When internet giant Google released a statement announcing that they would cease using 3rd party Cookies by the end of 2024 (LOVE, J. 2022), brands were faced with the challenge of adapting their digital marketing strategies.
Cookies play a crucial role in tracking and targeting users which means that brands must proactively prepare for a future without them. In this blog post, I will discuss three essential steps that brands should take to navigate the third-party cookie-less world while continuing to deliver personalised and relevant experiences to their customers.
Embrace First-Party Data
The foundation of any successful marketing strategy in the cookie-less world lies in utilising first-party data.
Cookiebot recently reported that Facebook had successfully bypassed third-party cookies by instead using first-party cookies combined with a pixel tracker to ensure continued, unconsented surveillance of EU citizens (Cookiebot 2023).
First-party data refers to the information collected directly from users through their interactions with a brand’s own website, app, or other owned channels (SIGNAL, 2023).
It provides valuable insights into user behaviour, preferences and interests, enabling brands to create personalised experiences. To effectively harness first-party data, brands could strengthen their data collection by using management platforms which would also ensure compliance with privacy regulations (On Audience, 2023).
In doing so however, they would need to provide clear and transparent explanations of data usage and obtain users’ explicit consent to collect and process their information. The 2021 Consumer Privacy Survey (CISCO, 2021) carried out by Cisco, revealed that 86% of respondents care about data privacy and want more control over how their data is collected.
Similarly, in their February 2022 Global consumer survey (PADUA, V. 2022). Axway found that 90% of those surveyed expected more transparency around what data companies collect on them.
Data should be regularly updated and cleansed using sophisticated customer relationship management systems (CRM) and data management platforms to organise and consolidate the data to ensure its accuracy and relevance.
Develop Contextual Targeting Strategies
Contextual targeting refers to the practice of delivering relevant ads based on the content and context of the webpage, rather than relying on user-specific data. It allows brands to reach their target audience in a privacy-friendly manner (Singular 2023).
Brands must understand the relevance of page content. Keywords, topics or themes which align with the brand or target audience will help to ensure that the ad will align with the target audience and ensure that they are displayed only where relevant.
AI-powered solutions, semantic targeting, uses an advanced type of contextual targeting which recognises the actual meaning of a page or app, as opposed to just directly matching keywords (Singular, 2023).
Whichever method is used, it is crucial to continuously monitor and optimize any contextual targeting campaigns, experiment with different keywords, placements, and variations to identify the most effective combinations.
Embrace Privacy-Centric Advertising Solutions
Brands should prioritise user privacy while still delivering personalised experiences. Privacy-centric advertising solutions provide an alternative approach by protecting user data and respecting their preferences (TIGHE, C. 2020).
Marketers must consider adopting technologies like federated learning, on-device AI, and differential privacy. Federated learning, as with differential privacy retains the data locally, for example on a person’s mobile phone, rather than hold it in the cloud. These techniques allow for analysis and targeting without directly accessing or storing sensitive user data, which is likely to be preferential to consumers (WIKIPEDIA, 2023).
A benefit of on-device intelligence, using a decentralized and reliable technology which does not require internet access to process data, is that it provides a quicker, faster and more efficient processing of data due to the elimination of having to send data to remote servers for processing.
This kind of technology can be beneficial and partnering with advertising technology providers that prioritize privacy and offer compliant solutions as well as working with vendors who have expertise in privacy-centric advertising can help to navigate the evolving landscape effectively.
Marketers must clearly communicate all data collection and usage practices to consumers, emphasizing their commitment to privacy. In addition, there needs to be greater education and reassurance to the public surrounding AI technology and increased flexibility so that users may customize their privacy preferences.
The third-party cookie-less world presents both challenges and opportunities for brands. By embracing first-party data, developing contextual targeting strategies, and adopting privacy-centric advertising solutions, brands can adapt and thrive in this new era of digital marketing, delivering personalised experiences while respecting user privacy.
References
Cookiebot, 2023. ‘Google ending third-party cookies in Chrome’.
Available at: https://www.cookiebot.com/en/google-third-party-cookies/
[Accessed 01.07.2023]
CISCO, 2021. ‘Building consumer confidence through transparency and control’
Available at: https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/about/doing_business/trust-center/docs/cisco-cybersecurity-series-2021-cps.pdf?CCID=cc000742&DTID=odicdc000016&OID=rptsc027438
[Accessed 01.07.2023]
Kelly, Z. 2022. ‘The Era of Second-Party Data is Here. Are You Ready?’
Available at: https://www.crossbeam.com/blog/the-era-of-second-party-data-is-here-are-you-ready/?utm_source=adwords&utm_campaign=9977203105_100586914017_441699244276&utm_term=&utm_term=&utm_campaign=Content+Lead+Generation+(Blog)&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=7141001143&hsa_cam=9977203105&hsa_grp=100586914017&hsa_ad=441699244276&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=dsa-521084062266&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=Cj0KCQjwn9CgBhDjARIsAD15h0A-9hS0g6O85aHRwxXmUIXdj31KQKrP4of7spOneCqH1rss-GoX3OMaAh0hEALw_wcB
[Accessed 01.07.2023]
LI, C. 2023. ‘How Consumers Feel About AI — and What Leaders Can Do About It’
Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-consumers-feel-ai-what-leaders-can-do-charlene-li/
[Accessed 03.07.2023]
LOVE, J. 2022. ‘Google Delays Phasing Out Ad Cookies on Chrome Until 2024 ‘
Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-27/google-delays-phasing-out-ad-cookies-on-chrome-until-2024
[Accessed 01.07.2023]
On Audience, 2023. ‘6 key benefits of implementing DMP in your business’
Available at: https://www.onaudience.com/resources/6-benefits-of-dmp-in-business/
[Accessed 03.07.2023]
PADUA, 2022. ‘Global Consumer Survey: Build trust and give people control to securely Open Everything’
Available at: https://blog.axway.com/life-axway/customer-experience/global-consumer-survey
[Accessed 03.07.2023]
Signal, 2023. ‘What is First-Party Data?’
Available at: https://signal.co/resources/first-party-data/#:~:text=First%2Dparty%20data%20is%20information,for%20other%20types%20of%20data.
[Accessed 01.07.2023]
Singular, 2023. ‘Glossary – Contextual Targeting’
Available at: https://www.singular.net/glossary/contextual-targeting/
[Accessed 01.07.2023]
TIGHE, C. 2020. ‘The benefits of a privacy-centric approach – maximising value and mitigating risks’
Available at: https://blog.atinternet.com/en/the-benefits-of-a-privacy-centric-approach-maximising-value-and-mitigating-risks/
[Accessed 02.07.2023]
Wikipedia, 2023. ‘Differential Privacy’
Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_privacy
Accessed 02.07.2023
