Live Webinar on ‘The State of Cookieless Future and First-Party Data’

Welcome to the first edition of the 'Grazitti Events & Webinars' newsletter! 

We're excited to bring you this new publication, designed to keep you informed and inspired. Each edition will provide insights on our upcoming events, webinars, and industry trends.

We intend to provide valuable content that helps you navigate the fast-paced world of marketing, technology, and business. 

The Rising Uncertainties of Third-Party Cookies Deprecation

On July 22, 2024, Google Announced Third-Party Cookies Won’t Phaseout in Chrome

Google has made a strategic pivot, scrapping its plan to eliminate third-party cookies in Chrome. Mozilla and Apple took the same route back in 2020 and enabled the blocking of third-party cookies by default for their respective browsers, Firefox and Safari.

Like its fellow tech giants, Google is now empowering users to make informed choices about their browsing experience. Users can adjust these choices at any time, reflecting a commitment to transparency and user control.

Recognizing the extensive efforts required for a transition to a cookieless world, Google has introduced what it calls a ‘new experience in Chrome.’ This initiative aims to enhance user choice while balancing the needs of the online advertising ecosystem.

Third-Party Cookies: The Demise and What Comes Next

The ‘cookieless future’ is looming large upon us, prompting marketers to adapt. This change has marketers scrambling to learn how first-party data can become their essential weapon in the ever-changing marketing landscape. 

Let’s begin with how Google announced that it will officially stop supporting third-party cookies on its Chrome browser. Although the timeline for the demise of third-party cookies was revised multiple times, Google has now confirmed that these tracking cookies will deprecate by early 2025. 

And that’s not all, due to the tightening of EU privacy regulations, browsers are limiting the support of these marketing cookies. 

So, what does this cookie crumble mean for businesses that depend on them? Will traditional advertising methods lose their edge? 

How will marketers track users and tap into those valuable insights to provide relevant, personalized ads? 

Let’s find out!

Why are Tracking Cookies Being Phased Out—A Quick Roundup

Imagine a website tracking your search queries and bombarding you with ads related to those queries on different websites. 

This digital eavesdropping caused concerns among users about their online privacy. Therefore, they demanded more control over their data and wanted to know what data was being collected and how it was used. 

Eventually, governments worldwide also joined the fight with privacy laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) asking websites to be more transparent about their data collection practices. 

Thus, the third-party cookie regime is coming to an end. 

First-party data collection, on the other hand, will instead be powering user tracking going forward as it offers greater accuracy, trustworthiness, and opportunities for personalization. 

Understanding First-Party vs. Third-Party Cookies

Even though creating a first-party data strategy is a privacy-centric move, businesses still need to set up a cookie consent banner and obtain users’ consent to comply with data privacy guidelines. 

Cookie consent management is an effective practice to help you maintain transparency about data collection practices and build trust among users. 

To align with evolving customer expectations, global data protection laws, and ePrivacy requirements, consent management platforms help businesses collect and manage user consent, and process user data.  

Meet the ‘Cookieless’ Future

The 'cookieless future' describes a shift in marketing where third-party cookies, once essential for tracking user behavior and personalizing ads, will be phased out. This has a significant impact on how websites and marketers operate.

With the elimination of cookies, other identifiers such as IP addresses and device IDs, will be used to uniquely identify user’s online behavior. 

However, Google has taken a different approach. In March 2021, Google announced that it would not collect personally identifiable information (PII) graphs alternative identifiers. 

It rather introduced a new technology called Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC), part of its Privacy Sandbox initiative. Since FLoC is Google’s ‘privacy-first’ and ‘interest-based’ advertising technology, it groups Chrome users into cohorts based on their interests and behaviors. So, advertisers can ensure user privacy by targeting ads to anonymized cohorts instead of individual users. 

Build a First-Party Data Strategy to Prepare for a Cookieless World

Collect First-Party Data Through Customer Touchpoints 

As tracking users across the web becomes more challenging, brands should focus on collecting first-party data at customer touchpoints they control, such as websites and apps. 

This data, passively collected with explicit user consent, includes browsing behavior, content consumption, location, device, and time of day. 

Also, offering personalized recommendations, discounts, or exclusive access will help you obtain zero-party data, which includes user intentions, preferences, and lifestyles.

Leverage Second-Party Data Through Partnerships 

First-party data can be a great starting point but it alone can be insufficient for highly-effective targeting and attribution. To enhance the value of your data, brands can form partnerships with non-competing companies to exchange user-approved data. 

These partnerships combine different data sets and provide richer insights. Moreover, data clean rooms facilitate secure data sharing by storing shared data in the cloud with a neutral third party. This allows for anonymous targeting, where advertisers reach groups of users with similar characteristics without revealing individual identities. This approach helps comply with privacy regulations.

Contextual Advertising and Interest-Based Targeting

Contextual advertising and interest-based targeting are gaining prominence as alternatives to cookie-driven approaches. Contextual advertising displays ads based on the current content a user is viewing, rather than their browsing history. 

Technological advances in natural language processing and image recognition have improved the precision of context classification and ad matching, making this method more relevant and brand-safe.

Moreover, interest-based targeting in Google Ads allows advertisers to target users based on specific interests, hobbies, or behaviors. Unlike demographic or location targeting, interest-based targeting aims to reach users based on individual preferences and activities.

Google's Topics API, replacing its initial FLoC concept, categorizes user interests into around 350 topics, excluding sensitive ones. When a user visits a website, the browser shares up to three topics from their most frequent interests, allowing advertisers to target ads based on these interests. This method aims to provide greater privacy and transparency. 

Learn Winning Strategies to Thrive in the Cookieless Future: Join Our Live Webinar

Are you ready to delve deeper into first-party data strategies and cookieless marketing?  

Join Jon Robinson, Head of Sales - Salesforce, TestSigma, and Helen Yu, Founder & CEO, Tigon Advisory Corp. as they explore smarter ways of delivering personalized experiences and ensuring user privacy, in our upcoming live webinar on August 6th at 9:30 AM PST.

Global marketing specialists will explore how prioritizing first-party data can align your business with cookieless marketing strategies and elevate personalized customer experiences. 

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