Competing Technologies: Is the Cookieless Era on Its Way?
The end of third-party cookies has been heralded before. However, they’re still competing with alternative technologies. We take a look at the story so far and what the future holds for targeted online marketing as we enter a cookieless era.
A new day is dawning for targeted digital marketing
As third-party cookies slowly fade from view, new tech is appearing on the horizon. We’re talking about the kind of precision targeting that provides marketers with effective ways to manage their campaigns while protecting users’ online privacy.
Although Google recently announced a U-turn and wants to continue using third-party cookies in its Chrome browser, the last few years have brought innovations and, above all, irreversible shifts in mindset: The dawn of the cookieless era is inescapable.
Although Google recently announced a U-turn and wants to continue using third-party cookies in its Chrome browser, the last few years have brought innovations and, above all, irreversible shifts in mindset: The dawn of the cookieless era is inescapable.
Thomas Peruzzi, spokesperson for the management board of Virtual Minds GmbH and co-leader of the P3PC | Data Tech & Economy lab at the German Association for the Digital Economy (BVDW), sums up the latest developments:
“Third-party cookies have recently lost target group intelligence and reach for a number of reasons. Meanwhile, alternatives such as data-driven first-party identifiers have become established. Contextual targeting and data clean rooms are also on the rise. Combining these solutions allows marketers to run powerful, effective campaigns that work across all browsers. The latest developments in the cookie space therefore indicate that the market has made a smart move by shifting away from browser-based identifier and targeting solutions and the associated gatekeeper dependency.”
As recently as 2024, many companies were still ill-prepared for the end of third-party cookies. Since then, alternatives in the form of first-party data, contextual targeting and data clean rooms have taken the online world by storm. After several years of development, cookieless targeting is fast becoming the norm.
Cookieless era: alternatives in the spotlight
What is first-party data and how can you get the most out of it?
The term first-party data refers to all the information that you collect directly from users of and visitors to your own website. This immediacy has a huge advantage for your brand – you get details about people who are likely to identify with your company. The best approach is to use a variety of channels:
- Website and app interactions: Hi, it’s great to see you! Collect data about activities such as clicks, dwell time, interactions with products and page views.
- Customer databases and transaction data: “The customer is king” – and interested in crowns! Use data from CRM systems and transaction histories.
- Surveys and feedback: If you don’t ask, you’ll never know. So, don’t be shy – simply ask your users and customers about their preferences and interests.
- Email interactions and social media: Multichannel is a lifestyle! Engage with your customers via multiple channels and evaluate both your email marketing and your social media campaigns.
For example, if you collect your first-party data from all channels using a customer data platform, segment it into specific interests and intentions and tailor your approach accordingly, you can market to your target groups with incredible precision.
What is contextual targeting and what part does AI play?
Contextual targeting involves tailoring the placement of your ads to the context of the websites or content that users are currently consuming, rather than relying on their past behavior. AI targeting technology produces interesting results even without cookies, enabling a dynamic, deeper analysis of a website’s content than was possible just a few years ago. The tools now also capture semantic meaning and users’ current intentions. With the help of natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML), AI targeting technology not only understands the content of an article or page, but also the context of the user’s interaction with that content! So, who needs third-party cookies anymore?
How do data clean rooms work as cookie alternatives?
In a data clean room, you combine the first-party data you’ve collected with that sourced from other platforms and companies – but in an aggregated and anonymized form, thereby protecting users’ identities and privacy.
In a typical scenario, you ensure that the data is protected by encrypting it and strictly managing access rights. You can then upload the first-party data collected by your company and analyze it together with the aggregated data from a partner company (such as another advertiser or a data source) to gain deeper insights.
Slowly but surely, third-party cookies are on the way out
Deferred deadlines and innovation bottlenecks have repeatedly delayed the end of cookie-based targeting. Check out our previous story on this topic for an overview and a timeline of the key developments in recent years. Google’s U-turn doesn’t change the fact that we’ll wave goodbye to third-party cookies in the medium term. The shift is largely being driven by the interests of users and regulatory developments – and it’s already well underway.
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