According to Lou Montulli, who invented the internet browser cookie in 1994, it was never intended to be adopted and coopted by advertisers to advance their marketing and sales initiatives. “We designed cookies to exchange information only between users and the website they visited. The founders of Netscape (an early browser for those who may not recall) and many of the other denizens of the internet in that age were really privacy focused. This was something that we cared about, and it was pervasive in the design of the internet protocols we built. So, we wanted to build a mechanism where you could be remembered by the websites that you wanted to remember you, and you could be anonymous when you wanted to be anonymous.”
Fast-forward to 2021. For literally decades, brands have engineered and utilized cookies to track website visitors, advance the user experience, and of course… amass data that aids in targeting specific ads to chosen audiences. Companies also employ cookies to learn about what their website visitors are doing online when they aren’t visiting their websites. Cookies have fundamentally reshaped how brands target and market to consumers.
But nothing lasts forever (Twinkies come close) and the practice of employing cookies and Google ad-tracking tools will change considerably with Google’s plans to retire the third-party cookie on Chrome browsers by 2022. Announced in February 2020, the third-party phase-out was back in focus last month as it was announced that Google won’t be designing “alternate identifiers to track individuals as they browse across the web, nor will we use them in our products.”
So, privacy is back in style and Google is doing its best to deliver on what the user wants and demands. But where does that leave advertisers who are losing one of their most advanced and utilized targeting tools? Great question. Here are our thoughts on that specific issue.
1. It’s not a toggle switch… it’s a dimmer.
It is important to note that the changes to third party cookie usage won’t simply be turned off one day. These changes will happen over the course of two years as the tech company works with advertisers to ensure that this pivot doesn’t destroy the online advertising business. So, get educated, get a plan, and get to work. Trust me, Google wants to manage its risk on this… manage yours.
2. It’s unavoidable and will impact your marketing and potentially your business.
In late 2019, Google Chrome made up more than 56% of the web browser market. Chrome also accounts for more than half of all global web traffic. With that type of market penetration, this will in all likelihood directly or indirectly impact your brand and business. Try to figure out what gaps the changes to cookie policy and usage will leave and how other technologies and channels might help fill these gaps.
3. Options are under development.
Some see the changes to cookie usage as a huge setback, but others see opportunity. In the upcoming months, new alternatives will continue to emerge, some solid and some not. Identifying and auditing these new tools could make a huge difference as marketers look to find other ways to better understand and communicate with their customers.
There will be tech and tools that try to replace the information delivered via cookies, but … there is also a lesson here well beyond replacing technology. In our opinion, third-party cookies have made marketers a bit lazy. Collecting and leaning on third-party data to understand customer behavior and needs was easy. The problem is, we became enamored with the data… not the customer. The real opportunity here is to determine how brands can get back to developing relationships with their customers. Invoca CEO Gregg Johnson provided some great insight on this issue when he stated, “For years, marketers have been addicted to using third-party data, but it wasn’t because third-party data was the most effective way to reach their target customers, it was because that data was just so easy for them to access and execute short-term campaigns.”
Yes, the loss of third-party cookies and the connected customer insights is a big loss. It’s also a big opportunity. And, by focusing on the opportunity, you just may find yourself and your advertising a bit refreshed by the idea of recommitting to building mutually beneficial relationships with your customers and prospects.
Have questions or ideas on how to best meet this challenge, drop us a note or comment. We love to hear from you.