Google's decision to postpone third-party cookie crumbling again last week came as no surprise to marketers. The proverbial can had already been kicked onto the road several times. Seven of them told Digiday that doing so again could give them more time to minimize the impact on advertisers.
The eventual hiatus of third-party cookies ending in Chrome is a foregone conclusion, but the pain advertisers are feeling may not be as obvious as it was since iOS 14. It may be repetitive to keep moving the goalposts, but marketers are happy with the move. Rather than meeting deadlines, they want Google to do it right and find a way to accommodate changes as much as possible.
“This conversation started in 2020 and has inspired many other very important conversations at the time about media planning, privacy, performance and how we collaborate,” said Group Director of Paid Search at VML. said Valerie Schlosser. “To this day, it's still very much present in our daily conversations with each other and with our clients, but the trajectory is the same. It's just a smooth climb. In this industry anyway, things always work out. It’s changing, so you have to be ready to pivot, whether you’re doing your due diligence or not.”
Despite (expected but now certain) longer timelines, marketers continue to test alternatives, strengthen first-party data strategies, and expect retail media to continue its rapid growth are doing. Giving them more time to prepare for the change will only give them more time to test their post-third-party cookie strategies, making this news welcome to marketers and agency executives alike.
“The positive thing about this is that [is that the] Continued delays allow us to continue exploring additional proactive testing and alternative measurement opportunities while we continue to explore them.'' Examples include Google's enhanced conversion tracking and Meta's conversion API said Amanda Goetz, media director at Campbell Ewald.
Harry Inglis, Head of Activation at Media by Mother, echoed this sentiment: Advertisers can benefit by leveraging first-party data strategies, conversion APIs, and alternative user ID solutions that extend beyond the deprecation period. Try different approaches, measure their effectiveness, and adapt based on what you learn. ”
Cookie Crumble may lose some sense of urgency, given the precedent set by Google with multiple deadline changes, but marketers and agency executives need to be prepared and the final decision is looming. I believe the debate will continue this year.
“We're not putting any brakes on anything,” VML's Schlosser said. “We know our schedules are longer and we have more leg room, but we appreciate the opportunity to reach out and take as many tests and measurements as possible while we have time. We also know that there are some solutions that are not ready for testing yet, so the additional time will allow us to do that as well.”
However, it's still early days. Marketers will continue to prepare and test alternative solutions this year, knowing full well that Google will eventually remove third-party cookies. It is still unclear how these companies will be affected.
Media by Mothers Inglis said: “Advertisers should not dismiss the possibility of another delay.” “The demise of cookies is certain, and the industry needs to start adapting with full throttle and no brakes.”
3 Questions for Jeff Jenkins, VP and CMO of Global Marketing at Carter's
Americans are reportedly having fewer children. As a children's clothing company, how do you solve this?
This problem is really hitting them hard because they're also thinking, “How can I afford to buy a house?” Mortgage interest rates are really high. It's an expensive proposition because any time you start raising a child, you're adding an extra mouth to feed and someone to clothe. Value is always our top priority at Carter's. However, as we have thought, [this] Over the past year, we've listened to our customers, conducted research, and listened to their hopes and fears for their children. That's one of her things we've been talking about. “How do we redefine value for the next generation of customers?” This led to the Everyday Value program we launched. [February]to really make sure we're there for you and drive us home.
Talk to us about the Everyday Value program. Why did you adopt a low price strategy now? Why is it important?
Mortgage rates have gone up since inflation started a year ago…What we often hear from parents is, “Look, we love Carter's as a brand. ”. It's been our favorite brand for generations. ” But one thing we kept hearing was, “As parents, raising children is unpredictable, so when we are in a crisis, how can we get more value out of our days?” “I want to be able to do that.” They love our sales. They love our trends. But when faced with such a need, it is: How can you stock up on some styles at everyday prices?
What are the business goals behind the new program?
We naturally focus on brand health metrics. Are we seen as a brand that parents can relate to? There are several brand health metrics you want to drive around relevance. [accessibility], all of them. The goal is also to bring customers back to stores more often. We have a frequency strategy for existing customers. It's also an acquisition strategy for new parents so they know there's a great place they can trust. — Kimeko McCoy
In terms of numbers
Once again, Google's retirement schedule for third-party cookies is unclear as the tech company announces further delays. So far this year, Google has disabled third-party cookies for his 1% of Chrome browsers. A recent study from the Decile customer data and analytics platform found that while marketers are taking steps to prepare for a cookie-free future, they're largely oblivious to the apocalypse of cookies. See our findings below.
- about half A higher percentage of respondents see an immediate impact on their business from cookie depreciation. two-thirds Visibility of marketing metrics is decreasing.
- Almost half of brands saw an increase in ad spend due to cookie reduction. 4 out of 5 We believe we need to place more emphasis on first-party data to counter the impact of cookie depreciation.
- less than 20% Because we haven't taken any steps to prepare for a future without cookies, we're left alone. 80% Actively preparing. — Kimeko McCoy
Quote of the week
“Organic social is greatly misunderstood. It was never built with scale in mind, and it was never built to assume social is free.”
—Tom Sneddon, co-founder and managing director of social agency Supernova, when asked about the value of organic social in Digiday's latest case study of the pros and cons of organic social.
