How to prepare your brand for the cookieless world in 2024?

Imagine navigating an online apparel store, only to explore a jewelry website later and find ads related to your previous searches. However, this familiar online experience is undergoing a significant transformation.

As of January 4, Google is set to introduce the Tracking Protection Tool to one percent of Chrome users. This tool will default to restricting third-party cookies, marking a notable shift in online tracking practices.

This move follows Apple's decision in 2020 to block the usage of third-party cookies and the mandatory app permission requests for user tracking introduced with iOS 14 in September 2021.

Mozilla Firefox and Safari abandoned cookies in 2013, employing Intelligent Tracking Prevention to block third-party cookies by default and limit certain first-party cookies.

For nearly 30 years, third-party cookies, deposited on users' devices by different websites, have been integral to the web, constituting a crucial data source for marketers. According to a Statista report, approximately 83 percent of marketers relied on data collected through third-party cookies, with 51 percent stating that such cookies constituted a majority of their data.

With Google phasing out third-party cookies by the end of 2024, brands and marketers need to prepare for a cookieless world. The absence of third-party cookies will pose initial challenges, affecting targeted advertising, personalization, re-targeting, customer loyalty, and audience discovery in programmatic ad delivery. Measurement of advertising return on investment (ROI) and return on ad spend (ROAS) will also be impacted.

So, what strategies can brands adopt to navigate this new landscape?

1. Embrace First-Party Cookies

As the era of third-party cookies draws to a close, embracing first-party cookies becomes pivotal for digital marketers. These cookies, directly collected from user interactions on your own digital platforms, provide a lifeline for sustained personalization efforts. With hyper-personalization through AI and real-time data, brands can foster trust with users who willingly share information.

First-party cookies facilitate the construction of robust customer profiles, nurturing customer loyalty through tailored incentives. Moreover, they can refine ROI and ROAS offering a direct and accurate gauge of marketing effectiveness. Embracing first-party cookies transcends adaptation; it marks a strategic shift towards user privacy, personalized experiences, and enduring brand-consumer connections in the cookieless future.

2. Contextual Targeting:

According to a 2022 EY report, 73% of Indian organizations employed a combination of first-party and third-party data for their marketing endeavors. In the absence of third-party cookies, brands can redirect their focus to owned media platforms, emphasizing the collection of first-party data. This shift involves ongoing engagement with consumers, progressively refining collected data.

Topping this up with contextual targeting and the adoption of privacy-centric technologies holds significant innovation potential.

Contextual targeting, an alternative to cookie-dependent approaches, involves placing ads based on content context, guaranteeing relevance, and sustaining user engagement.

However, the sustainability of contextual targeting as a long-term strategy remains a pertinent question, considering its evaluation criteria encompassing categories, sentiment, and emotions.

As the industry adapts to a cookieless future, these approaches promise effective personalized advertising while emphasizing user privacy and engagement.

3. Explore Walled Gardens:

Another alternative to third-party cookies is: Walled Gardens.

What is a Walled Garden?

A walled garden is a closed ecosystem in which all the operations are controlled by an ecosystem operator. Some of the biggest known walled gardens are Google’s Ad Data Hub, Meta’s Facebook Advanced Analytics and Amazon Marketing Cloud.

Brands can partner with all the walled gardens, which account for nearly 80 percent of digital advertising today.

However, there is a challenge. Each walled garden is now compelled to develop its own APIs (Application Program Interface) for interest-based advertising, re-marketing, and measurement.

The responsibility falls on performance marketing teams not only to navigate this API diversity but also to refine their skills in attributing results – the analytical science of discerning which marketing tactics significantly contribute to sales or conversions, as explicated on a website. It becomes imperative for these teams to adeptly reallocate resources, ensuring optimal efficiency within an environment predominantly governed by walled gardens.

4. Embrace Zero Party Data:

Zero Party Data involves information voluntarily shared by users with their explicit consent. Brands can foster direct relationships with consumers, transforming into 'direct to consumer' (D2C) entities. This personalized approach not only reduces reliance on intermediaries but also aligns with the evolving dynamics of Web3. Encouraging users to declare their preferences and willingly share data enables brands to curate tailored experiences, enhancing engagement and loyalty. In the absence of traditional tracking tools, Zero Party Data becomes a cornerstone for marketers seeking authentic, consent-driven connections.

As the internet evolves from Web2 to Web3, brands and digital marketers need to adapt to the changing landscape. Navigating a cookieless world requires a strategic shift towards first-party data, contextual targeting, walled gardens, and zero-party data. By proactively embracing these changes, brands can survive and thrive in this new era of digital marketing.

What do you say? Share in comments.

- Alok Upadhayay