How can marketers make an impact in a cookieless world Share via

Across the globe, consumers today are more aware of data privacy laws and are better equipped to know how much data they want to share and how they can restrict the companies from accessing unwanted information.  On top of it, stricter regulations like GDPR and CCPA have made things worse for companies relying entirely on cookie-based ad targeting. Later Google announced that third-party cookies will disappear from Chrome in 2022, followed by Apple’s advisory that users will have to opt-in to IDFA. These developments will undoubtedly alter the landscape of digital marketing going ahead, as most advertisers today rely heavily on third-party cookies to reach out to their customers efficiently with more personalized offerings, resulting in higher conversions.

Many experts feel that there are ways through which marketers can still reach out to their audience in an effective manner once the usual method of tracking the consumer comes to an end. But they will have to make significant changes in how they used to collect and utilize data earlier. This blog will discuss the areas marketers need to focus on to create a successful advertising campaign without relying heavily on third-party cookies.

Improve first-party data collection

The importance of meticulously collecting the first-party data will gain more prominence once the prevalent method becomes obsolete. As a result, brands will have to strategize their data collection process to make the most out of it. First-party data that the brands collect directly from the consumers is the most authentic and reliable source of information that helps them understand how different consumers engage with their brand, their shopping behavior, and the best way to reach them. Furthermore, a robust mechanism to capture the first-party data will ensure that the brands can target their audience precisely with tailor-made offers. The key will be to start early to collect sufficient data which can help the brands with their targeting strategy. In addition, through an intense data collection process, companies will be better equipped for predictive modeling.

Explore second-party data

Once third-party cookie tracking ceases to exist,  investing in and leveraging second-party data will play a crucial role in the brand’s marketing journey. Second-party data is the other company’s first-party data, which is shared with a partner through a mutual agreement. The partnership is usually formed between non-competitive businesses where they stand to benefit from the shared data. For example, technology giants like Google and Facebook offer these audience data through their media-buying platforms to partners who can use them to build a solid digital marketing strategy and understand their target customers in more detail. Building this data set helps advertisers with high-quality and precise data, increasing the scale of their data, reaching out to a broader audience, and predicting consumer behaviors.

Contextual Targeting

In our previous blog, we had discussed why contextual marketing has become more relevant than ever. Contextual advertising is online advertising where an ad is placed on the website based on its content—in simple terms, putting beauty product ads on a fashion website or advertising tour packages on a travel website.  The focus of this advertising tool is on the content that is being consumed and not on the one who is consuming that content. Unlike cookie-based targeting, contextual targeting does not rely on those and is one of the few ad-targeting methods that comply with international privacy laws. Hence, advertisers are scrambling to get their contextual advertising strategy on point before the end of third-party cookie tracking. According to a research report by Global Industry Analytics Inc, the global contextual advertising market will reach USD 335.1 billion by 2026.

Aggressive personalization tactics

Even though third-party cookie tracking is coming to an end, it does not mean that brands will stop personalizing their offerings to target their customers.  Personalization has become extremely important for consumers, and most of them prefer shopping from brands that can offer a high level of personalization. Hence, marketers will have to create campaigns that involve deep personalization through geo-targeting and time-parting methods, which generally results in increased engagement. Many industry experts believe that these targeting methods will pick up pace among marketers in the coming years because of the absence of third-party cookie tracking.

Overall, marketers need to prepare themselves for the upcoming scenario, which will change the way brands reach out to their customers. The sooner they start focusing and building the available alternate channels, the better they will fare against their competition.