As the GDPR dust continues to settle, 2019 will define the long-term impact of the increased privacy legislation. I expect there to be a series of key rulings that’ll break down the industry’s reliance on cookies, so independent publishers will be further pushed into providing logged-in experiences and alliances like The Ozone Project will become crucial. These media partnerships that enable privacy-safe collaboration over data will become paramount.

Publishers should leverage their identity data to build trust and direct relationships with brands and agencies, and use it to increase transparency by proving the effectiveness of campaigns. Being able to compare who saw an ad and who made a purchase will be an incredibly powerful way to level the playing field with the walled gardens.

I expect to see the rise of Bring Your Own Data (BYOD) as marketers prioritise building consumer trust and creating more relevant experiences. Leveraging CRM data for media buying would enable brands to optimise their targeting and encourage industry-wide collaboration over data, such as agencies remotely accessing client data.

Marketers will continue to leverage external data sources to complement their first-party data, but in an ethical and privacy-preserving manner. There will be a continued focus on data security, so companies and consultancies that offer integral services, like data onboarding and identity resolution, in a privacy-safe way will continue to excel.

* Expert Predictions: Will 2019 Be the Year of the Single ID?