Gone are the days of running a few big, bold spreads in a popular magazine or launching a digital homepage takeover on a few high-traffic publisher sites. By next year, the global cross-platform and mobile advertising market is expected to hit nearly $300 billion. So, rolling out a campaign that spans social, display, streaming and more isn’t the exception. It’s the (new) rule.

While this approach casts a broader net and enables brands to meet consumers where they are, two challenges continue to greatly worry advertisers: consistently and effectively targeting ads to relevant audiences and, from there, attributing performance to business results. These concerns exist across platforms — and the more campaign extensions, often, the murkier the targeting and attribution efforts seem to become.

Now, though, there’s a new layer. Enhanced privacy regulations mean advertisers are losing access to granular details that prior have helped hone campaign targeting and overall performance. 

The problem with modern advertising 

Enhanced privacy policies are making digital advertising even more challenging. While identifying and effectively targeting discrete audiences at scale has always been a tall order, data that once guided these decisions is now off the table.