Although Google has decided to keep third-party cookies in its Chrome browser after years of deliberation—marketers are still left looking for the best ways to mine meaningful data that can help them reach their target audiences.
The Future of Data Collection
The digital advertising ecosystem built around cookies that track site visitors and serve up targeted ads based on user interest and browsing history has been a hot topic over the past few years. Escalating ethical and legal concerns surrounding online privacy and data protection have resulted in cookie depreciation and opt-in models becoming the norm, compelling marketers to turn to fresh data management solutions.
Regulatory restrictions to ensure data privacy, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the U.S., have also taken a bite out of third-party tracking.
A blog post from LiveRamp emphasizes the importance of omnichannel marketing and underscores the weaknesses associated with third-party data collection: “Marketers want to reach consumers where they’re spending time, and that’s increasingly on CTV and mobile apps—two of third-party cookies’ most glaring blind spots,2” said Travis Clinger, the Chief Connectivity & Ecosystem Officer. “Cookies’ strength, open web programmatic advertising, is just one of the many channels where marketers need to engage their customers.”
“We’re at an inflection point in the industry,” said Scott Howe, CEO and President of LiveRamp, a data collaboration platform focused on the sharing of first-party data.1 “Those who seize the moment will succeed. The confluence of technology and computer power makes anything possible. The time for #datacollaboration is now.”
Digging In: A Feast of First-Party Data
First-party data—information a company collects about its own users and gathered directly from its audience—tends to be significantly more cost effective and accurate than third-party data. Email sign-ups, sales interactions, purchase history, browsing activity, and demographic information all feed into first-party data collection. The challenge: How can we share this data efficiently and securely, while protecting consumer privacy?
Before Google’s recent announcement that they will continue to use third-party cookies, companies were pivoting to authenticated audiences—groups of users who have undergone a validation process, such as a log-in. Brands, publishers, and services are collaborating to share first-party data and create robust and reliable profiles.
But as tempting as it sounds for food manufacturers and brands who seek robust customer profiles, this buffet of data requires a secure third space where all parties are protected before the industry can fully embrace it.
Playing Nice in the Sandbox:
Google Reconstitutes Crumbling Cookie Adtech
Anthony Chavez, VP of Privacy Sandbox, the Google-led initiative to create technologies that facilitate online advertising while protecting privacy, noted in his blog post that Google wants to introduce a third option for data collection.
“We are proposing an updated approach that elevates user choice,” he wrote. “Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing, and they’d be able to adjust that choice at any time. We're discussing this new path with regulators, and will engage with the industry as we roll this out.”
Additionally, Chavez underscored that business professionals who had already begun to research and understand third-party cookie alternatives shouldn’t consider the time wasted. “It remains important for developers to have privacy-preserving alternatives,” he wrote, adding, “We'll continue to make the Privacy Sandbox APIs available and invest in them to further improve privacy and utility.”
Ultimately, the future may still be mostly cookie-less, despite Google’s decision, according to experts. “Safari, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge collectively represent nearly 50% of the web; CTV is cookieless; mobile in-app is cookieless; as Google rolls out additional opt-out features, Chrome may end up more cookieless, just as ATT influenced Apple’s traffic,” Clinger said in the LiveRamp blog post. “The future of AI chat-bots and the iOT is cookieless. Building a marketing stack around third-party cookies alone won’t connect you to all the places your customers are, anymore.”
Coming Clean: Sweeping Changes for First-Party Data Collection
Clean rooms provide a secure, closed environment that enables this collaboration without compromising the confidentiality or integrity of the data they swap. These environments are designed to uphold strict privacy standards, ensuring that individual user identities are protected while developing authenticated audiences.
Google, Amazon, and Facebook have developed their own clean room solutions, and several independent providers like LiveRamp have entered the market, offering robust alternatives.
“Clean rooms can enhance transparency and trust,” said McKeila Young, ad operations manager for The Food Group (TFG). “At this year’s LiveRamp conference, we gained valuable insight into how clean rooms can help our client partners adhere to privacy standards and reap the many benefits of controlled data sharing, like more accurate targeting and greater ROAS.”
Here are four key takeaways from the shifting data landscape:
- The flux of the matter: Google is recasting third-party cookies as a “new experience in Chrome” that gives users more privacy-enhancing control over them.
- The future is permission-based: Solutions like authenticated audiences are the targeting mechanism of the future because they rely on first-party information that enables brands to find more relevant audiences for their marketing efforts.
- Keep it clean: Crave a secure solution for sharing data? Data clean rooms allow you to become more visible and marketers to be more targeted while maintaining consumer privacy.
- More smart stuff from AI: As the technology evolves, watch for user experiences designed for agents/AI, search and SEO optimized for AI chat and agent engine optimization, multi-party data collaboration, and more.
“It’s such an exciting time in adtech,” said Catherine Dazevedo, TFG’s senior vice president of marketing communications. “AI, clean rooms, and first-party data are poised to make expanding market reach and matching up with new business opportunities exponentially easier. We look forward to mining their potential for all our partner clients.”
With ample opportunities for manufacturers, distributors, and grocers to collaborate on first-party data sharing, it's time to step up to the plate and turn the inflection point into a recipe for success.
For more insights into the convergence of marketing and technology, check out our post Thought for Food: How AI is Reimagining the Food Industry. For custom solutions to your unique business challenges, contact us today.
1 The Food Group, 2024 LiveRamp Presentation
2 LiveRamp, “Why Google’s Cookie Decision Doesn’t Change the Direction of the Industry,” July 22, 2024, Travis Clinger
3 The Privacy Sandbox, “A new path for Privacy Sandbox on the web,” July 22, 2024, Anthony Chavez