The Way the Cookies Crumble

 Monty Wyne

Third-party cookies will be a thing of the past by the third quarter of 2024. Google has already turned off cookies for one percent of Chrome users, which amounts to about 30 million individuals. Other browsers, like Firefox have removed third-party cookies altogether. So, what are the brands and businesses that rely on these small bundles of code to serve users with personalized ads going to do?

First Party Stays, Third Party Goes

The good news? First-party cookies that gather information about activity on websites to enhance user experience, aren’t going anywhere. However, third-party cookies that capture valuable personal data and audience profiles used to inform marketing strategies, are on the way out. Statistically, 41 percent of marketers feel that this will be the biggest challenge they face in coming years. That said, if marketers own the site, it will have little effect on their activity.

The “Why” Behind the Demise of Third-Party Cookies 

The biggest issue is privacy. A recent survey revealed that more than 80 percent of U.S. adults reported their growing concern of being constantly tracked and bombarded. While 70 percent of surveyed companies reported they’d continued to increase their data collection over the past three years. 

Until 2018, users had little if any control over who was tracking them, so legislators passed regulations that year. The General Data Protection Regulation or (GDPR) mandates that websites ask for consent prior to using cookies for users in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA). They also passed the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), which is similar to the GDPR, but applied to California residents only.

Is it Time to Play in the Sandbox?

As third-party cookies become a thing of the past, advertisers have failed to create or adopt new channels for the present. As a matter of fact, third-party cookies were utilized for almost 80 percent of all industries’ programmatic ad buys in the not so distant third quarter of 2023. Even though the laws limit how advertisers can utilize third-party cookies, they’ve boosted the quality of data these companies collect.

No doubt the vanishing third-party cookie will change digital marketing’s landscape for good. However, new technologies will most certainly be developed to replace them. Ad tech companies have already begun to research and develop those new technologies. Google is hard at work blocking third-party cookies, while replacing them with more transparent programs like the Privacy Sandbox, where all user data remains in Chrome’s browser. 

The Sandbox also contains a number of technologies advertisers use to personalize ads, eliminating the privacy issues one has with cookies. In addition, it blocks concealed tracking techniques such as device fingerprinting, which is used to identify and track devices that access online resources, like websites and applications.

What’s A Cookie User to Do?

Some companies have decided to develop tracking tools of their own. With privacy controls and the legality of these options in the spotlight, things might change. Keeping that in mind, some advertisers are utilizing former marketing strategies such as organic SEO, relevant content or email marketing, building audience trust through first-party data, plus alternate IDs, and predictive audiences. 

Engaging these possible alternatives will help you succeed in the rapidly-changing digital marketplace. Better yet why not reach out to John Wagoner or Aaron Petticord, our Sr. Brand Strategists & Account Supervisors. They can be reached at 423.634.0123.