Posted by It seems it’s not easy to give up cookies, and the marketing world is no exception. Since bidding the ubiquitous trails of crumbs goodbye when Google began phasing out third party cookies in January, many brands find themselves floundering to create a “strong first-party data strategy.”
But the fallout began much earlier. Back in 2022 when the elimination of cookies was on the horizon, 40 percent of marketers Adobe surveyed said the phaseout would not just hurt their businesses but would cause “significant harm or devastation.”
Not only have marketers been slow to eliminate them, half of the marketers surveyed globally admit they still “heavily depend” on the method to gather actionable data. Some of the industries hardest hit by the restriction of cookies have been the travel, technology, public sector, and financial services businesses. Nevertheless, the data represents a drop from the 75 percent who reported being heavily dependent on cookies in 2022.
“Brands are struggling to build a strong data foundation beyond third-party cookies, and risk hurting their business,” Adobe reported.
Only 26 percent of survey respondents said they’re at a place where their brand is producing actionable insights, while 65 percent of respondents said their organizations are still working to get to that place. Thirty seven percent said “the accelerated cookie deprecation…negatively impacted their ability to track, target, and measure.” Over half of participants thought the role of cookies will never be eliminated completely.
As marketers scramble to adjust, the ad tech landscape continues to be reshaped by other factors as well. This includes the effects of generative AI and a simultaneous growing demand for personalized content, according to the Adobe survey that queried 2,800 marketers.
While businesses are struggling to build a data foundation, consumers expect more and more personalized content. Many brands report they “don’t have the structure to adapt.” Yet a whopping 83 percent of respondents saw growth in demand for content during the past two years – demand that is anticipated to grow at least five times greater in the coming two years.
What will be the long-term impact of a cookie-less, or mostly cookie-less environment for marketers? How will brands adapt to collect first-party data and meet the demands of consumers who expect increasingly personalized content? Read the full article here.