Delayed Death of Cookie: Next Step for Marketers and Advertisers

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The phaseout of third-party cookies was first announced in early 2020, a shock to many. Google said they would end support for third-party cookies in Chrome by early 2022 “once it figured out how to address the needs of users, publishers, and advertisers and come up with tools to mitigate workarounds” but has been delayed, yet again, to late 2023.

While this may give more time to test cookie replacements before its disappearance, it still leaves the industry in limbo as the following steps onward remain largely uncertain.

As third-party cookies are blocked by other browsers such as Firefox and Safari, some people may wonder what all the fuss is about. The problem is Google’s dominance, reflected by its Chrome browser, with a global market share of about 65 percent. This major shift in Google Chrome’s privacy efforts could heavily impact some areas of the marketing and advertising space.

Why are third-party cookies such a big deal?

Cookies track users’ internet activity and allow digital publishers to target advertising. Brands have been using them for years to monitor website visits, enhance user experience, and collect data that could help in delivering advertising to the right audiences.

A third-party cookie can be used to store and retrieve data by including their tags or scripts on a page. This enables websites to better understand their users and how they browse their sites to create a more personalized user experience.

And why the ban on third-party cookies?

Google’s third-party cookies exist on millions of websites, providing the firm with a wealth of data about the sites you visit, which is used to power a significant portion of its ad business. However, the general public is becoming more aware of privacy concerns, and regulators are passing more privacy legislation. There is greater demand for transparency, choice, and control over how the user’s data is used—and it’s clear that the web ecosystem needs to evolve to meet these increasing demands.

Vinay Goel, Privacy Engineering Director, from Chrome, said:

“We plan to continue to work with the web community to create more private approaches to key areas, including ad measurement, delivering relevant ads and content, and fraud detection. Today, Chrome and others have offered more than 30 proposals, and four of those proposals are available in origin trials. For Chrome, specifically, our goal is to have the key technologies deployed by late 2022 for the developer community to start adopting them. Subject to our engagement with the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and in line with the commitments we have offered, Chrome could then phase out third-party cookies over a three month period, starting in mid-2023 and ending in late 2023.”

The phaseout and Google’s rejection of ad-tracking would alter how we do business online. New alternatives are emerging, and here are the things we can do in the meantime.

What can we do in a Cookie-less world?

Undoubtedly, all successful businesses and marketers use cookies to track and collect data that is essential for informing user behavior and targeting throughout the web. The efficacy of cookie-based targeting tactics will undoubtedly be harmed as the marketer’s ability to track user information is reduced.

Here are a few things to help us prepare during the extension.

Optimize Use of First-Party Cookies

A first-party cookie is produced and kept by the website that a user is visiting directly. It enables site owners to collect customer analytics data, remember language preferences, and perform other functions that can help in providing a good user experience.

And to date, Google has stated that it only intends to phase out third-party cookies on its browsers. On the other hand, first-party cookies that track basic information about your own website’s users are still safe.

The bottom line, if the aim is to track website visitors’ behavior, preferences, basic demographics while they’re on your website—you won’t be deeply impacted by this change.

However, as the phaseout approaches, if you’re a marketer that depends on robust data for internet advertising, pop-up advertisements, or a personalized audience-targeting plan, you’ll need to keep up with the news and develop alternate first-party techniques.

Don’t Forget to Leverage Offline Data

Use offline data sources. Surveys and patient comments can provide vital information about your geographic target and point you in the right approach for advertising. Finding out who your target audiences are in marketing might be half the battle.

Consider Alternate Channels and Platforms

Looking at our material, our users, and their interests will be the key to our future success. Both site content and marketing content is fundamental when it comes to your business’ online presence. Developing comprehensive website content and content marketing strategy can bring in more loyal users to your website and drive conversions.

Exploring new ad networks or channels for online advertising can also help your business. [e.g. Tiktok, Youtube, Facebook Ads]

Put More Emphasis on Creative Performance

Audience targeting capabilities have long been the primary focus. In a cookie-less world, that might begin to change as creative performance becomes the key strategic differentiator between millions of brands and marketers. As Forrester predicts, advertisers and marketers will give up hypertargeting for hyperfocus on creativity.

Jon Gregoire, Director of Marketing at CPC Strategy, said:

“Increased volume of direct brands has led to increased audience overlap and competition. This calls for a renewed focus on leveraging creative as a strategic differentiator. Brands need to design with conversions in mind if they want to stand out from millions of creative agencies and competitors.“

Amidst the uncertainty of the future of hypertargeting capabilities, there is a silver lining for marketers and advertisers: the power of creative performance.

Be Up-to-date

Aside from hyper-targeted content and annoying pop-ups, coming up with clever alternatives in making leverage out of available user data is crucial.

Data management platforms are currently looking into creating alternative tools to help advertisers make the most out of the first-party cookies. Marketers, advertisers, and data engineers are all seeking solutions to figure out what will happen next at this moment.

Right now, the best thing to do as a marketer or as an advertiser is to stay up-to-date with news related to these changes. And also, vet any software or solutions you can consider to help you better transition away from this type of cookie.