A decision by Google to delay the cookie phaseout based on
feedback of European Union governmental bodies have advertisers taking their own sweet time in completing the task. Many still have concerns and questions about the strategy's readiness and what
effect it may have on business.
Only 25% of advertisers are completely prepared for the cookie phaseout and 46% are happy with Google’s decision to delay the phaseout, according to
data from Taboola, a platform that recommends content to users based on interests.
The study polled 202 decision-makers in advertising and marketing. YouGov fielded
the study between May 3 and 9, 2024. Findings suggest 44% of advertisers anticipate shifting ad spend to different channels, as cookies are phased out.
Advertisers see different channels
as providing better performance and return on investment in a cookieless world, with search and native advertising ranking among the strongest.
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Google seemed well on its way to deprecation of
third-party tracking cookies in its Chrome browser until it hit yet another roadblock earlier this year.
The first delay came in 2020, then again in 2023, and most
recently in April 2024 when a Google executive explained in a blog post that
the company would no longer have the ability to eliminate third-party cookies on its most recent revised timeline. Estimates now put the rollout sometime in 2025 -- if the company
meets the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) approval.
Google, at the time, cited “ongoing challenges related to
reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers.” They also have been working to build other options like clean rooms for advertisers wanting to share data with
specific companies.
Viant in May became one of the first DSP to integrate with Google Cloud’s BigQuery Data Clean Room; as Google trends away from cookies the data is now available
as a service within Google Cloud.
There are other options that focus on first-party audience data. Yahoo Advertising on Wednesday announced its demand side
platform (DSP) will integrate measurement and audience data from VideoAmp. The partnership brings VideoAmp’s targeting and measurement to connected TV (CTV) campaigns.
The
partnership means the integration of Yahoo ConnectID, the Yahoo DSP cookieless identifier, and VideoAmp’s big data and tech engine known as VALID, an acronym for VideoAmp Linked Identity &
Data. It relies on viewership data and an identity graph.
At Reticle.AI, emotions are being used to help brands reach CTV, which never used cookies. Tricia Allen, VP of business
development believes aligning with consumers emotionally has been shown to increase ad recall by 12% and attention by 35%.
I have always said that
generative AI would support cookieless targeting using Large Language Models (LLM) to support performance. PubMatic, a global sell-side ad technology company, has partnered
with Cognitiv, a deep learning ad platform, to support contextual targeting solution using GPT 4. It goes beyond keyword targeting.
GPT 4 understands sentiment and can capture
nuances unlike previous LLMs. It unlocks relevant content and enables brands to buy on more specialty publishers with confidence.
PubMatic integrated with Cognitiv to
offer more nuanced and precise media buying opportunities than typical contextual segments, such as real-time events, news, special interest, and multicultural data.
Interoperability
is probably the best strategy to get advertisers to leverage cookieless alternatives, said Mathieu, ID5 CEO. ID5 partnered with Optable, a software-as-a-service data
management and collaboration platform. The collaboration integrates ID5 into Optable’s real-time Identity Resolution solution, allowing publishers to increase the addressability of their
audiences using the ID to augment private identity graphs.