the better they can prevent any influence from changes in ad performance that might otherwise prompt advertisers to adjust their budgets.
Significance of the Testing Period
This extended testing period is of utmost importance. “If you don’t have a predictable amount of demand going to traffic in Chrome that has Privacy Sandbox labels then it’s impossible really to see statistically significant results on CPMs over time,” stated Criteo’s chief product officer Todd Parsons.
Submission of Results by June 15
The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority requires ad tech vendors testing the sandbox to submit their results by June 15. This is based on several weeks of continuous testing where no changes are made to the test environment, including not introducing new publishers or other vendors into the test during the period.
