Concerns over user privacy and data protection in regard to online tracking practices have led Google to promise to phase out third-party cookies entirely by the third quarter of 2024. This shift is a major concern for marketers, as 3P cookies have been essential for tracking user behavior across the Web, enabling targeted advertising and personalized experiences.
Programmatic advertising, in particular, which heavily relies on cookie-based user tracking and targeting to personalize ads, will face challenges, leading to less effective targeting, reduced ad relevance and potentially lower returns on investment. Below, members of Forbes Agency Council share important insights into how the shift away from third-party data will affect programmatic advertising.
1. Programmatic Ads Will Rely More On 1P Data
Marketers need to rely more on first-party data for programmatic advertising. First-party data collected directly from customers and audiences can provide deeper, more reliable insights into campaign performance. The shift away from third-party data underlines the importance of understanding different types of data and how to stay within parameters. – Arian Ghotbi, Cyrus Digital
2. Deterministic Intent Data Will Become More Prevalent
As marketers look for more precision with third-party data—which, unlike first-party data, is designed specifically for new customer acquisition—deterministic intent data will become more prevalent. Using a deterministic intent data tool can allow advertisers to serve ads to prospective buyers: people who have demonstrated a specific interest in their brand’s products or services. – Paula Chiocchi, Outward Media, Inc.
3. Understanding The Context Of Ad Placements Is Crucial
Without third-party cookies, there’s a heightened emphasis on contextual targeting in programmatic advertising. Understanding the context in which ads are placed becomes crucial for reaching relevant audiences. By aligning ad placements with relevant content, marketers can maintain effectiveness in targeting while respecting user privacy preferences. – Fadi Agour, RPM: REAL PERFORMANCE MARKETING
4. Third-Party Suppliers’ Data Sources Must Be Verified
Third-party data has always been less accurate than first- or second-party data. The death of the wrong-direction cookies requires more diligence from advertisers on verifying the data sources of their third-party suppliers. This moment also provides an opportunity for us to push clients to prioritize their first-party data strategies to leverage opportunities such as Google’s PAIR solution. – Stephen Rosa, (add)ventures
Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
5. It Is Only Going To Get Worse, So Leverage 1P Data ASAP
It’s only going to get worse, and you need to start collecting and leveraging first-party data as soon as possible. You need to realize that you, as a marketer, are going to need to “feed the machine” more accurate data that it can use for targeting and optimization. Learn about offline conversion tracking, e-commerce conversion data and building custom audiences with first-party data ASAP. – Bernard May, National Positions
6. Third-Party Data Is A Seasoning, Not The Main Course
Third-party data alone won’t cut it anymore. Think of it as a seasoning, not the main course. Focus on building robust first-party data (website behavior, loyalty programs) and using compliant, cookieless third-party segments (such as contextual targeting) to add a sprinkle of external insight into programmatic campaigns. This will future-proof your targeting and personalize the ad experience. – Ajay Prasad, GMR Web Team
7. The Elimination Of 3P Cookies Will Hurt The Lazy Marketer
The elimination of third-party cookies is going to really hurt the lazy marketer. They let us run campaigns that felt well-targeted without effort. Of course, poorly thought-through campaigns still performed badly, but it felt like we were hitting the right people. Now, marketers need to think about what they are trying to achieve to create great campaigns. This is not a bad thing! – Mike Maynard, Napier Partnership Limited
8. Building A Privacy-Focused System Around Data Is Key
Welcome to the era of first-party data. Marketers, it’s your cue to innovate. Building a robust, privacy-focused system around your data is key. This isn’t just about compliance—it’s about leveraging your own data for programmatic advertising mastery. Embrace this shift, enhance your strategies and lead in a privacy-first marketing landscape. Let’s make first-party data our strongest asset! – Kate Vasylenko, 42DM Corporation
9. Relying On 3P Data Limits Audience Insights And Targeting
Marketers must recognize that relying solely on third-party data for programmatic advertising may lead to limited audience insights and targeting capabilities. Marketers must prioritize building direct relationships with their customers, collecting and activating first-party data, and implementing consent management strategies to ensure compliance and personalized advertising experiences. – Alex Yastrebenetsky, InfoTrust
10. It Is Time To Invest In Proprietary Data Strategies
One important aspect is the need to move to your own data. Your primary data will soon become crucial, and since you collect it directly from your audience, this data is more reliable and relevant. So, it’s time for everyone to invest in proprietary data strategies. Ask for as much data from your clients as possible, and gather data from their interactions with your website properly. – Dmitrii Kustov, Regex SEO
11. The Focus Should Be On Leveraging Customer Data
With cookies going away, it should be noted that while third-party data can offer supplementary insights, the primary focus of any campaign should be on leveraging customer data. Encouraging customers to share their information by providing incentives fosters more accurate and cost-effective campaigns. – Jessica Hawthorne-Castro, Hawthorne Advertising
12. Delivering Value-Added, Relevant Content Drives Success
A cookieless digital world seems inevitable with data privacy taking priority. Third-party data was, however, less accurate; marketers have always found first-party data to be more reliable. The key to driving successful results in a cookieless world is to consistently deliver value-added, relevant content to your audience. – Prashanthi Kolluru, KLOUDPORTAL
13. Brands Must Build Trust To Collect First-Party Data
Marketers will, of course, need to place a bigger emphasis on first-party data—which was more valuable anyway, aside from being more respectful of user privacy. Collecting first-party data will require brands to build trust with their audience and get creative. – Justin Belmont, Prose
14. Marketers Need To Understand Regulatory Landscapes
Wave goodbye to third-party cookies and hello to privacy-centric solutions! Embrace context- and consent-driven programmatic advertising. By leveraging technology and trust, you’ll forge deeper connections and deliver value that keeps your audience engaged and loyal. This shift demands a robust understanding of regulatory landscapes and innovative approaches to gathering data. – Jonathan Schwartz, Bullseye Strategy
15. It Takes A Framework To Embrace Federated Identities
I prefer the term “retirement” of third-party cookies. We must embrace the fractured federation of identities. Success requires a strong, universal ID framework, enabling the holistic view of an individual in their personal and professional lives and offline and digital experiences. Third-party data is critical to understanding the whole person, increasing the accuracy of predictive models, and ensuring personalization across programmatic channels. – Thomas Zawacki, Data Axle