Marketing and Cookies

By 2022, due to privacy concerns, third-party cookies, which have been guiding brands’ digital marketing strategies for over two decades, are going to be phased out. Plenty of marketers are in a frenzy over this upcoming change, because that small piece of code is what many have been relying on for years.

However, as the marketing and advertising industries have been relying on cookies for a long time, most haven’t been able to acknowledge the shortcomings of this piece of code. In fact, it’s a useful tool that made marketing and advertising not rely on innovation as much, especially when it comes to interacting with consumers.

Consumers have long been loud in their demands about knowing how data is being collected and used, and in the new age of privacy, authenticated data is looking like a frontrunner for many.

Authenticated data is when a consumer registers to a website and shares the identity in exchange for something of value in return. That means the consumers are actively making a choice to share more information with a platform, and that platform can then use that data in transparent ways. With authentication, the control is placed on the consumers, which is the ideal foundation for the digital privacy-focused future of marketing and advertising.

Marketing Goals with Cookies

Most companies’ goals with cookie-based marketing efforts tend to be focused on achieving various digital objectives, such as driving conversions, reaching a wider audience, or simply more sign-ups to a loyalty program. Instead of treating the consumers as people, these marketing efforts are treating the consumers as transactions.

With the authenticated data approach, marketers will have to add additional goals to marketing plans, including providing a clear opportunity for consumers to opt-out of sharing personal data, being transparent on how data is collected and used, and meeting consumers’ expectations on privacy, among others.

Consumer Journey

One of the greatest benefits that marketers are going to get from not relying on data that cookies are gathering, is getting a more accurate view of the consumers’ buying journey. As cookies don’t have accurate and complete information on brands’ marketing and advertising campaigns, marketers aren’t aware of where the consumers are getting lost in the buying journey.

This makes it difficult for brands to confidently reach target audiences. However, with a shift toward authenticated data, companies will end up getting a lot more accurate information about consumers. That means generating new, outstanding measurements and calculations on return on investments (ROI), both for marketing and for advertising campaigns.

One of the biggest downsides to cookie-based marketing efforts is that when a consumer buys a particular product, oftentimes, ads about similar products then follow the consumer around in the digital sphere, which many find irritating. Fortunately, this approach can be avoided with authenticated data, as marketers won’t be focusing on immediate conversion as much, and pivot to providing real value to the consumers through marketing and ads.