Google Unveils PAIR, Another First-Party Data Solution for Display & Video 360

Google added another first-party data solution for Display & Video 360, Publisher Advertiser Identity Reconciliation, which gives publishers and advertisers the option to securely and privately reconcile their first-party data for audiences who have visited both an advertiser’s and a publisher’s site. Advertisers and publishers will be able to activate encrypted first-party information unique to their sites via aggregation, and PAIR ensures that no user-level data is ever shared between parties, and that the aggregated data is only readable and meaningful in the limited context of their direct relationship. Google vice president, global ads Dan Taylor said in a blog post, “PAIR gives advertisers the ability to more closely connect with their known audiences, while avoiding tracking individuals across the web. As a result, advertisers can show relevant ads to some of their highest-intent audiences, helping to increase advertising performance and hit marketing objectives, while respecting people’s privacy expectations.” Taylor added that PAIR enables advertisers to run relevant ads to their first-party audiences without relying on third-party cookies, offering as an example, “Imagine you’re a shoe retailer and a group of people have signed up to your store’s mailing list. Separately, these same people on your list have also shared their email addresses with a publisher when browsing content online. With PAIR, you will be able to reach these people with relevant ads on that publisher’s website, because they have an existing relationship with you and with the publisher.” He noted that people’s trust in a brand will not be eroded by PAIR because they are not tracked across the web and only shown ads from advertisers and publishers with whom they have direct relationships, adding that 76% of advertisers and agencies find the usage of IDs based on pooled data to be concerning from a regulatory standpoint, and PAIR does not operate that way. Advertisers and publishers are also protected from data leaks by encrypting first-party data three times with three different keys—an advertiser key, a publisher key and a key shared between the two parties—and those keys are unique for every advertiser-publisher relationship and cannot be reverse-encrypted by any one party. Clean rooms are used by advertisers and publishers to connect the data, with only encrypted data shared with Display & Video 360 for reconciliation, and Google has already begun partnering with three providers of clean rooms: Habu, InfoSum and LiveRamp. Taylor said Google will integrate with its Ads Data Hub, as well. Annalect president Adam Gitlin said in Google’s blog post, “It’s important for us to find new ways to help advertisers connect with their audiences without replicating third-party cookies’ pitfalls. PAIR will allow us to create more personalized ad campaigns for advertisers by harnessing their first-party data in a way that is secure and protects users’ trust in their brand. We’re excited to begin using PAIR and to continue engaging with customers in meaningful ways.” Prisa Media transformation and client solutions director Manuel Castro added, “PAIR will be part of our cookieless strategy, enabling us to deliver more relevant ads to our logged-in users and improve the performance of our advertising partners." And LiveRamp CEO Scott Howe said, "LiveRamp is excited to implement PAIR in Safe Haven and bring it to our 450-plus marketers and 11,000-plus publisher domains. Both marketers and publishers recognize that there’s no silver bullet for the end of the cookie and are seeking privacy-first solutions that enhance the customer experience."