In the days after the desktop web was the only channel game in town, many publishers struggled to adapt to a world without cookies.

Then, new regulations and changing consumer sentiment put the brakes on advanced ad techniques which sought to solve the cookie problem.

But the latest emerging tech promises to give open-web publishers a more promising outlook for selling digital ads.

“Cookies weren’t always the greatest thing, they were sloppy,” says Michael Barrett, Rubicon Project president and CEO, in this video interview with Beet.TV. “This time around, let’s do it in a way that’s not as kludgy.”

Some of that tech may be coming in to view, as systems which help build “identity graphs” emerge to help piece together audience activities from across the different device use.

Identity graphs work by stitching together bundles of data known about users – overcoming the historic problem which occurred when a desktop web user’s data trail could not match up with her mobile browsing behaviour.

“There’s a real shot, a real shot now for the open web … to start to be able to feel, look to buyers like a platform,” says Barrett.

“A lot of folks are working on some pretty smart ideas, and I sense that, when we get through this as an industry, we’ll be in a far better position than we are today.”

This video is part of the Beet.TV preview series titled “The Road to Cannes.”  The series is sponsored by 4INFO. Please visit this page for additional segments. 

By Robert Andrews on    @robertandrews