Agency Group Thread: What Does a Cookieless Future Mean to You?

Digital marketers have been feasting on third-party cookies for many, many years. And the cookie jar was bottomless—nourishing campaign frameworks, business models, and the entire internet ecosystem. But what happens when those cookies go away? Well, that’s what the Agency Group Thread is for. Dig in (or scroll down) for a little glimpse into their perspective:

Scott Thomas, Founder: The third-party cookie(less) future is less of a technical change (although it is that as well) and more of a signal of a shift in perception and governance. Europe is leading the charge at using regulations and fines to rein in unfettered use of people’s data. This governance change is just the beginning of a signal and trend to consumers and businesses that the near-future involves more digital privacy, although the business models to support this new future are still TBD.

Desi Lopez, Group Account Director: We’ve been talking about a cookieless future for what feels like ages! But the reality is, it’s just starting to take effect— what that means to me and most of my clients is that marketers will have to get more creative with how they communicate and engage with their customers. Hopefully it forces everyone to step up their game and truly consider the experiences they curate for customers (possibly blurring the line between B2B and Consumer even more) as well as how they structure their marketing and sales organizations to allow for more fluidity between strategy and execution.

Janet Hughes, Account Operations Manager: The death of 3rd party cookies is a breath of fresh air for consumers (privacy for the win!) and a call to arms for marketers to get creative with first party data. If you’re not looking for ways to collect first party data (and use it meaningfully to provide customer value), get on it! Gate higher value pieces of content, personalize your site, embrace predictive audiences, and don’t sleep on the revenue potential from a great renewal automation campaign. Need an extra set of hands to strategize? We’re here to help.

Anton Hung, Solutions Architect:  A cookieless future is likely not truly “cookieless” but a redefinition of cookieless by the big players. That being said, what a business can do to prepare is not that different, regardless of this redefinition. A cookieless future is the rebalancing of the scales from over-reliance of external data sources to the acquisition, building, management, and activation of your own “big data”.

Cal Cavness, Head of Revenue: It’s all about embracing the change and finding the sweet side of a cookieless world! We should encourage marketers to make cake – a slightly different, but still delicious, approach to targeting users – that focuses on genuine connections with their target audience rather than relying on tracking data alone. This will foster creativity and innovation in brand + product awareness and digital advertising strategies, leading to more engaging and relevant content that’s as irresistible as a slice of cake at a birthday party. Plus, sprinkle on the fact that users can enjoy a bit more privacy online knowing that their every click isn’t being meticulously tracked and analyzed. In a cookieless world, the sweetness comes from a healthier online ecosystem where creativity and trust flourish!

Where Does That Leave Us?
At the dawn of a customer experience revolution—where first party data thrives, third party cookies are going stale, and deeper customer journeys are the blueprint. Need some help navigating the new normal? Don’t hesitate to reach out. It’s what we love to do, after all.