If you work in an ad agency, are a marketer, or are just an advertising enthusiast, you have probably heard that Cookies are Crumbling in terms of digital analytics. This should come to no surprise as the aged biscuit has been on its last leg for some time. Safari & Firefox have already blocked them with Chrome’s allowance ending by 2022. Sky is falling, right? More like ‘meh.’
For the uninitiated
Third-party cookies data is any user data gathered by a group that does not have an immediate relationship with said user. Usually, this information is aggregated from various websites and platforms. Once collected, the data is spun together to create a thorough audience profile, which holds information on users’ behavioral flow throughout their web journey. This data then helps advertisers and analysts categorize the user into various segments. From here you can work to find out which users prefer chunky peanut butter, heathens, or smooth, and market to them thusly.
But that is going the way of the dodo & from this marketeer’s perspective *doffs cap*, this is an absolutely positive step for the industry. We have relied on this data to make our decisions for us without having to do much more than click a button for far too long. Marketing has become more about making it look like we understand people without truly understanding the people we are pretending to understand. Understood?
Does the Cookies Math Check Out?
Listen, as a numbers guy, I get the need to quantify and mathematically boil-down the differences in a smooth peanut butter enjoyer and a heath- I mean, chunky peanut butter cruncher. But when we turn on the “1984-BIG-Brother” vibes and start pushing ads in people’s faces based solely on 3rd party analytics, what does that really say about us? I know what you’re thinking: What about sales, Jim? Hmm? The bottom line? The SHAREHOLDERS? To which I say, ‘meh.’ Maybe I am the wrong guy to market your haphazardly constructed, unrefined peanut paste, Gary.
I would rather work with my clients to get to know their services, their industry, & their audience over buying some list based on the eye in the sky monitoring some poor user’s journey on a site that has little to nothing to do with what we are looking to market.
Turning to relationships and first party data in a world devoid of cookies makes the marketing world more aligned with where it should be, at least in my opinion. Clients who focus on relationship building and putting in the effort for their customers need marketers who are willing to go the extra mile to understand, listen, and work to connect them to audiences without invading privacy and treating users as a faceless part of an audience or just another sale. For many, it won’t be an easy transition, but one that is worthwhile all the same.
If you need analytic insights, strategic marketing help, or just want to connect, feel free to drop us a line.