Even though the vast majority of browsers, including Firefox, Safari, and Edge, have already stopped the use of 3rd party cookies, a genuine change in the market will occur when Google finally will stop supporting them. After all, Google Chrome, with a 60% market share, is the most significant player in the game. But how will that change the influence of retargeting? Let’s find out.

What is the situation with ads based on 3rd-party cookies?

Cookies are small text files that collect data about the online habits of users and feed that information to the browser, allowing it to match the look of each website to the preferences of the user. 3rd party cookies have been used for years to personalize content for internet users, including the ads they see online. Many of the most effective advertising techniques are based on 3rd party cookies, including retargeting, which uses the user’s previous browsing history to display ads for services and products that have been already interesting to him. The crucial possibility of recognizing particular users across various websdaites is available because of 3rd party cookies, which only highlight their importance. 

The future of 1st party data

We know that 3rd party cookies won’t be supported anymore from 2023, but what about 1st party data? Will it be available? Yes! Let’s focus on the approach that is supported by the most popular browsers nowadays, including Chrome and Edge. This particular technique is based on privacy-preserving marketing APIs that enable advertising while still guaranteeing plenty of privacy to internet users. How will it work in real life?

The 1st party data will continue to work the same as it is now, and technology vendors will use it as a foundation to form user groups that contain consumers with similar characteristics. That means users won’t be identified as individuals but rather as groups of users. All the data, including information about the groups to which users are tied, will be held on their devices. During the process of preparing new ads, you will be able to select interest groups to which you want to guide your marketing message. The recommendation engine will take into account the advertiser’s data and personalize the ads accordingly. Of course, you may bid for users from the groups that are the most important to your company.

What are the most pressing challenges that need to be addressed?

The approach we just lined out is very promising, but it still has some details that need addressing. The most pressing issues concern the creation of personalized ads for a group of users and the potential to precisely estimate the value of the users within them. One of the best ways to address the first challenge could be Product-level TURTLEDOVE. It’s a solution that helps marketers to show relevant product recommendations, optimize content dynamically, and keep the personalization of user experience in ads. Outcome-based TURTLEDOVE can help with the second issue as it broadens the bidding functions, allows the individual assessment of users, and distribution of marketing budgets in an efficient way.

Khalil Ur Rehman

Khalil ur Rehman is a proud born and raised in Abbottabad. Khalil has worked as a journalist for nearly a decade having contributed to several large publications including the Yahoo News and The Verge. As a journalist for The Hear Up, Khalil covers climate and science news. [email protected]