Digital marketing continuously evolves as new technologies become available and the digital landscape shifts. One of the most significant, recent changes is Apple’s shift from an opt-out model to a more privacy-centric opt-in model for activating the tracking IDs used for device-level ad targeting.

In newer iOS versions, apps now ask the user if they’d like to opt into location and other types of tracking. Although that change has now been in effect for more than a year, most users of Apple mobile devices are not opting in. As a result, advertisers are seeing a significant reduction in the scale and effectiveness of targeted mobile campaigns. What are marketers to do? One thing is clear: it’s essential for marketers to understand the impact of this change and the alternatives that exist for effectively delivering relevant ads on iOS devices at scale.

While there are a variety of alternatives that have been floated in the market, one category of ID-independent solutions that is particularly promising is adaptive ad creative. In this article we provide an overview of three adaptive creative formats: Immersive/Augmented Reality (AR) Ads, Dynamic Creative and Native Advertising.

Immersive/Augmented Reality (AR) Ads

Immersive and augmented reality advertising uses a smartphone camera to superimpose 3D models and virtual objects into a real-world scene. AR experiences are favored by many forward-thinking companies in direct-to-consumer retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) and have been on the rise for years with the accessibility of AR technology. Today, AR experiences can be presented directly within ad units, putting immersive experiences that were formerly only available in the brand’s app in front of far more consumers.

As device IDs continue to diminish, immersive advertising with AR technology offers great promise for fresh, engagement-oriented  marketing strategies. The beauty of AR is that these ads work with and without device IDs, and the majority of modern mobile devices include the features and capabilities necessary to seamlessly present these experiences.

AR is a mature format and AR advertising offers marketers a variety of creative opportunities to reach and engage audiences at scale with brand experiences that are personalized, immersive and memorable. Picture this: with AR, a sunglasses brand can allow its customers to virtually try-on different styles, a furniture brand can enable customers to envision how a couch looks in their space, and an automobile brand can let customers virtually explore the interior of a car without ever stepping foot on the lot. AR ads enable the most personalized ad experience available, often inviting the user to appear in the ad or make choices based on their interests. And bonus: they don’t require device IDs to do it.

Dynamic Creative

Dynamic creative ads deliver a customized advertisement to a consumer, using interchangeable images, video, text and calls to action to adjust the message as needed to be highly relevant for each user. In dynamic creative optimization (DCO), campaign performance data is applied to continuously improve messaging and effectiveness by presenting the elements and combinations that work best.

Ad personalization with DCO has been around for years, and it has been effective. Using traditional DCO with fewer device IDs can be challenging, however, because DCO has historically relied on data from device IDs to make those decisions. But, new developments in the DCO model reduce the need for device IDs. Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) is the key to this newer version: thanks to the evolution within AI, dynamic creative doesn’t need device or cookie data to effectively present tailored ads.

Native Advertising

Native advertising uses ads that seamlessly integrate into the media format they’re presented within, like ads that appear in your social media feed. Since these advertisements blend into the native environment, products and services get exposure without disrupting or intruding in the user experience. Because of the placement, these ads tend to be more contextually relevant to the consumer.

Standard native advertising faces challenges in the wake of reduced device IDs. While most marketing strategies have depended on device IDs to function, native advertising is evolving with the newer ID-free digital environment. Marketers must evolve as well and seek out a partner that supports advanced, dynamic native and emerging channels.

The bottom line — native ads don’t require device tracking or cookies to be effective. Creating a seamless user experience is essential to ad engagement, and adaptive native ads excel in this area.

Download the Emodo Report on Creative and Identity

At Emodo, we leverage machine learning, AI and other technologies to optimize advertising techniques. Creating compelling ads and building scalable audiences amid the drop in device IDs is where our expertise is critical. Want to see what other marketers are doing with these formats? Read more in the full report.