“At the moment, I feel like the industry has stalled; there’s not much innovation happening because everyone is waiting to see what Google does.”
That was Amit Kotecha, CMO at digital advertising, audience insights and measurement platform Quantcast, talking to us back in May of this year. It turns out that three months is a lifetime in adtech. Google finally broke the stalemate. It announced that it would not deprecate cookies on the Chrome browser but let individual users decide whether to permit them or not.
It took years of debate between Google, regulators and the ad industry to arrive at the point where cookies will fade with a whimper rather than go out with a bang. And now Amit Kotecha was in town again.
Back in education mode
“Our perspective is still the same,” he said. “Deprecation of cookies is inevitably going to happen; how it happens might be different to the last conversation that we had.”
Was he surprised at the recent turn of events? “Not at all, especially given all the back and forth with regulators. This takes a little bit of attention away from just cookies and puts the onus back on the user.” There are reasons to think that users, given the choice, will abandon cookies in droves.
“When this happened,” said Kotecha, “a lot of our customers said ‘We don’t need to worry any more, let’s move back to cookies.’ I don’t think that’s the right thing to do, so we’re back in education mode again with our customers.”
A further reality check has been Oracle withdrawing third-party data from sale in Europe, taking away another tool that big advertisers, at least, could rely on. “They’re going to shut it down globally and I think that’s going to happen at the end of the month, so we’ve been preparing for that,” Kotecha said.
An opportunity for CDPs?
Many advertisers are leaning more heavily on first- and zero-party data. Does that mean that there are opportunities here for the fast-changing CDP space? “As a marketer, I’ve used CDPs before,” Kotecha said. “They’re point solutions; what I mean by that is they solve a specific problem that could be solved elsewhere. They’re expensive, they take time to implement, and once they’re implemented you need a person looking after them.”
CDPs might make sense for larger companies, but in the case of Quantcast they do the work themselves, querying data in the data lake using Snowflake. “It’s more manual, but we have engineers that can do that work for us.” However, many Quantcast customers do have CDPs and want to activate their data in Quantcast. “We integrate with quite a few CDPs in the ecosystem.”
Dig deeper: Google’s Privacy Sandbox: What you need to know
The cookieless metrics challenge
Marketers are clearly concerned about the ways in which third-party cookie deprecation will affect their ability to reach potential customers. What has been discussed less is what measurement will look like in a post-cookie world.
“Measurement is the elephant in the room for the whole industry,” Kotecha agreed. “Google’s announcement was a relief for a lot of companies because they can still measure, even if it’s only a portion of their campaigns, they can still say it’s working. Our view has always been different.”
Quantcast’s approach is to look at conversions and build models based on what kinds of customers convert. “Because we know something about your customers already, we can go out and find new customers for you,” Kotecha explained.
Quantcast now has a measurement solution built into its platform. “If there’s a cookie, we’ll use the cookie,” Kotecha said. If there’s no cookie, the solution will predict whether a conversion was based on an impression Quantcast delivered. “For every conversion, we’re measuring a probability score — the higher the probability, the better our targeting will become. If we’re not confident about a conversion, we’ll disregard it.”
Google, Kotecha observed, now has a similar solution, Enhanced Conversions, in its ad platform. “It will model conversions based on all the data Google has and it will tell you a Quantcast campaign delivered this many conversions. That has given us a lot of confidence that we can go out and find audiences in Safari and elsewhere because we’re constantly seeing data; for two years we’ve been enhancing this solution.”
It’s not the end of the open web
Despite the doomsday view that the end of cookies will drive all ad spend to the walled gardens, Kotecha still believes in alternatives. “One of the reasons I am still in this industry is, I believe in the open web,” he said. “I believe in news and that is all funded by advertising. If all the advertising dollars go to the walled gardens, then every publication will be sold to the walled gardens or won’t be around any more. That can’t happen.”
To put this in perspective, Kotecha said, more than 50% of conversions globally are modeled because there is no cookie attached. “It’s already happening,” he said.
The post One way or another, cookies are going away appeared first on MarTech.
**The Impending Phase-Out of Cookies: What It Means for the Future of Online Tracking**
The digital landscape is on the brink of a significant transformation as the era of third-party cookies draws to a close. For decades, cookies have been the backbone of online tracking, enabling advertisers, marketers, and website owners to gather data on user behavior, preferences, and interests. However, growing concerns over privacy and data security have led to a widespread push for change, culminating in the impending phase-out of third-party cookies. This article delves into the implications of this shift, the challenges it presents, and the potential future of online tracking.
### Understanding Cookies and Their Role in Online Tracking
Cookies are small text files that websites store on a user’s device to remember information about their visit. There are two main types of cookies: first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are set by the website the user is visiting and are typically used to enhance the user experience, such as remembering login details or preferences. Third-party cookies, on the other hand, are set by domains other than the one the user is visiting. These cookies are primarily used for tracking users across different websites, enabling advertisers to build detailed profiles and deliver targeted ads.
For years, third-party cookies have been a cornerstone of the digital advertising ecosystem. They allow advertisers to track users’ browsing behavior across multiple sites, creating a comprehensive picture of their interests and preferences. This data is then used to serve personalized ads, measure campaign effectiveness, and optimize marketing strategies.
### The Push for Privacy: Why Cookies Are Being Phased Out
The phase-out of third-party cookies is largely driven by growing concerns over user privacy. As awareness of data collection practices has increased, so too has the demand for greater transparency and control over personal information. High-profile data breaches, misuse of personal data, and the rise of surveillance capitalism have all contributed to a growing distrust of online tracking practices.
In response to these concerns, regulatory bodies around the world have introduced stricter data protection laws. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) are two prominent examples of legislation that have placed greater emphasis on user consent and data privacy. These regulations have made it more difficult for companies to collect and use third-party data without explicit user consent.
In addition to regulatory pressure, major tech companies have also taken steps to address privacy concerns. Apple, for instance, introduced Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) in its Safari browser, which limits the lifespan of third-party cookies and reduces cross-site tracking. Google, the dominant player in the digital advertising space, has announced plans to phase out third-party cookies in its Chrome browser by 2024, signaling a major shift in the industry.
### The Challenges of a Cookie-Less Future
The impending phase-out of third-party cookies presents significant challenges for advertisers, marketers, and publishers who have long relied on these tools for tracking and targeting users. Without third-party cookies, many of the techniques used to deliver personalized ads and measure their effectiveness will no longer be viable.
One of the most immediate challenges is the loss of granular user data. Third-party cookies have enabled advertisers to track users across multiple websites, allowing them to build detailed profiles and deliver highly targeted ads. Without this data, advertisers may struggle to reach their desired audiences and deliver relevant content.
Another challenge is the potential impact on ad revenue. Publishers who rely on advertising as a primary source of income may see a decline in revenue as advertisers shift their budgets away from cookie-based targeting. This could lead to a reduction in the quality and quantity of free content available online.
Finally, the phase-out of third-party cookies raises questions about the future of measurement and attribution. Advertisers have traditionally used cookies to track user interactions with ads and measure the effectiveness of their campaigns. Without cookies, it will be more difficult to attribute conversions and optimize marketing strategies.
### The Future of Online Tracking: Emerging Solutions
While the phase-out of third-party cookies presents challenges, it also opens the door to new and innovative approaches to online tracking. Several alternatives are already being explored, each with its own set of advantages and limitations.
1. **First-Party Data**: As third-party cookies become less viable, companies are increasingly turning to first-party data—information collected directly from users through their interactions with a website or app. First-party data is considered more reliable and privacy-compliant, as it is collected with the user’s consent. Companies can use this data to build direct relationships with their customers and deliver personalized experiences.
2. **Contextual Advertising**: Contextual advertising is an approach that targets ads based on the content of the webpage rather than the user’s browsing history. For example, an ad for running shoes might appear on a webpage about marathon training. This method does not rely on cookies and is seen as a privacy-friendly alternative to behavioral targeting.
3. **Privacy Sandbox**: Google’s Privacy Sandbox is a set of proposals aimed at creating
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