A Note from Datafy on Google’s Third-Party Cookies Pivot

Google made waves in the ad-tech world last month with the surprise announcement that it was scrapping its plan to deprecate third-party cookies. After years of planning for a cookie-less landscape, this about-face has left digital marketers scrambling to understand what this means for the ad-tech world and how their digital strategies need to be adjusted in the wake of the shift. 

Here’s what leaders at Datafy had to say in light of the announcement: 

Candie Perkins, Datafy Co-founder and CEO, on what this means for Datafy clients: 

“We’re always stressing the importance for our clients to remain forward-thinking. In a lot of ways, the threat of cookie deprecation has pushed those willing to evolve to uncover the new gold standard. Even in the wake of this announcement, we believe that this new gold standard lies in cookie-less solutions… Because if you can find innovative ways to ensure and respect your users’ privacy, why wouldn’t you? Our clients can stay ahead of the curve by putting privacy first and being highly-selective about the advertising technologies you invest in. In doing so, you’ll remain an active participant in shaping what comes next.”

Kelby Bosshardt, Datafy Co-Founder and President, on what’s happening in the big picture: 

“I think there’s more happening under the surface than what Google announced, and I don’t think that this is the end of the story.

Google has been struggling to convince EU regulators that their plans to deprecate third party cookies were privacy-friendly and could be done in a way that wouldn’t ultimately strengthen Google’s monopoly on digital advertising. The EU repeatedly forced Google to delay the plan, knowing that once third party cookies were gone,  all the data and control would be squarely in Google’s hands and there would be no system of checks and balances to allow other companies to compete with them.

This is where it gets interesting. Google isn’t doing away with their proposed plan. In fact, they’re doubling down on the EU-rejected “Privacy Sandbox” plan. All they changed was enforcement. Rather than forcing Chrome users to adopt the Privacy Sandbox by removing third party cookies, they announced they will give users the “choice.” Sound familiar? Marketers may remember when Apple rolled out ATT (App-Tracking-Transparency) and asked users to decide whether or not to allow third-party sharing. What the users were really doing was choosing between receiving targeted advertising from Apple AND third parties OR receiving targeted advertising from Apple and nobody else. It’s not a secret in this industry that Apple plays by a different set of rules than what it forces everyone else to do - and this “choice” offered in the ecosystem that they control led to Apple becoming one of the world’s largest ad-tech platforms almost overnight. (Not to mention: It generates billions of dollars a year for Apple.)

I think that Google is planning to do something in a similar vein - offering a “choice,” but then, through PR campaigns and user experience and design choices, will guide the vast majority of users to “choose” to use the privacy sandbox - ultimately achieving their desire of killing third party cookies and cutting off competitors, without the pressure and scrutiny from the EU regulators.”

Don’t hesitate to reach out to your Datafy CX rep with any questions you have about how this pivot from Google may affect your ad-tech strategies in the future.