Google backpedalled cookie deprecation: Mila Strokova featured in Marketing Dojo
Mila, our New Business Development Director at M&C Saatchi Performance, has been spotlighted by Garima Mamgain, Global Segment Marketing Manager at 3M, in her latest edition of MarketingDojo.
Mila Strokova offered her insights on a topic on every marketer’s mind: the aftermath of Google’s U-turn on third-party cookies, the latest hot news in the advertising landscape. Read her expert take below.
Google backpedalled third-party cookie deprecation. What now?
Google and its never-ending cookie depreciation story look like a Netflix show that hit the top charts quickly but dragged its audience through so many seasons that, eventually, everyone lost hope of ever reaching the end.
In their recent blog post, Google introduced “A new path for Privacy Sandbox.” Anthony Chavez, VP of Privacy Sandbox, stated, “Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we will introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice across their web browsing, which they can adjust at any time.”
Google’s promise of consumer choice is intriguing, yet the specifics remain ambiguous. Numerous potential scenarios exist, ranging from default opt-in to Privacy Sandbox, opt-in by choice, prompts, etc.
What does this mean for advertisers?
Let’s be honest: the biggest change already happened, and it was iOS 14.5.
Around 70-80% of Apple users have opted out of tracking. If Google adopts a similar approach to Apple, it’s safe to assume we’ll see similar opt-out rates on Chrome. This means that the cookieless future is still unavoidable, just under the guise of protecting consumer choice. So, what should we be ready for?
Targeting and Retargeting with/without Cookies.
Any marketer would say that the best way to get effective results for an online marketing campaign is to target ads to specific audiences. How can we do this without cookies?
Technically, nothing new here. Marketers have been relying on walled garden platforms’ ability to leverage their audience data and machine learning capabilities for targeting, optimization, and retargeting. And will continue to do so.
All major platforms have religiously introduced their Conversion API solutions to enhance ad targeting and measurement by securely transferring data directly between servers, moving away from relying on cookies.
The Trade Desk introduced Unified ID 2.0, an advertising identity based on a consumer’s email address collected with consent, which enables better targeting opportunities on the open internet (available through programmatic media buying).
Also, don’t disregard contextual targeting, which is gaining more traction. In context-based advertising, ads appear on web pages according to the website’s content, not browsing history.
Attribution and Measurement
Attribution was never the full answer; focusing on incrementality is still the key to sustained growth through media.
For a deeper dive into attribution modelling in a privacy-centric world, read here. We also delve into why Media Mix Modelling is the answer to measurement in a privacy-centric marketing landscape here.
Thanks to Garima Mamgain for the feature. For more insights on the latest marketing hot topics, read the full MarketingDojo newsletter edition here.
