The death of the third-party cookie will lead to both challenges and opportunities for brands, but marketers are optimistic about the future of the industry.
At a roundtable session at Media360, hosted by PubMatic, marketing and media agency experts discussed how they were preparing for a cookieless future, how the transition will impact brands' ability to connect with consumers, and how advertisers and media owners can collaborate more effectively.
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Google recently delayed third-party cookie deprecation until 2025, but those present at the discussion agreed that this does not mean brands can relax. Far from it. They argued that, while the delay might be welcome as it gives brands more time to put their strategies in place, now is the time to focus on getting first-party data partnerships up and running.
One expert said that brands that are already able to harvest first-party data are “sitting on a goldmine.” However, they added that brands that don’t yet have access to that kind of data, such as those selling their products through websites like Amazon, need to look at potential solutions now.
One panelist who works at a media agency said that because their clients operate across vastly different fields, they face very different data challenges. Some of those clients need to look at whether their data is addressable, whereas for others their challenge is getting started with building first-party data.
“It really gives me the horrors to say that so many people still don't have a strategy around this,” they said. “We've been talking about it for years.
“Most people are worried about the capabilities that will disappear, but we're trying to encourage people to shift their mindset and look at what the outcomes are that they're trying to get to. It's all about efficiency and effectiveness.”
The future of privacy
One marketer expected that new technology solutions, including developments in the crypto space, would become more common in the future.
“What's happening in the crypto world with decentralised databases is that you can have an online persona that allows websites to access certain data about you, which tackles personalisation, but you are able to control what you want to share,” they said. “It’s really interesting because it gives the power back to the end user.”
They added that solutions were being developed to allow consumers to willingly opt in to having ads served to them based on specific data they are happy to share in return for rewards. They also argued that the industry should be looking at these new solutions instead of trying to replicate the cookie just to do the same thing over again.
Changing the data culture
Some of the panelists shared their experiences working at FMCG companies. One of their challenges was explaining to their various sub-brands why collecting first-party data was important to develop a more consistent approach across different brand categories and geographies.
One person noted that while some brands were proactive, others cared less about learning how to better target their ads at specific audiences. Some brands that sell well-loved products – chocolate, for example – still have the mindset that they should target everyone and there is no need to prioritise particular audiences.
Another marketer noted that their business is more advanced at collecting and analysing
first-party data in the US than in Europe because the privacy rules are less strict. “We have a big amount of first-party data in the US, and we use third-party data providers to enrich that to get better insights into our first-party data,” they said. “We’re trying to see what the alternative is in Europe where the rules are tighter.”
Another expert said that because their first-party data was limited, their company focused on contextual quality and working with retail media partners. “We have in-housed a lot and started to bring in specialists to build up our capability internally, because we want transparency and quality,” they said.
No silver bullet
The marketers agreed that simply collecting first-party data was “not a silver bullet” and that it was important to get further insights into it and how it compares to competitors’ data to help form better media strategies.
Meanwhile, one representative from a B2B brand noted that their company had been less reliant on third-party cookies and argued that marketers would continue to find ways to be creative and develop storytelling that can come to life across different channels without them.
“I don’t think this is the nail in the coffin that everyone fears it might be,” they said. “The fear of a cookieless future isn’t going to destroy our industry.”
To learn more about PubMatic and, Activate, our end-to-end solution that puts buyers in control of their media buying strategy, visit www.pubmatic.com/products/activate/