IIn this post, let’s take a look at the impact of a cookieless world on your digital marketing practices, and the advertising alternatives that can be deployed. that can be deployed.
A web cookie is a text file stored in a browser, which facilitates online browsing by recording various information. It consists of a unique identifier, which acts as a label.
Some cookies are deleted after closing the browser : they’re called session cookies.
Others remain active, and keep a trace in the browser for up to 13 months : they’re called permanent cookies.
To understand fully the impact of a cookieless world cookieless on your marketing strategy, you need to know how to differentiate…
Third party cookies third are the ones used in online advertising campaigns, so they’re impacted by the famous "cookie apocalypse" that awaits.
What is the purpose of a web cookie ? This is a crucial question that you need to know the answer to.
A cookie can serve several purposes. It can be...
It’s that third kind of cookie that allows marketers to...
Now that you know what a cookie is and what it is used for, let's look to the future: what will a world without cookies look like?
In January 2020, Google Chrome announced that by 2022, it will stop using third-party cookies. An announcement that causes panic in the world of programmatic advertising, as a large part of the campaigns uses these cookies. This announcement has since been postponed to 2023. However, it’s important for you to understand this decision was predictable :
See how tomorrow’s cookieless world was foreseeable ?
If a cookieless world can frighten the marketer who has based their strategy on digital advertising, these fears need to be rationalized.
In fact were already a concern for advertisers in terms of advertising.
For instance, since cookies are centered on the target’s browser, they can’t be used cross-device. This means a cookie can’t follow the in-app environment; nor can it follow an individual on his different browsers. And this is a real weakness, in a time when target audiences are using more and more different devices, and want to keep a consistent experience between these different media.
Moreover, synchronizing the third-party cookies needed to communicate between two technologies can lead up to two issues :
Rest assured that the potential disappearance of cookies is therefore not a fatality for your advertising campaigns !
As an advertiser, how do you manage the transition to a cookieless world in your advertising campaigns? Don’t panic: various (existing or under development) alternatives can be considered to ensure your campaigns’ performance.
To do one-to-one targeting, you don't necessarily need third-party cookies! It is possible to use...
You also need to keep in mind that major programmatic advertising players have already implemented (or are working on implementing) new identifiers, which also allow for precise targeting options :
Moreover, an identifier one-to-one targeting already exists: the device ID, an identifier based on the device used by the user, and which persists over time. Some players are thinking of collecting this ID, and matching it to a user's browser ID, to be able to target them afterwards.
In addition to those new technologies, Google Chrome offers various advertising features in its Sandbox to replace the main functions of the third-party cookie. Each feature is a response to a use case that Google has identified, in partnership with industry players. There are features for attribution, brand safety, privacy... and of course targeting features !
In a cookielessworld, targeting moves from a “One-to-one” mode to a “One-to-few”mode, with the principle of FLOC targeting (Federated Learning Of Cohorts) targeting. This type of targeting is based on a learning algorithm that aggregates users who share the same online browsing behavior.
Each of these user cohorts is composed of at least XNUMX users - note that a user can only belong to one cohort at any given time. Google Chrome should launch its feature (FLEDGE) allowing retargeting in cohorts by the end of the year. It will then be available in Google's “Privacy Sandbox”, which will become a new advertising ecosystem that will allow advertising campaigns to be conducted with a large target audience.
Are you familiar with contextual targeting? This programmatic advertising technique consists in selecting specific keywords to serve online ads next to editorial content that includes those keywords. As such, it does not involve any cookies, and therefore does not require user consent. While this is one of the oldest targeting features for digital marketers, it is far from being the most advanced strategy for achieving your marketing goals.
However, companies specializing in this type of targeting are working on increasingly agile and intelligent algorithms, which enable very precise results thanks to a fine analysis of the context.
It can therefore be a very interesting solution, especially if you do not want to follow campaigns focused on your site (for instance brand awareness or branding campaigns).
At Gamned!, we believe that the cookie apocalypse, scheduled for 2023, is rather an opportunity to do better digital advertising. In fact, Google's announcement has led players in the field to develop alternatives that are already available, or will be when Google's decisions will be implemented. So don't panic !
As experts in programmatic advertising, we will test all these alternatives as soon as they are ready, to select the most relevant ones to generate the best results for our clients.
Need to set up programmatic campaigns that will help you achieve your goals ? Contact a Gamned expert now! to set up the most effective tactics for your marketing plan.
Tell us who you are, we will tell you which digital activations to adopt!
