We all know what is happening with third-party cookies, among other changes in the world of online advertising. The challenge now for marketers is to move on from noting their demise to planning a seamless transition.
Despite Google delaying the elimination of 3rd party cookies until 2023,
Google may have delayed the phasing out of third-party cookies on its Chrome browser until 2023, but that does not stop the need for the industry to be making changes and preparing now, especially given the size of the market for digital ads that are already without cookies – across Safari, Firefox and other browsers – and of course with the changes to app advertising in Apple devices that came with iOS 14.5.
The GDPR data regulation taught us it pays to plan ahead, rather than leave it to the last moment. That is why the digital marketing industry has to see this time right now as a period of education, evaluation and action. Brands need to be shown what is available to them. They need to be assured that, even though cookies will no longer support the way we have planned and measured digital campaigns in the past, with emerging technology solutions they will be able to continue reaching the right audiences and driving sales without impacting privacy.
So, there will be two distinct pillars of opportunity to reach digital audiences going forward: those with opted-in, consented first-party data and those without. Given the opt-out rates, it’s likely that the first pillar will become much smaller (and more expensive) and the second is likely to grow to be a much bigger proportion of advertising opportunities in the future.
A new era
It is time to start the next era in digital marketing. Time is running out for cookies. But this new era doesn’t have to be scary or mean the end of relevant or effective digital advertising. This new era has to be planned and prepared for, though. It cannot be stressed enough that now is the time for brands to evaluate what is available and start to get immersed in new solutions.
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