Google postpones completion of phaseout of third-party cookies until early next year.
According to a statement released ahead of Google and the UK Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) quarterly report, Google recognizes the ongoing challenges associated with reconciling disparate feedback from industry, regulators, and developers, and will continue to work closely with the entire ecosystem.
Google said it was also important to allow sufficient time to review all evidence, including the results of industry tests, which the CMA is asking market participants to provide by the end of June.
“We remain committed to working closely with the CMA and ICO and hope to complete that process by the end of this year. If we can reach an agreement, we will proceed with the phase-out of third-party cookies from early next year. “We anticipate that,” the statement reads.
However, Google did not specify a clear timeline for when it would complete deprecating third-party cookies in 2025.
Meanwhile, the CMA said the commitment provided by Google gives it the role of overseeing the design, development and implementation of Google's privacy sandbox proposals. “In particular, we are asking Google not to remove third-party cookies until the CMA is satisfied that competition concerns have been addressed,” the statement said.
MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has asked Google and the CMA for statements.
In fact, this is the third time the tech giant has postponed its originally set deadline. 2020, The company pledged to phase out third-party cookies “within two years” to protect consumers' security and privacy when using online.
Earlier this year, Google began gradually erasing 1% of third-party cookies. This will allow industry participants to test their readiness for a third-party cookie-free web.
Google's move doesn't come as a surprise to many in the industry. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE spoke to several marketing leaders and Adtech Players will consider how far along they are in their journey towards adapting to a cookie-free world.
Drew Stein, Audigent CEO
Google heard the alarm from the industry that it couldn't rebuild its nearly 20-year-old ad tech infrastructure in six months. It is up to the industry to use this time to address gaps and provide specific feedback to fix the privacy sandbox. And it's time for Google to deliver on the promise of a better ecosystem by not just listening to all the necessary changes, but actually implementing them.
Ben Chow, Director of APAC Digital, Hyatt Hotels Corporation
This is not completely unexpected given the complexity of the transition. We believe that many advertisers will appreciate the additional time available to refine their cookie-free strategies and tactics in order to collect more data and compare them to existing approaches.
Regardless of the current changes, we are still moving forward with our transition plan and implementing the tools and strategies necessary to move to a completely cookie-free world. After all, there's no harm in being early, and you'll benefit from waking up early if you can.
Vincent Leung, Global Head of Digital Brand Marketing, Lenzing Group
From a marketer's perspective, this move is very welcome. As the marketing industry evolves with a focus on digital marketing, data becomes an increasingly important resource and KPI for us.
This shift in marketing strategy has not been easy for marketers in the industry, both internally and at agencies. Internal marketing teams need to strategize new ways to acquire data and manage the loss of large amounts of third-party data. Meanwhile, agencies must help clients re-strategize how to execute marketing tactics for maximum effectiveness.
As a European listed company, we need to be at the forefront of this effort and must comply with new EU privacy standards and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We've been actively phasing out third-party data over the last few years, and for the past two years we've focused on first-party and zero-party data capture as a key marketing KPI.
We worked with our agencies and internal teams to redefine our strategy for capturing customer data in a way that makes the customer experience as smooth and easy as possible, while ensuring full and appropriate consent. It all comes down to the value and experience we deliver to our customers. If we can effectively communicate the benefits we offer, customers are more likely to sign up and share their data. but, Data collection processes and customer journeys are key. Easy navigation minimizes drop-off rates.
Cedric Diaz, Group Head of Marketing, OONA Insurance
In my opinion, this is good for the advertising industry and for brands and advertising companies. Third-party cookies have been a staple of online advertising for years, and their removal would have had a huge impact on the industry. Most markets in Southeast Asia have multiple safeguards regarding customer privacy, which are generally complied with by most brands as well as advertisers. Most brands I know are taking some steps to address this eventuality, such as increasing their focus on first-party data or leveraging partnerships more deeply.
However, it must be mentioned that it is still very important to consider consumer privacy concerns. Third-party cookies can be used to track your browsing activity around the web, which can be invasive. Google's Privacy Sandbox initiative aims to address these concerns by developing new ways to target advertising that are more respectful of user privacy.
As with most brands, we are committed to leveraging our data and partnerships as much as possible, and this has proven to be highly effective. At this time, we are not yet ready for cookie-free advertising, but we believe we are on the way to reducing our reliance on cookies.
Alice Au, Group Director, Digital Marketing, Wharf Hotels
The Wharf Hotels (Niccolo, Mako, Marco Polo) take this issue very seriously. Own Projects in this field: Our comprehensive audits and health checks Own first party Data that reviews how customer data is captured, stored, and used. make our plans first party Data streams for customer touchpoints and customer consent given to us, followed by data cleansing as required
We've worked with our internal technology team and external partners and agencies to leverage reliable, tested solutions for a cookie-free world.
However, at this stage you also need to prepare everything to be seamless and optimized. Although problems may occur during the migration, decrease efficiently may be seenwe need agility to overcome and excel while taking advantage of new opportunities presented to us.
Delayed retirement of third-party cookie policies gives us more time. test Eliminate errors and increase effectiveness and efficiency. blueprint What we planned.
Dan Richardson, Director of Data and Insights, AUSEA, Yahoo
“Google's new timeline will help the industry continue to test and adapt. Beyond cookies, non-addressable inventory will only increase, so the industry must act now to prepare for these changes. Either way, Yahoo is ready to support advertisers with solutions for addressable and non-addressable environments, as well as testing in the privacy sandbox.”
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