Measurement Insights
Death of the Cookie
The advertising industry, by and large, is still dependent on cookie-based tracking technology to personalize marketing and measure the impact of marketing at an individual user level. However, due to browsers instituting privacy-preserving updates, cookie-based tracking is on the way out. To deal with this change, the industry needs to move from a cookie-based interpretation of identity management to a more comprehensive approach. Marketers need to leverage the full tool-kit available to them: first-party IDs, resettable device IDs, and “opt-in only” zero-party data.
At Ovative, we have partnered with and employed various technologies to help marketers overcome the cookie-barrier on the journey to customer-centric marketing. By using a combination of different first-party assets and customer identifiers – such as our proprietary extrapolation methodology or our integration with LiveRamp’s Identity Link – we can measure the customer’s path to conversion without being tied to a single cookie, device, or browser. This allows us to provide our clients with a holistic view of the customer’s path to purchase in a way that also respects customers’ right to privacy.
If your brand advertises in addressable, browser-based channels, the Martech/Adtech platforms and partners you work with will be impacted by these changes to cookie tracking. Here are a few action items to help you get ahead on this issue:
- Assess the digital inventory you’re purchasing. If you tell your platforms to serve a personalized ad to an individual, do they recognize that individual as a person or a cookie ID?
- Anticipate industry change and respect your customers’ right to privacy when building your martech stack. Using data that your customers have chosen to provide you is more likely to be persistent, accurate, and well-received.
- Start your media strategy with first and zero party data. As the brand, you will always have the clearest picture of your customers. Platforms can help you reach audiences interested in knitting, but it’s up to you to recognize that your customers who purchase supplies for craft-related hobbies have the highest LTV and low acquisition costs.
- Bring your tech savvy teams to the conversation. It’s important to ask your media partner how browser changes are impacting reach against retargeted audiences, but it’s just as important to have someone who can check the validity of those claims.
Ovative is a digital-first media and measurement firm seeking to transform the measure of marketing success. At Ovative, we help brands move the needle. We are curious. We value your brand. We want to see you succeed. Connect with us to learn more!
