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No More Cookies

Consumers don’t want cookies. (Not third-party tracking cookies, anyways. Their eponymous inspirations are still a hit, crumbs and all.) As a common practice the ad industry has used for years to understand the behaviors of specific groups of people, cookie tracking has been steadily diminishing in value.

Today, there’s widespread use of ad blockers (which prevent third-party advertising), web browsers are automatically disabling cookies and tech giants like Google and Apple have already started to phase out all third-party tracking. Google in particular plans to stop supporting third-party cookies by early 2022.

So, if the industry is so dependent on cookies, what will we do without them?

The most prominent solution right now is user ID tracking, which involves passing a unique identifier associated with each user ID during site log-ins. By tracking these user IDs, we won’t need to worry about disrupting the tracking chain when they clear their cookies and it allows us to track the same user uniquely – and more accurately – across any device.

Nielsen has been making substantial progress with its Unified ID 2.0 plan and has recently entered into a partnership with The Trade Desk to bring this initiative to fruition. It’s a comprehensive people-based (not cookie-based) measurement method that has proven to be more reliable than traditional cookie-tracking systems. This method is poised to gain momentum in the coming months.

Along the same lines, brands should prioritize first-party data, which comes from direct audience interactions such as website visits and email subscriptions. The benefits of first-party data are plentiful, from the cost-efficiency of collecting useful data, to the control that comes from owning the data, to the low-funnel, high-value nature of the audience you’re reaching. That said, brands should be careful not to undermine consumer trust when it comes to first-party data collection; using opt-in platforms and ensuring users express willingness to be tracked are critical. Although scale is going to be limited in these scenarios, we still expect first-party tracking to continue to be a core solution for advertisers.

Finally, it’s a good idea to reassess your digital targeting methods. Consider how you can best reach people in the absence of cookie-based tracking—and Rule #1 (obvious as it may seem) is to be where your audience is. Considering the upward tick in media consumption this year across social media, streaming video and gaming, there’s plenty of opportunity to incorporate your brand into customized, targeted experiences. And don’t forget about branded content and native advertising, both of which can be contextually targeted and are not dependent on cookie tracking. As cookies continue to crumble, page-level contextual targeting is going to come back in a big way.

A major transformation for digital advertising is already underway. Are you prepared for a cookie-less digital world? Get in touch with Mike Pocci to learn more.

Mike Pocci

Connections Planning Director

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