Event Forwarding vs Server Side API

[tksol95]

What are the capability differences between implementing the WebSDK client-side and utilizing Event forwarding compared to using the Server Side API for things like data collection and/or deployment of 3rd Party Tags?

Are there any differences specifically related to things like 3rd Party Cookie Deprecation (will one method protect you better from this), Safari / Apple ITP, and setting FPID that are enabled by one method or another?

[yuhuisg]

Firstly, for tracking to Adobe products (Analytics, Audience Manager, Target, Campaign), you'd need to implement client-side Web SDK and corresponding datastreams with the included Adobe services. Event Forwarding doesn't apply for Adobe products.

For 3rd party tracking, Event Forwarding might help with more accurate measurement by circumventing some browser restrictions, though it still depends on Web SDK to send data that can only be collected from the client side, e.g. page URL, data in your data layer, etc. Personally, I won't assume that using Event Forwarding would result in full 100% coverage of all site traffic, because there could still be some technical limitations that prevent such full coverage.

[Gokul_Agiwal]

FYI .. arpang16406580

[abhijithr]

hi @yuhuisg when you tell "Event Forwarding doesn't apply for Adobe products." at the end of 1st para.

Can't we capture AA data via events forwarding?

[yuhuisg]

You could capture AA data via Event Forwarding, but it's more complicated for what it's worth. It's far easier to set it with your Datastream. Event Forwarding is really for sending your tracked data out of Adobe's environment, e.g to Facebook.

[abhijithr]

hello @yuhuisg  First of all thanks and I really appreciate your time. In the context of client-side collection web SDK advisable & data streams.

But my Q was from the server-side AA data collection as we face a lot of data-loss due to cookie consent messaging!

So it has to be either events forwarding or server-side API ingestion, correct? for clickstream I am leaning towards events forwarding. Thanks

[yuhuisg · Accepted solution]

Since you have cookie consent, then I would expect that there would be data loss because some users deny consent to be tracked. And if users are denying consent, then shouldn't you respect their decision instead of trying to overcome it by collecting their data anyway?

I'm not a lawyer nor legally trained. I'm sharing the above based on what I understand to be the expected outcome for having cookie consent.

[abhijithr]

hi @yuhuisg

Data loss being a sever concern w/ cookie banner, just trying to clarify my thought here. Even going server side we will have to honor the customer preference, although we don't set cookies nor dispatch payloads through browser, correct?

User pref aside, what's the workaround for data & insights? or just live with limited data?

Thanks for your response in advance.

[yuhuisg]

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@abhijithr wrote:

Data loss being a sever concern w/ cookie banner, just trying to clarify my thought here. Even going server side we will have to honor the customer preference, although we don't set cookies nor dispatch payloads through browser, correct?

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Correct.

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@abhijithr wrote:

User pref aside, what's the workaround for data & insights? or just live with limited data?

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Live with limited data.

Think about this: in the "old days", when surveys were done by paper or phone, survey collectors could not collect data from 100% of their intended audience, they could only collect from respondents who agreed to be surveyed. Yet, surveyers were able to use statistical methods to get a reasonable conclusion about their audience.

So likewise, I believe that would have to be the direction that online marketers have to adopt with modern limitations on data collection.

[abhijithr]

Thanks much for your response @yuhuisg