Cookie deprecation has been the biggest talking point of the marketing industry for several years. With Google’s recent decision to cancel this initiative, marketers are left wondering how this will impact the future of marketing and advertising. According to Ovative’s media and measurement experts, it shouldn’t change much. With this in mind, let’s explore what a world without cookie deprecation will look like.

A Brief History of Cookie Deprecation

Google initially announced its decision to deprecate third-party cookies within Chrome in 2020. At the time, marketers relied heavily on third-party cookies for audience targeting and marketing measurement. Naturally, this news caused major concern. Many marketers began preparing for the pending “cookie apocalypse,” pursuing alternatives like first-party data, clean rooms, modeled performance data, and contextual targeting strategies. After Google received strong pushback from industry and regulatory stakeholder groups, cookie deprecation was delayed several times. Now, it seems as though those who have been voicing their concerns about this decision have succeeded.

Google’s Announcement to Scrap Cookie Deprecation Plans

In a surprising turn of events, Google reversed its longstanding position and announced they will no longer be phasing out third-party cookies. Anthony Chavez, Vice President of Google’s Privacy Sandbox, shared their intent to instead “introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing.” For many marketers who have been working to identify cookieless targeting and measurement approaches, this reversal may feel like a massive change. But, according to our media and measurement experts, this news will not change the move to more privacy-safe strategies and technologies.

Preparing Your Media for a Cookieless Future

Google’s announcement reduces the urgency of testing or adopting cookieless alternatives. But, it doesn’t change the importance of implementing those approaches in the next few years. While Chrome remains the most-used browser with 52% market share, third-party cookies have already been deprecated on Safari, which holds 32% market share.¹

Beyond adoption, the increasing importance of emerging cookieless channels like Retail Media Networks and Connected TV pushes advertisers to prioritize the collection and use of first-party data. Advertisers who can effectively harness platform capabilities such as platform audiences and smart bidding will also benefit. In short, don’t slow down the evolution of your audience strategy. While third-party cookie-based targeting will stick around for roughly 50% of people in the US, it won’t be around forever.

Adapting to a Cookieless Future with Media Mix Modeling 

From a measurement standpoint, cookies are still trending towards becoming obsolete. While marketers once preferred cookie-based approaches like Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA), the industry has begun gravitating toward the more privacy-safe Media Mix Model (MMM) and geo incrementality testing. 

Even with third-party cookies sticking around in Chrome, MTA remains inherently limited: 

• Other popular browsers like Safari already block third-party cookies 

• Walled gardens like Meta prohibit the use of third-party cookies 

• Traditional media channels cannot be tracked. 

MTA also does not account for incrementality, which our measurement experts believe should be a major factor in any marketing measurement methodology. With rapid MMM capabilities available in the market like Ovative’s Modern MMM+, MMM is more actionable than ever and represents a future-proofed approach to marketing measurement grounded in incrementality. 

“The truth is that the modern marketer needs a measurement solution that can provide both speed to insights and a holistic view of their full marketing investment, inclusive of incrementality, customer value, and brand impacts,” says Troy Neidermire, Vice President of Measurement at Ovative Group. “A cookie-based approach like MTA no longer delivers the breadth and depth of insights that a marketer needs to achieve meaningful business outcomes.” 

What’s Next? Set Up a Phased Approach with Ovative

Regardless of Google’s decision, the future of marketing is one where advertisers must rely less on third-party cookies to remain successful. While this news may provide some relief in terms of how quickly that future arrives, the savvy marketer will continue to pursue privacy-friendly tactics in their media buying and holistic, cross-channel technology in their marketing measurement. 

It’s important for marketers to gradually phase out cookies. They key? Embrace alternative audience options, adapt your strategies, and test the effects. Connect with Ovative’s media and measurement experts to help you stay informed and navigate the imminent deprecation of third-party cookies. 

Sources: [1] Statista