As a largely responsible, self-regulated sector, the AdTech industry has regularly taken a mindful stance on data collection and consumer privacy throughout its existence. With the launch of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Framework (ATT) in iOS 14.5 and continuation in iOS 15, Apple has used their vertical integration of hardware and software to limit access to anonymized consumer data, and thus creating doubt in the minds of some as to their ability to continue activation and measurement activities similar to years past. 

At Locala, we’ve been preparing for this update for some time as one of our most important priorities is to minimize any impact on our clients’ and partners’ business operations. Our mission is to empower our clients with impactful campaigns so they can drive their customers to stores, dealerships and restaurants and accurately measure the ROI.

The impact

Our July in-house impact study has shown we have not experienced any significant trend change related to iOS / ATT, whether it be op-in and opt-out rates, localization or audience targeting. Our reporting reliability, measurement accuracy (whether in-house or through our trusted partners) and targeting capabilities remain unchanged. This was proven throughout the latest campaigns we’ve run this summer.

Our teams have summarized the system impacts with the following important updates:

  • Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency has not impacted our offerings in any way.
  • Our ability to identify consumers and drive them to stores has not been impacted. 
  • The industry-leading scalability of our campaigns has not been impacted.
  • Our ability to provide accurate and actionable reporting has not been impacted.  

The bigger picture

Methodologies change as practices evolve, but core principles remain. We’re facing profound industry changes, and we must meet them through technical and structural evolution. At Locala, we have always been ahead of the game with our methodology, which allows us to anticipate and meet industry needs successfully. As a matter of fact, our product team has developed our very own extrapolation methodology, based on scientific principles, to ensure we are giving retailers an accurate view of their campaign results. 

This extrapolation algorithm allows us to estimate the total number of visits generated by a campaign, including those that were not seen by the footfall measurer but did happen. It also gives us additional insights to help advertisers better assess the impact of their campaigns on business KPIs, and addresses potential data volume diminutions we could face in the future. 

Our extrapolation methodology relies on complex statistical models and uses capture-recapture sampling, the reference methodology used in biology to estimate the size of animal populations.

What’s next?

At this stage, no one can fully predict how the ATT framework will affect the advertising industry in the long run, but we are closely monitoring the situation to continue delivering outstanding performance and addressing any concerns our clients and partners might have. While the industry as a whole should expect some disruption, we are confident Locala’s technology can and will be successful in this new ecosystem.