29.03.2024

Privacy Topples Attribution Measurement. .. For Now

News flash for marketers using Google for advertising: Measurement just got more difficult. GDPR forced Google to rethink how it gathers, stores, and uses customer and prospect data or face hefty fines that could add up to millions. As a result, Google has restricted advertisers’ ability to access data to measure marketing effectiveness.

This means that attribution measurement efforts – how they tell which marketing tactics are most effective for future optimizations – are severely limited for those who use Google for advertising.

Let me break it down for you: Google has restricted advertisers’ ability to download advertising IDs in Data Transfer files, which allows marketers to pull data out of Google Marketing Cloud for cross-channel measurement in the European Economic Area (EEA). While this isn’t a global mandate from Google (for now), it impacts global companies doing business in the EEA. Because of Google’s restrictions, attribution measurement is dead for marketers relying on Google ad IDs for measurement.

Marketers have some recourse. Work with your measurement partners to determine measurement alternatives, rely on measurement partners’ own tracking mechanisms to capture data needed for attribution measurement, or even go as far as switching ad servers.

My most recent report, “Privacy Concerns Cripple Attribution Measurement”, provides even more details on Google’s actions and how marketers can pivot their measurement strategy to continue their attribution measurement work.

Have your marketing measurement efforts been impacted by GDPR and Google’s restriction on pulling out ad ID data? If so, set up an inquiry with me!

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