What will the future look like without cookies?

2022 will be the key year for the world of digital marketing. And it is that cookies are going to disappear, which represents a new challenge for professionals who feed on advertising. The uncertainty has driven deep into the hearts of marketers and doubts arise as the date approaches. To solve these questions and anticipate what will be a future without cookies, Publicis Media has dedicated its first event of the year to the future universe without cookies and MarketingDirecto.com has been there to witness it.

As a context, it should be noted that Cookies are defined as information files that are saved in browsers and that allow websites to identify the browser in case of having previously visited the page. They are not perfect identifiers, but they do serve to be close to the consumer. Although not all cookies are the same.

• 1st Party Data: Also called first-party cookies, they are created by the same domain we are browsing. The cookies of each company.
• 3rd Party Data: Also known as third-party cookies and those that have led us to this controversy. They are cookies created by a domain other than the website we are browsing.

But the importance of cookies did not arrive until the 2000s. As Alicia Macarro, Digital Senior Manager at Publicis Media, has stated: “If we wanted to reach consumers with sport as a hobby, we bought advertising space on websites that talked about sport.” As of the indicated date, programmatic buying is exploited and that allows to exploit cookies as we currently do.

The problem comes when the consumer does not understand well what is happening with their data and feels persecuted. The consumer begins to demand more transparency and Europe is a pioneer in solving the problem by creating the General Data Privacy Law in 2018. Technology companies also echoed this situation and Firefox and Safari began to tighten their policies to eliminate those third-party cookies in their users’ browsers. The decision was not entirely relevant in Spain, since in our country it hardly involves traffic. What was truly worrying was the announcement by Google, who thinks it will eliminate third-party cookies in the year 2022.

Main problems of a future without cookies

The news comes like a jug of cold water to the advertising sector, who will have to get down to work so that the impact is the least possible. Macarro has explained at the Publicis event how the loss of cookies will affect various keys:

1. Availability of data: With the loss of third-party cookies, the audiences created with this data will be more limited

2. Audience segmentation: The exploitation of 1st Party Data will become more important.

3. Campaign optimization: Optimization based on user behavior will be affected and optimizations based more on the environment than on the user will gain prominence.

4. Measurement: It will not be possible to have third-party cookies to build user traceability, so the attribution based on the last click will be even more important.

?? The loss of third-party cookies will affect:

?? Audiences and their segmentation will be more limited
?? Optimization based on environment will gain more importance than user
?? Greater attribution to the last click on «Keys to living the world without cookies»

— MarketingDirecto.com (@mkdirecto)

The future without cookies will generate concentrated advertising in logged environments and in-App and contextual segmentation will be a vital part of every business. Furthermore, the use of 2nd Data Party will be more common within the partner ecosystem once the third-party cookies disappear. Definitely, all the advertising that is based on the content of a website will have to plan in the supports and available apps.

Do you want to know more about the 2nd Data Party? Don’t miss our post about cookies 2.0: what brands need to know.

The advertising market already has several projects active to avoid the great impact of this new environment. Google is one of those companies involved in supporting the sector. The tech giant has created Chrome Privacy Sandbox, initiative in order to offer the market alternatives to be able to continue measuring and personalizing their campaigns while protecting consumer privacy.

What solution does the advertising industry have in a cookie-free environment?

Ricardo Molero, Head of Digital Investment & Precision Director at Publicis Media, continued the presentation reflecting a more positive reality. According to the expert, with this new concept we will be able to clarify how many conversions occur and which ones are without consent. This means that the effectiveness of a medium, from a performance point of view, will not be affected.

As to the data, will be another of the pillars where you can see the blocking of cookies. But, according to Molero, «lhe situation is not worrisome, as they are increasingly linked to Mar Tech«. In fact, the expert assures that there are currently independent technologies working on finding solutions to identify a greater volume of IDs. The databases nurtured by cookies will now be nurtured by IDs, with which the advertiser will be able to generate an impact on the possible programming to impact the right user at the right time.

«My main concern is the first part data, because we are seeing a fall without cookies and that is where the challenge of the industry really lies not to lose too much volume ”, continues Molero. Therefore, everything that refers to having first-party databases and uploading them to platforms will become more important, since by anticipating an impact on third-party data, first-party data will take center stage.

To end the presentation, Molero has provided what for him would be the four levers or pillars to work and be prepared Faced with the uncertain environment we face:

1. ID based solutions: The alternative to third-party cookies

2. Importance of CRM and the 1st Data Party: Promote the generation of first-rate cookies.

3. Data management: Importance of a comprehensive data management platform.

4. Value of content: Will remain relevant, especially in the 1st Party Data generation.

?? The loss of third-party cookies will affect:

?? Audiences and their segmentation will be more limited
?? Optimization based on environment will gain more importance than user
?? Greater attribution to the last click on «Keys to living the world without cookies»

— MarketingDirecto.com (@mkdirecto)

What do you think of the future without cookies? Are you ready to face the new challenge of the digital marketing sector? Share on your social networks! And if you want to know more about the new digital environment, don’t miss our post where we answer the question of whether it is possible to reach an audience without resorting to cookies.