May 5 introduces a key change for users of Microsoft Advertising tools as the UET Consent Mode (Universal Event Tag) officially comes into force. In order to continue to monitor conversions from these levers and comply with European obligations, it will be essential to integrate this new element into your tracking configuration.
And here's good news: Axeptio's CMP is already compliant with this standard. So, how does it work? Who needs to enable it? And most importantly, how do you set it up? Let us explain everything in detail!
UET Consent Mode: stay competitive in the Microsoft ecosystem
If you are already familiar with Google Consent Mode v2, you may find the logic behind Microsoft UET Consent Mode to be similar, since both solutions use the ad_storage property. The concept is as follows: the objective is to establish a connection between users' consent choices, as indicated by their interaction with a compliant cookie banner, and the various tools offered by the Microsoft ecosystem, including Microsoft Advertising Platform, Invest, Curate, and Monetize.
Microsoft has introduced a simple mechanism with UET Consent Mode, i.e. a signal is transmitted to advertising platforms to indicate the user's consent status. The objective is clear: to ensure that data is collected and used respecting the choices expressed via the cookie banner, while enabling advertisers to continue tracking their performance.
“If this feature is not activated, there may be consequences for your audience reporting and addressability. Microsoft will suspend the collection of conversions and the enrichment of your remarketing lists.” says Jean Decherf, Marketing Ops pour Axeptio.
Ultimately, Microsoft plans to introduce a system of model-based conversions to better estimate campaign performance even in situations where consent is partial. This will be based on aggregated data, similar to Google's advanced Consent Mode, to build up a more complete and accurate picture of results.
Who needs to enable Microsoft UET Consent Mode?
Microsoft UET Consent Mode applies to all advertisers operating within Microsoft's advertising ecosystem and targeting users located within the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland or the United Kingdom.
If you use platforms such as Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads, Xandr), it is essential to ensure compliance in order to continue tracking conversions effectively after May 5. However, it is not simply a matter of compliance. Without incorporating consent functionality, your tracking may become incomplete, and the accuracy of your advertising optimisations will decrease, or in some cases, may become ineffective.
Therefore, Microsoft recommends two solutions: either using a CMP compatible with IAB Europe's TCF protocol (such as Axeptio for Publishers), or activating UET Consent Mode by adding just a small parameter to your current integration.
What do you need to do to make your Axeptio CMP work with UET Consent Mode?
Here at Axeptio, we have made changes to make it easier for you to comply with Microsoft UET Consent Mode.
If you use Axeptio for Publishers (TCF v2.2-compliant):
The good news is that you're already following the rules! The TCF protocol automatically sends the necessary consent signals to Microsoft Advertising.
If you are using Axeptio for Brands:
All you need to do is to integrate the Microsoft UET Consent Mode script by following our documentation available here. For those who choose this method, don't panic, it only takes two key steps:
- Make sure that Microsoft Advertising is listed in your Axeptio widget (you can easily add this vendor from the "Here are our cookies" screen).
- Integrate the UET Consent Mode script: Insert it via Google Tag Manager or directly into the <head> of your page. You can find the script to integrate on the dedicated page. Please note: it is crucial that this script is loaded before your UET tag, so that the consent status is taken into account as soon as it is initialised.
Would you like further assistance? Please contact our support and customer success team.
One more thing: We're already working on an even smoother, more automated integration, similar to the one we developed for Google Consent Mode v2. So stay tuned!
You're not yet part of the Axeptio community and need a Microsoft UET Consent Mode-compliant CMP?
