Ants, ATT and the A-Pixel-Lypse
Lots has been written about and will be written about the impact of Apple Tracking Transparency, ATT, and its impact on online advertising. Facebook has provided guidance on adjustments but 2021 will be the year of the A-Pixel-Lypse. In the parable of The Ant and the Grasshopper, the grasshopper spent the summer playing music while the ant gathered food for the winter. This strategy did not serve the grasshopper well come winter time.
The seasons are different but as an advertiser on social now is a time of preparation. We are fast approaching a situation that it is better to have and not need, rather than need and not have.

Advertisers still have time before all the changes are implemented which means now is a great time to prepare. Here is our list of 5 things all Facebook advertisers should do in January.
- Verify Your Domain - This was the only advice provided in Facebook’s write up to advertisers outside of signing a petition. We would take this a step further and ensure that your business is also verified. A tip mostly for SMBs, it can be found in the Business Info section of Business Manager. Our prediction is that verified businesses and domains will gain an advantage in the algorithm come ATT implementation.
- Download Historical Attribution Data - From Facebook, “28-day click-through, 28-day view-through, and 7-day view-through attribution windows will not be supported. Historical data for these windows will remain accessible via the Ads Insights API.” Even if you run your business on 1 day post click or last click attribution, these attribution windows can be quite useful. An account level download is most likely sufficient for this pull.
- Download Age/Gender/Device Data - This data will be explicitly useful to compare performance and how the algorithm is serving impressions pre and post ATT implementation. Downloads should more than likely be at the audience/ ad set level. Tracking if the algorithm is shifting delivery to android devices on a top lookalike may be a reality.
- Run a Lift Study - Even if you as an advertiser will do nothing with this information, it will be important to understand how lift studies and attribution in general shifts for your business pre and post ATT implementation.
- Breathe - If your business got through 2020, then you probably learned to focus on what is in your control. Unless you have both Mark’s and Tim’s phone number and can get them on a 3-way call, this is most likely out of your hands. It is happening to the whole industry and will probably present new opportunities for some verticals and businesses. Understanding and preparation are key.
Industries and business are won and lost during times of transition.
You can either let this be something that derails your business, or get scrappy and find a new edge on your competition that didn’t exist before. In the coming months we’ll be reviewing different strategies to stay ahead as the rest of the market scrambles.
But if you want to get a sneak peek, shoot us an email at info@dysrupt.com!
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Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash