So in 2020 Google announced that it will phase out third-party cookies completely by 2023. Something that have always been fundamental for digital advertising will no longer exist and marketers have become increasingly concerned about the cookieless future. But what exactly does “cookieless” mean? What will be the impact of this cookieless future and most importantly, how businesses can adapt in a cookieless world?
Keep reading and find out how your business can thrive in a cookieless world.
What does “cookieless” mean exactly?
First and foremost, a cookie is a small text file stored in a web user’s browser directory or data folder with the purpose to retain login credentials, identify customers, and provide a customized user experience. Third-party cookies, more precisely, help advertisers to track users’ visits and activities on the web for further targeting and ad success measurement. And of course, what is a necessity for digital marketing can turn in a privacy vulnerability. Consumer privacy demands increased and by phasing out third-party cookies, Google intends to give individuals more privacy, security, and control of how their private information is used on the Internet.
That being said, a cookieless future represents a shift in a digital landscape, a future where marketers are less reliant on cookies.
The impact of a cookieless future
An immediate impact of a cookieless future will be seen in the size of third-party audiences. Audience sizes will decrease to a point where they’re no longer scalable enough for media buying activity, leading to low conversion rates and irrelevant targeting. So businesses need to find alternatives and adapt to a cookieless world. How?! Drivenly gets you covered with the solutions as well!
So….the ultimate question…
How to adapt in a cookieless world?
Here are the ways you can prepare your business and adapt to perform without third-party cookies in a cookieless world.
In a cookieless world, maximizing on the first-party data is a must!
Remember that cookieless means only the third-party cookies are being phased out! You can still leverage the first-party data from your website, CRM and in-app data. It can actually help you using more relevant information about a user who has already shown interest in your product. You can establish more personalized and sophisticated interactions with the users. Quick tip: Consumers are loyal to brands that provide customized content!
Also, to adapt to a cookieless world, you can implement a Customer Data Platform, a marketing tool that allows marketers to collect first-party data from multiple channels in real-time and organize it to have a complete view of each customer.
In a cookieless world, authenticated targeting is also a must!
In a cookieless world, authenticated targeting is a must and works by getting a precise permission from the users to use their data. Take Unified ID as an example, a technology that allows sharing the same user ID among all websites within the ecosystem. Or ID resolution, a database created of various data points about one user that are bound together.
Contextual targeting – an effective solution for a cookieless world
Contextual targeting can also be an effective solution in a cookieless future. Here we talk about non-personal information that is based on where and what content users view rather than who they particularly are. That means you can match your ads to relevant websites for your product or service.
In a cookieless world, you need to use channels and data sets that don’t rely on cookies
You should pay attention to the channels and datasets that have never used third-party cookies, like connected TV, mobile in-app, DOOH, OTT, and programmatic audio. These rely on non-cookie identifiers for targeting and measurement.
Also, you can depend on data such as weather and location to identify trends around current situations or events and use the data for targeting and creating customized ads.
In a cookieless world, privacy can be regulated by FloC
FLoC is a privacy-focused advertising technology that helps Chrome track users’ browsing habits on different web pages and then place them in different audiences or “cohorts” based on the data. Then you can target your ads to specific audiences rather than individual users. Totally effective in a cookieless world!
A cookieless world will keep leading us to a privacy-first, customer-centric and more sustainable advertising model. And even though a cookieless world may seem super challenging, the truth is that in a cookieless world, with the alternative solutions above, your business will still be able to thrive and your messages can still reach the right audience.