Not All Is Lost: Third-Party Cookies Remain... for Now

When Google announced it was delaying the removal of third-party cookies from Chrome to 2023, marketers worldwide sighed in relief. However, this doesn't mean that the “cookie-geddon” is not coming. The release of Apple's iOS14 has given us a glimpse of what awaits marketers when tracking cookies get banned. It's a trade-off between privacy and utility, which users can set the balance of. It's easy to get used to more efficient methods, so marketers are viewing the loss of performance-focused ads as a disaster.

As requests grow for an overhaul of online user privacy standards, marketers should look to the past, not the future to seek solutions. Digital ads will become more expensive and less efficient, so strategies should be revised based on best-practices and ideas from the 2000s. Additionally, marketers should focus on things they can influence, such as conversion optimization, to mitigate negative effects.

Attribution is another challenge. Statistical modeling, involving complex calculations and Excel, can be used to determine best performing channels without the need for third-party cookies. Algorithmic, data-driven attribution modeling in analytics platforms can minimize the negative effects of cookie loss, predict trends and eliminate anomalies in campaign performance.