Abolition of third-party cookies: What alternatives does digital marketing have to offer?

2020 will be remembered as a year that saw many positive and negative changes around the world. The world of digital marketing & growth hacking, for which 2020 held many surprises in store, was also affected. The waiver of third-party cookies announced in 2020 has turned the entire marketing industry on its head because the use of third-party cookies was an integral part of many marketing strategies. Almost all adtech and martech platforms use cookies for targeting, retargeting, banner advertising, and behavioral marketing. Eliminating third-party cookies would make all of this difficult.

While many companies are already thinking about how best to deal with the disappearance of third-party cookies, the message that appeared in the Google blog brought another surprise: the abolition of the third-party cookies will now be the 2023 move. With this step, Google wanted to give companies more time for the changeover and, thus, gain more time for the implementation of the “privacy sandbox”. Even if this news is undoubtedly positive, you don’t have to give up now and start to come up with new marketing strategies and prepare yourself for this major change. In our blog, we’ll explain how you can react most effectively to the elimination of third-party cookies and how the resulting damage can be minimized.

What are third party cookies?

Third-party cookies are a type of cookie that is not stored by a website operator but by a third party, i.e. not from the page on which the user is located, but from various platforms such as Facebook etc. These cookies are used to track user behavior and preferences on different platforms. In marketing, third-party cookies are used for advertising purposes, including targeting, remarketing, setting up display advertising, etc. By 2022, however, they should be a thing of the past.

>How did this decision come about? The collection of data by third-party cookies usually takes place without notifying the user, which is a direct violation of consumer rights. The abolition of third-party cookies is, therefore, due to the growing mistrust of users towards them. Thanks to third-party cookies, you can collect personal user data without anyone knowing about it.

How to deal with the situation? Even if the elimination of third-party cookies is a blow to many marketing strategists, it still does not mean the end of the world. This new regulation can spur many companies to look for a way out of this hardship and to invest in new strategies. In our blog, we’ll give you an overview of the strategies that will help your company avoid third-party cookies.

1. Contextual advertising

With the coming end of third-party cookies, marketing through contextual targeting will regain importance. Contextual marketing combines online and mobile marketing and uses targeted advertising based on search terms and browsing activities to attract new customers. The goal of contextual advertising is to create relevant buyer personas to provide the channels and content that are appropriate for them and in this way to attract new customers.

In contrast to behavioral targeting, which uses third-party cookies to access websites visited and links clicked, the advertising created through context-related targeting is based on people’s interests, their location, and other relevant factors.

The main reason why contextual targeting is currently enjoying a heyday is because it solves both privacy and identity issues. When an advertisement is placed, no user data is recorded, and there are no concerns about the data breach. In addition, it is immune to the effects of technological changes and innovations, such as the elimination of third-party cookies in Google Chrome.

Advantages

Universality. Contextual advertising enables you to disseminate information about almost any type of goods and services.

Efficiency. Your advertising will only be shown to those users who are genuinely interested in your goods and services. The main task here is to create the right keyword list.

Ease and accuracy in reaching the target audience. By considering different nuances in your ad text (price threshold, the brand of the devices offered, etc.) you can find the right target group for your products.

Flexibility. Contextual targeting offers the ability to edit your ad at any time, as well as change the CPC rate and the list of keywords.

2. People-based marketing

People-based marketing is basically a strategy that focuses on working with the customer’s personality, based on the collection of behavioral data in real time. This strategy does not rely on the collection of third-party cookies and allows companies to communicate with their audiences around the clock.

A successful people-based marketing strategy includes the following 3 main elements:

Identification. The company should clearly define its customers and link this data to the accounts that are used to communicate with the company. The most important thing is to ensure consistent and cross-device information about customer actions.

Data. Businesses today have a wide variety of data and information about each customer, from data about purchases and email interactions to information about their devices. Thanks to the identification, targeting can be implemented even more effectively.

Automation. Instead of third-party cookies, people-based marketing uses first-party targeting. This strategy helps companies recognize users and keep all data about their activities.

3. Device ID Marketing

Mobile ID targeting is one of the most reliable alternatives to data collection using third-party cookies. Mobile devices have the unique characteristics that set them apart from laptop or desktop devices. Each mobile device has a unique device ID that can be accessed using apps and applications installed on the device.

But what exactly is device ID marketing? As the name suggests, device ID marketing is a marketing strategy that uses individual device IDs to improve engagement and conversion. A device ID enables companies to better understand the marketing profile of users through device usage tracking.

You can use the device IDs to create very precise targeting for mobile ads. Device ID marketing is an efficient way to collect data since mobile devices are used by everyone, and thanks to this strategy, your advertising could be very accurate and targeted.

Advantages

Data collection without third-party cookies. The decisive advantage of device ID marketing is the ability to collect user data without third-party cookies. This can save your company from unpleasant surprises if one day other platforms announce the waiver of third-party cookies.

Precision in targeting users. By creating a personal profile for each unique device ID, users can be divided into interest-based groups. When these device IDs visit websites with an advertisement, they can then be presented with the advertisement tailored to this particular group. Thanks to device IDs, the company can find out how many real users have viewed its advertising. If the advertising is properly designed for this segment of marketing, it should lead to higher engagement and conversion.

No blocking of in-app ads. Whether you want to showcase display ads, banners, or video ads, you don’t have to worry about not showing it to your target audience. This is because apps do not use ad blockers and, thus, clear the way for various advertisements.

Ability to determine target audience based on their location. Thanks to GPS signals and other factors that can be recorded by mobile devices, the location of the users can be easily determined. This can provide meaningful information about the users.

4. Zero-party data

Zero-party data is the data that the customer voluntarily and knowingly shares with the company. This includes preferences, wishes, or interests of a particular person. Unlike first-party data, it’s not based on guesswork, which makes it more accurate, more contextual, and more relevant to a specific person.

The user can manage their zero-party data on their own and decide which information they would like to share with companies. The most important thing is that this process is completely transparent and voluntary. Therefore, there should be no confusion regarding data protection here.

The key question here: how can you get zero-party data from customers? The answer is as simple as it is obvious: companies can ask their customers for this data themselves. These questions can be asked in a number of ways, such as in the form of chats, surveys, feedback forms, quizzes, etc.

Advantages

Gaining trust through transparency. The biggest benefit of zero-party data is that it comes straight from the source – your customers. But what you should keep in mind is that you should inform your customers about what you need their data for. If they see their advantage in this, they will have no problem providing their data.

Better data quality. You no longer have to buy data from third-party providers, who are not so strict about data protection. Plus, zero-party data allows you to get more data from customers just by asking them right away. This way, you can determine exactly what your customers need and like. This, in turn, saves money and protects you from the risks of third party data collection.

Effective advertising campaigns. The collection of zero-party data can lead to personalized campaigns in all phases of the customer-buyer journey. Information like purchase intentions and preferences will improve your personalization strategy and help you get a better picture of who exactly your customer is.

The elimination of third-party cookies may be very disappointing for many marketing strategists. But you shouldn’t forget that the world of digital marketing has many alternatives that you should think back to and integrate into your marketing strategies now. In Ukraine, the advertising market plans to develop a common unified solution that will cover most cases for the local market. It is high time to come up with a good marketing strategy. If you are worried about the cookie-less future and would like to develop an effective and targeted marketing strategy, we are at your side with words and deeds and look forward to your inquiry.