Last week’s announcement that Google was changing its approach to cookie deprecation initially led many to interpret the news to suggest cookies might be here to stay. This sent the industry into a tailspin for about 24 hours, only to emerge facing in the same direction. Alternative solutions and ingenuity are needed more than ever to keep the industry on an upward trajectory, and not beholden to the decisions of one company to decide its fate. Here are our main takeaways from the changes:
The comparison to Apple’s app tracking transparency (ATT) framework has been made many times in the last week. If Apple’s history is any indication, consumers will opt-out of sharing their data 70-80% of the time. If this is the case, cookies will fade away, rather than having a hard and fast expiration date. The question on everyone’s mind is: What will this look like in practice in terms of user experience? Will it be front and center, like Apple’s ATT prompt, or buried in the settings? Will opt-in be at the site level, or at the browser level? This will heavily influence the opt-in rate and the viability of cookies. Until these questions are answered, the entire internet economy is still hanging on the edge of its seat.
As for Google’s motives, no one seems to buy that they are doing this for the good of the consumer. When Apple implemented this approach for ATT, Apple Search Ads revenue saw tremendous growth while capping competitors, while making Apple exempt from anti-competition regulators since it was the “consumers’ choice” to opt out. With this decision, Google can take advantage of this exception while gaining more time to work on the Privacy Sandbox.
Historically, cookies have enabled a gluttony of “audience data” to be used for campaign targeting. The data brokers are not required to provide original sources, and the data itself is usually bought and resold numerous times. Cookies themselves are ephemeral, prone to being continuously cleared or changed, and don’t follow users across multiple devices. In practice, this has led to billions spent on ineffective targeting. WIth the only option remaining being consented emails or alternative identifiers, this will cut out any players from the ecosystem who do not have a direct connection to the consumer.
Cookie deprecation might have driven the initial stampede towards retail media and other sources of first-party purchase data, but it’s much more than just another cookie alternative. It provides verified purchase data, the best signal of intent, that can be used for both targeting and measurement of actual business outcomes. Some experts are already predicting a fall from grace for today’s first-party data sources as they face more stringent privacy concerns. This is why the data providers with explicit consent, likely with a very strong value exchange from consumers, will be paramount. This includes retailers and commerce media providers.
A unanimous opinion among industry experts is that marketers should proceed as they were by finding viable alternatives to cookies. So, does this change anything? Yes and no. Although there’s no longer an official execution date for cookies, Google’s decision on how they implement the consumer consent framework will dictate a timeline and whether it’s a slow burn or a steep cliff. But one thing is for sure – a future where Google doesn’t control the fate of a $700 billion dollar industry will be better for us all.
