Facebook has relaunched Atlas advertising platform, which the company says represents the next step in tracking ad effectiveness across devices. The platform will allow marketers to track users across devices and even their offline purchases to see the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.
Facebook first acquired Atlas from Microsoft last year and says that the platform has been "rebuilt from the ground up." In a blog post Facebook points out the limitations in relying on cookies to track users and determine whether an ad is effective: “Cookies don’t work on mobile, are becoming less accurate in demographic targeting and can’t easily or accurately measure the customer purchase funnel across browsers and devices or into the offline world.” Facebook says, Atlas' integrated system, will be able to follow users from "first contact to the final sale, whether online or off."
In a blog post the company stated that Atlas will focus on "people-based marketing." Facebook says, "Atlas plans to add partners that cross search, social, creative management and publishers to track how ads are viewed and how successful they are on multiple channels and platforms."
Facebook has recently faced a lot of criticism regarding increased video ads and violation of users privacy. Recently Ello anti-Facebook platform was launched which has created a lot of buzz. The private social network offers advanced privacy options and is ads-free. The company's CEO Paul Budnitz, slammed Facebook for being an ad platform more than a social networking site. Ello's manifesto reads: "We believe a social network can be a tool for empowerment. Not a tool to deceive, coerce, and manipulate but a place to connect, create, and celebrate life. You are not a product."
Source: Atlas