July 26: Despite Google backtrack, the future is cookieless
In this edition, we're getting real about Google's latest cookie decision, explaining why it doesn't change much in the long term, plus we add context to updates from CoolerX, Microsoft Advertising and Criteo.
Howdy, and welcome back once again to Unfold, the bi-weekly retail media newsletter from the experts at Threefold.?
We come to you from New York City, having just returned from a team-wide trip to the UK to reunite with our teams from across the SMG agency network ( Threefold , Plan-Apps and {Capture} ) at our annual summer conference, held this year in surprisingly sunny Manchester! Threefold and the broader SMG agency network have rapidly grown to nearly 400 retail media experts, and it was amazing to see everyone come together in one room to celebrate our massive successes as individuals, teams and as a business!
But just because we were celebrating doesn’t mean the retail media world took a break. There was some big news these past few weeks, so like always, let’s get right into it and Unfold.
This week, we’re debunking a myth about cookies, and not the tasty kind. Namely, we’re debunking the idea that Google’s recent cookie backtrack will have a significant, long-term impact on the future of our industry. Google's decision to not deprecate third-party cookies is an important and necessary move for now, given that their alternative isn't ready. However, its significance is likely to diminish in the long term as more solutions continue to develop. The primary drivers behind this decision include pressure from regulatory bodies such as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), as well as pushback from industry stakeholders like the IAB, publishers and advertisers who deemed Google’s Privacy Sandbox replacement inadequate.
Despite this decision, larger actors in the advertising industry have already moved on. Apple’s abandonment of third-party cookies in Safari and enabling privacy consent controls exemplifies the broader trend toward server-side tracking, first-party data, machine learning and alternative identity solutions like EUID and LiveRamp’s Ramp ID. These technologies address privacy concerns and regulatory challenges more effectively, suggesting that the industry’s evolution will continue unabated.
Retail Media Networks (RMNs) may temporarily benefit from the continued availability of third-party cookies for scale and targeting. However, the future-proof nature of first-party data, which offers richer, more compliant insights, ensures its growing dominance. Both brands and retailers have increasingly focused on first-party data strategies to align with privacy regulations like GDPR and to enhance customer relationship management.
While Google's reversal provides temporary relief, the industry’s long-term trajectory towards first-party data and privacy-centric solutions remains unchanged. The continued development of the Privacy Sandbox and similar initiatives will likely proceed, furthering the shift towards more robust and compliant advertising ecosystems.
So, take a bite out of that! Shout out to our experts, Digital Media Operations Director Callen Johnson and Media Director Kate Hopkinson for their invaluable insights in debunking this myth!?
Now, the news
The top story: Cookie crash: Google is keeping the third-party cookie after all?
What’s going on: After years of delays, Google has officially reversed course and said it will keep third-party cookies, last slated for elimination in 2025, in Google Chrome, the most popular web browser globally. Cookies are the pieces of data consumers leave across the internet when they visit different websites and apps, providing advertisers with targeting data. Instead of deprecating cookies as planned, Google says it will introduce an option that allows Chrome users to make more informed choices regarding their browsing data.?
As we said above: This doesn’t mean advertisers should go back to a cookie-centric approach; the technology is outdated and less powerful than first-party data from RMNs. Others in the industry, from Apple to LiveRamp, have already moved on from cookies. And even while Google plans to keep them around, it still plans to invest and support alternatives to the third-party cookie within the Chrome browser.?
Get the info at Digiday from Kayleigh Barber and Seb Joseph .?
Tech Upgrade: CoolerX introduces self-serve platform
Breaking it down: CoolerX , formerly known as Cooler Screens, has launched a new self-serve platform to enable advertisers to plan and execute in-house retail media campaigns. The technology provider says that the new platform will leverage AI and data sources, including consumer behavior, contextual signals and retailers’ first-party data.
Looking forward: Retailers continue to look for technology solutions to enable in-store retail media to reach consumers where they make the overwhelming majority of their purchases. But it’s not enough to just add digital signage to stores, retailers must also enable brands to easily activate campaigns in the right locations at the right times to reach the right shopper. Self-serve capabilities enabled by AI like the one from CoolerX are a positive step forward, though retailers must always remember that a human-led, data-driven and creative approach to campaigns is key. It can’t all be automated.
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Read it from Timothy Inklebarger at Supermarket News .
Joining forces: Criteo and Microsoft team up to tackle retail media frustrations
The news: Commerce media giant Criteo and Microsoft Advertising have joined forces to fight one of marketers' ongoing frustrations with retail media: growing fragmentation. The two aim to eliminate that fragmentation by combining Criteo’s network of 225 retail partners and Microsoft’s over 500,000 global advertisers. With the partnership, Microsoft's clients will gain access to Criteo’s retail media inventory, while Crieto plans to leverage Microsoft’s generative AI technology, including its Retail Media Creative Studio.
We’ve been saying: The way to solve fragmentation in retail media is through greater partnerships. For retail media to thrive, data collaboration between first-party data holders, technology solution providers and other industry bodies is necessary to provide the best opportunities to brands, which will ultimately foster repeat brand investment for media networks.?
More here from Sabrina Alvarez at The Media Leader US .
From Threefold
ICYMI: Brands that invest in a retailer’s RMN can receive a “halo effect” aka a sales increase at other retailers
Client Manager Ella Rice breaks that down for us here , and says: As retail media continues its rise as an effective and preferred channel for marketers, retailers and brands are beginning to look beyond their own ecosystems to better understand its broader impact. As retail media grows, we at Threefold believe brands and media networks will focus less on the short-term impacts, like ROI and ROAS, and more on metrics like customer lifetime value. Looking at retail media's impact outside of a retailer’s four walls is part of that evolution.?
Managing Director Sean Crawford weighs in: “While exciting, these results are exactly what we would expect. We at Threefold know that best-in-class retail media strategies do more than just influence bottom-of-the-funnel purchasing decisions at the retailer where a campaign is activated. The best retail media campaigns create a long-lasting impact for advertisers, increasing those short-term sales but, equally as importantly, growing brand loyalty.?
Threefold and SMG Chief Commercial Officer Lee LeFeuvre recently spoke at MAD//FEST London and shared 15 retail media lessons from our 15 years in the business .?
His top three:?
Have you registered for Retail Media Summit UK? Our collaborative event with the Path to Purchase Institute in London, is back for a second year and bigger and better than ever. Register to attend here.
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