Case Study: Archant boosts ad revenue and audience engagement with OneTrust PreferenceChoice

How Archant and Carbon are bridging the gap between privacy and monetization

Archant, one of the UK’s largest regional publishers with over 12 million monthly digital readers, faced the challenge of balancing GDPR-driven consent requirements with ad revenue that funds its journalism. To capture informed opt‑ins and manage preferences more effectively, Archant partnered with OneTrust PreferenceChoice, deploying OneTrust’s Consent Management Platform (CMP) for publishers alongside Carbon RMP to address consent, privacy, and monetization needs.

OneTrust PreferenceChoice’s CMP gave Archant customizable messaging, region- and device-aware UI, cross-device consent storage, and A/B testing to boost opt‑in rates, while Carbon RMP used that consent signal to target ads and optimize revenue. As a result, OneTrust-enabled consented audiences earned an average eCPM of £1.40 versus £0.34 for unconsented users (4x), rising to £3.12 for segmented direct campaigns (9x); CTR increased from 0.30% to 0.50% (about 60% higher) and MPU viewability was 40% higher for consented users—demonstrating clear gains in engagement and monetization.

Archant

Ryan Cousins

Product and Platform Director