The delay of Google’s Third-Party Cookie Deprecation
What does it mean for advertisers?
On 27th July, Google announced that they will not phase out third party cookies until the second half of 2024. The decision comes after the previous deadline of 2022 was delayed until 2023.
In a blog post, Anthony Chavez, VP of Privacy Sandbox at Google, outlined that they have received ‘consistent feedback’ on the need for more time to test the new Privacy Sandbox solutions, which are still in pre-launch testing. The Privacy Sandbox technologies are expected to launch and be available generally by Q2 2023, giving almost a year for the industry to adopt them before third party cookies are deprecated.
Being ready for such significant change requires a huge collective response across the industry, from advertisers, publishers, and technology providers alike. So the news from Google provides welcome breathing space, but there are still many hurdles to overcome. In this post, we will discuss what this announcement means for brands, and how to respond.
What should brands do now?
Don’t Slow Down
Third party cookies have already been phased out in Safari and Firefox and last year the release of iOS 14.5 introduced restrictions on app tracking. These changes are already impacting marketing practices. It isn’t just about preparing for the future it is about preparing for now.
There are lots of positives that can come from adapting marketing practices to be ready for the cookieless world. Whether it is changes to media planning and strategy, rolling out more sophisticated and robust measurement frameworks, or implementing resilient marketing technology solutions, brands can gain clarity and confidence in understanding how to market effectively in the cookieless world.
Evaluate Your Readiness
Focus on evaluating your brand’s readiness for the cookieless world and spend time building a clear and practical roadmap for planning, optimising, and measuring media effectively in the cookieless world. This way, you can avoid a last-minute scramble, and move forwards with confidence.
Test, Build, and Scale
The solutions to marketing effectively in the cookieless world are not straightforward. They are technical and complex; they involve multi-level stakeholder engagement; and significant investment in time, specialist resource, and budget. It’s seldom easy to get everything right first time.
Planning approaches require consistent testing in order to refine, measurement solutions require careful optimisation, and tech solutions can require highly technical skillsets to implement. What’s more, publishers and ad tech providers are continually releasing new solutions and optimising their existing ones, keeping agencies and brands on their toes.
Brands shouldn’t rest on their laurels: implementing a solution to mitigate the impact of cookie deprecation is only chapter one. Testing these solutions, and building and scaling them to other publishers, platforms, business units, and markets, will still take quite some time and careful attention.
Staying ahead of the curve
At dentsu we are here to help ensure brands understand the impact that cookie deprecation may have on your marketing.
Our network of experienced planners, strategists, data scientists, adtech practitioners, and privacy experts are here to support you through this journey. From workshops to quantitative impact and readiness assessments, we can help your brand adapt and prepare for the future.
For more information on how dentsu can help, contact Dan Stubbs.