A marketer advertises in many markets around the world, including Germany and France. They've started running YouTube and Search campaigns with Google and they measure online conversions. How does this advertiser ensure that their Google tag respects the remarketing preferences of their users in the European Economic Area (EEA)?

Ensure they implement a strict consent banner on their website to capture user consent choices.

Ensure they work with a Google certified consent management platform (CMP).

Ensure that there's a consent banner present on every page.

Ensure ad_personalization parameter (as well as ad_storage and ad_user_data) is in consent mode setup.

Explanation

Analysis of Correct Answer(s)

To comply with privacy regulations like GDPR in the European Economic Area (EEA), advertisers must respect user consent for activities like remarketing. This requires a two-part solution:

  • Implementing a strict consent banner: This is the user-facing component. It's essential for explicitly asking for and capturing a user's consent choices. Without a clear mechanism to obtain user permission for data processing, any subsequent action would be non-compliant.
  • Setting up Consent Mode parameters: This is the technical implementation. Google Consent Mode is the framework that allows Google tags to dynamically adjust their behavior based on the user's consent status.
    • The **ad_personalization** parameter is the most critical for this question, as it directly controls whether data can be used for personalized advertising, which includes remarketing.
    • The **ad_storage** and **ad_user_data** parameters are also key parts of the consent setup, controlling advertising cookies and the sending of user data to Google.

Analysis of Incorrect Options

  • Working with a Google certified CMP: While using a certified Consent Management Platform (CMP) is a highly recommended best practice that simplifies compliance, it is not a mandatory requirement. An advertiser can build their own compliant solution without using a certified partner.
  • A consent banner present on every page: The mere presence of a banner is not sufficient. The crucial aspect is its functionality—it must effectively capture consent and communicate that choice to the Google tags via Consent Mode. A non-functional banner offers no compliance.