The Loss of Third-Party Cookie Tracking
The Situation
Third-party cookies have been on a steady decline, especially over the last five years. During that time, ad blockers became more widespread and major web browsers and apps began automatically disabling cookies. Most recently, Google started to restrict third-party cookies by default for 1% of Chrome users and was planning to ramp up to 100% of users in 2025.
Following a turn of events (as of July 2024), Google reversed that decision and is going to keep cookies around for the time being. However, that doesn’t mean cookies won’t be going away sometime in the future, so we should still prepare for alternative solutions.
So, how can marketers prepare, with a greatly diminished reliance on cookies?
The Challenges
The advertising industry has long been dependent on cookies for a wide range of targeting methods, including behavioral targeting, custom audience targeting, look-alike targeting and various forms of retargeting. With fewer cookies in place, these tactics are not viable, and insight into user behavior across the web is greatly diminished.
The use of cookies helps to identify specific audience segments and facilitate insights into the media consumption habits, interests, affinities and attitudes of those audiences. Fewer cookies will be available to advertisers, so targeting options will be limited.
Many leading tech companies in the industry have already begun to allow for more user control when it comes to their data and web browsing experiences. The better regulated digital ecosystem that is taking shape enables safer, more positive user experiences.
Our Recommendations
While there is no universal solution, there are strategic approaches to the reduction in third-party cookie tracking that can help drive success, based on the following pillars.
Research & Insights
As cookies diminish, having a deep understanding of our audiences remains the core element of our marketing approaches and becomes even more critical, as there will not be as much real-time information to draw insights from and analyze.
Test & Learn
Since our media simply cannot be as direct and granular as it once was, we need to continually test creative messaging approaches to learn what works and how to refine our plans moving forward.
Alternative Data Usage
While third-party data collection (i.e., cookie tracking) may one day go by the wayside, first-party data (and similarly, zero-party data) is here to stay. Although its scale can be limited, this is the data that should be prioritized due to its cost efficiency, the control brands have over it and the high value of the audiences reached through this method.
AI systems will continue to advance in this area to help fill the gaps left by the loss of third-party cookies. For example, Google is promoting its audience list-building using enhanced AI in its Google Ads platform, and it is expanding its first-party data capabilities with Customer Match.
Media Channels & Tactics
It’s worth considering a shift in focus from cookie-based media targeting to more content-based and contextually driven targeting, as well as other digital advertising methods that are not directly tied to user behaviors, including—but not limited to—the following:
Geo-Targeting/Geo-Fencing
Reach users based on specific locations via device IDs.
Consumer Trend–Driven Outlets
Align with consumer behaviors at a macro level to be where they are (considering the continued growth of streaming/OTT/CTV platforms, podcasts, social media and gaming). It’s critical to break through with a strong, unique message and customized experiences while continuing to test and learn.
Content, Context & Topics
Whether it’s display advertising, native content, streaming video, rich media experiences, text, images or any other format, we will target content and topics that align with our audience interests and integrate our brands into contextually relevant environments.
Social Content
Leverage not only social media platforms as marketing channels but also the content within those platforms as targeting fuel to replace the behavioral data collected from cookies. This includes public social media posts, images, videos and other content that can be analyzed and interpreted by AI systems and targeting platforms that are not reliant on any third-party tracking.
Search Engines
Search engine optimization (SEO), paid search and other search-driven activity—considering not only the major search engines like Google but also the growing use of social platforms as search engines—will continue to be paramount for connecting with highly qualified users who are interested in our brands.
Influencer Programs
Partner with influencers who have amassed relevant audiences and can deliver as much (or more) impact with our message as we would with a cookie-driven digital ad.
Product Integration
Consider product integration deals that feature our brands in relevant programming and content that is delivered via streaming platforms or traditional broadcasting.
Moving Forward
While marketers still have access to third-party cookies, we encourage them to continue using this technology in an ethical, user-first manner, always placing consumer privacy at the forefront, while at the same time testing and learning from other, cookieless methods.
In addition, advanced analytics tools will allow marketers to continue learning what tracking methods and attribution systems are working to properly measure cookieless media strategies. As always, measurement is critical for driving optimization and performance improvements as we continue to navigate this changing media ecosystem.
Have Questions About Cookie-less Media Strategies?
Contact Mike Pocci, our Executive Director/Connections, at mpocci@teamaftermath.com
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Read more of our articles related to the loss of third-party tracking and applicable solutions:
Is Marketing Becoming Less Personal? (2022)
Can You Depend on Zero-Party Data? (2022)
4 Ways You Can Deal With Apple's IOS 14 Tracking Policy (2021)
No More Cookies (2020)