Google’s cookie u-turn is no reason for brands to change paths

The news Google no longer intends to withdraw support for third-party cookies in Chrome has inevitably raised a few eyebrows across an industry that’s spent the last four years working towards the cookie’s final demise.

Anthony Chavez, VP, Privacy Sandbox explained Google will instead introduce a one-time prompt for users to set browser preferences around cookies: “Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing, and they’d be able to adjust that choice at any time.”

However, it’s not yet clear what form this prompt will take, when it will be implemented, or how much transparency it will give people into how their data is used. Does “elevated user control” mean opt in consent a la Apple’s App Tracking Transparency or will it be a more prominent opt out?

While we wait to see what this new experience will look like, the question that remains for brands is: what impact will this u-turn have on their digital marketing activities? The answer? It shouldn’t have much impact at all. Here are three reasons why:

Brands that haven’t yet made progress on a cookieless strategy may be breathing a sigh of relief. But for those that have already set off down the cookieless path, it’s going to be business as usual.

In the period since Google announced its intention to deprecate third-party cookies, the industry has made great strides forward in enabling cookieless addressability and measurement. There’s been a focus on using first-party data in innovative ways to engage with consumers while respecting their privacy. Organizations like the Trade Desk have led the way, with developments such as UID2.0, in which Acxiom is a partner. There’s also been increased use of data clean rooms and other technologies that allow privacy-conscious data sharing and collaboration.

Brands are learning from the success of walled gardens and are building their own first-party identity graphs, which give them more control. They know whether the signals they’re collecting are properly consented, and they can build direct, trusted relationships with customers and prospects. They can advertise at person-level (rather than device-level) and be confident they’re reaching the people they intend to reach in the places they intend to reach them. With brands becoming familiar with (and committing to) this highly deterministic and consented advertising ecosystem, there’s no reason to return to the opaque, probabilistic land of the cookie.

Even in areas where third-party cookies still play a major role, such as re-marketing on the open web, the industry is making solid progress. For instance, retail media networks that allow brands to synchronize first-party data and reach specific audiences both on and off their ecommerce sites are growing rapidly. While these types of solutions currently come with increased complexity and cost, this is offset by better precision and transparency. Moreover, brands are working directly with partners they trust, to reach real people in high quality environments.

As an industry, we’ve learned a lot in the last four years, and we’ve collectively made incredible progress. So, it makes sense to continue to evolve away from third-party cookies.

Google’s decision doesn’t change the fact that some see third-party cookies as raising consumer privacy issues, as the response to the announcement by Stephen Bonner, the Deputy Commissioner at the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, illustrates:

“Our ambition to support the creation of a more privacy friendly internet continues. Despite Google’s decision, we continue to encourage the digital advertising industry to move to more private alternatives to third party cookies – and not to resort to more opaque forms of tracking.”

Although concerns about cookie deprecation were voiced across the industry – including in the IAB Tech Lab’s analysis – these were related to the adoption of the Privacy Sandbox as an alternative. Nobody is saying third-party cookies should remain unchanged. Existing regulations such as the EU ePrivacy Directive make durable use of third-party cookies difficult. And there will be increasing pressure to take a different route as similar regulations are introduced at state or even federal level in the U.S., as well as across the rest of the world.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Dimitrios Koromilas, Acxiom’s Director of Platform Services EMEA said, “Marketers should continue preparing for a future where data privacy is increasingly prioritized. Those who have been proactive in exploring alternatives will be better positioned to adapt when changes do inevitably occur, particularly given the changing regulatory landscape and shifts by other major players in the industry.”

In general, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of how their data is being used, and how they want to be treated in digital environments. There will be a continued shift towards giving the consumer more control over the information collected and inferred about them. Brands will need to prove they respect customer preferences, and for that, they need something more sophisticated than a third-party cookie.

We already know cookies are an ineffective and opaque solution for addressability and measurability in digital advertising. And in many cases, they don’t exist at all. Brands aren’t just talking to audiences in Chrome, they’re also talking to them in browsers like Safari, Firefox, and Mozilla, which account for around 40% of browser-based internet traffic, and where third-party cookies were deprecated years ago.

What’s more, many of the emerging channels brands are succeeding with today have never used cookies. From connected TV (CTV) to mobile apps, brands are already embracing an omnichannel approach in which the cookie is unimportant – and that’s not about to change.

One thing that Google’s announcement does do, is bring some optionality for brands. They can continue to focus on a properly permissioned path, using first-party data and direct knowledge of consumers to connect at person-level, but still leverage third-party cookies when they’re looking for broader exposure on the open web.

Brands should see Google’s decision as an opportunity to reprioritize. Rather than falling back to a cookie-based approach, they can make first-party, permissioned methods their go-to strategy. Then they can look to partner integrations to expand their reach. And they can potentially keep cookies as a last option for activities where less precision is required.