Today we are in a transition phase.
From 2023 we will say goodbye to third-party cookies. It has been known since last year, and now it’s officially happening.
With the acceleration of the digital transformation of 2020, data from communication and marketing activities have become a veritable intangible asset , extraordinarily precious. And as such, they require ever greater protection .
In this article we will go on to rattle off this topic, touching on different topics.
Here they are:
- The differences between third party cookies and first party cookies
- Google revolution from 2023: what changes?
- Who will take the place of third-party cookies?
- The big news from Google: the Privacy Sandbox
- What are the consequences of the Privacy Sandbox?
- Point to first-party cookies: how to do it?
- Authentication, data and privacy: the keywords of tomorrow’s marketing
The differences between third party cookies and first party cookies
It is therefore time for marketers and advertisers to invest more and more in first-party cookies .
But what are they?
The differentiation between first-party and third-party cookies is linked to the body that issues them:
First party cookies
They have 2 features:
- They are created and used exclusively by the website owner who issued them
- They are never transferred to third parties
The purpose of these cookies is to improve the user’s UI , which is recognized when they visit the site.
For example, the user can save cart products or browsing preferences, even between sessions.
Third party cookies
- They are created by different domains than the navigation site
- They are used for cross-site profiling activities
These cookies have always been considered essential for retargeting strategies, attribution of Advs, ad profiling and so on.
Google revolution from 2023: what changes?
By 2023 Google Chrome will no longer support cookies used to track users’ web browsing.
The reason is simple and intuitive: to work on the security aspect , identifying new ways to protect user privacy .
This is a very important change in digital marketing.
Suffice it to say that this has been the method used in the last 20 years to give life to increasingly targeted profiling activities .
Who will take the place of third-party cookies?
In such a revolutionary context it is legitimate to ask questions.
What will happen when the third-party cookies disappear? Who will take their place?
The answer lies in the new and increasingly evolved artificial intelligence systems.
These will take care of profiling users on the basis of their interests, their purchases and their habits. All this starting from the near future,
But the biggest news is that they will do it directly from the browser .
The big news from Google: the Privacy Sandbox
Google is introducing a new project: the Privacy Sandbox.
Specifically, the big G is implementing a solution consisting of several APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) , including a FLoC-enabled browser that works like this:
- Collection of information on the user’s browsing habits
- User assignment to a cohort through the use of AI technologies
- Grouping in the same cohort of users with similar habits
- Data storage and analysis directly on the browser
The Mountain View giant has signaled that its primary objective is to establish new ways of collecting data that are more respectful of users’ privacy.
This need is amplified by the various “digital slips” we have witnessed over the last few years, which have ended up targeting the trust of the digital community. Some examples may be the leaks of sensitive data or the wild use of third-party cookies by advertisers of all kinds.
Currently, Privacy Sandbox is still striking the perfect balance between effective protection of users’ private data and advertising-based business models that are targeted and effective.
This is not a simple goal , since it is based on wanting to reconcile the interests of users, marketers, companies, publishers and regulators.
What are the consequences of the Privacy Sandbox?
With Privacy Sandbox Google will make cross-site tracking impossible .
It will delete it, shifting the attention of publishers and advertisers to first-party cookies.
The consequences ?
- Users should be able to gain more control over their personal data
- Advertisements may be less personalized than they are today
- Publishers and websites that host advertising could experience a decline in revenues , even a very sensitive one. A Google simulation in this sense speaks of high percentages, even up to 64%.
- Advertisers will have to completely change their business model , identifying new ways to communicate with users and offer increasingly personalized user-interfaces (UI)
Point to first-party cookies: how to do it?
How does everything said so far translate?
- Publishers will have to invest higher budgets on contextual advertising on website pages or structure ways to encourage authentication, which in itself ensures more targeted knowledge of the user.
- The ad-tech platforms will have to propose new technologies and tools for profiling calibrated on the Privacy Sandbox, i.e. on interactions on a single site rather than cross-site. Space therefore for the analysis of aggregate behaviors!
Despite the objective complexities linked to this digital revolution, it is still important to remember that there are alternatives to third-party cookies. With time and with the right strategies they will be able to find the way to perform at their best.
An example can be represented by email , intended as an enabler of specific functions or contents on a particular site. In this case, the address would be crossed with that available for other publishers and advertisers, representing an interesting “node” for strategic analysis and subsequent profiling.
The same discourse of individual identification through first-party cookies would naturally also occur with technological solutions now widely used such as local storage .
Authentication, data and privacy: the keywords of tomorrow’s marketing
The conscious and voluntary authentication of users will therefore play a central role in the future of digital marketing. It will be the starting point for creating an increasingly virtuous relationship and communication with each user, with the ultimate aim of improving both the profiling and the UI .
Acquiring data will be the watchword as early as 2022, and companies and marketers will have to act accordingly . All while remaining in full compliance with the law.
It is therefore essential that every organization can rely on the experience of a privacy specialist who keeps the organization safe from mistakes and missteps.
