In the immortal words of Britney Spears, “Oops, they’ve done it again.”
No, we’re not talking about the US government approving the sale of TikTok. It’s possible, but it’s so far away that you can’t stop people from investing a dime in it.
We’re talking about Google’s latest issues. Last week, they delayed the retirement of third-party cookies by another year.
So we reached out to Robert Rose, chief strategic advisor at CMI, who was fooled by Google’s declaration that third-party cookies will be phased out in 2024. Watch this video or read below.
Yes, I was fooled by their nonsense. I thought they were serious when they started deleting cookies for some Chrome users on a trial basis. But Google seems determined to make me look stupid.
When you think about it, my relationship with Google is like a Britney song. “They play to my heart…I got hooked on the game. They said, ‘You think I’m in love…I’m out there. It’s not that innocent.”
Now let’s consider their excuse and what it means for marketers.
Google postpones deprecation of cookies
If you’ve been following along, the latest news about third-party cookies that “disappear” is that they don’t actually disappear.
Last week, Google delayed the retirement of third-party cookies in its Chrome browser for the third time in recent years. And yet again, the ad industry’s move away from surveillance-based programmatic advertising is complicated.
Within the Privacy Sandbox, Google said it “recognizes the ongoing challenges associated with reconciling disparate feedback from industry, regulators, and developers, and will continue to work closely with the entire ecosystem.” We will work together,” he wrote.
In other words, everyone is angry because they think what Google produces is too selfish. So, spoiler alert, Google says he wants to make it happen in 2025.
Considering where they are now, that’s highly unlikely.
Complaints and revenue growth
Last Friday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) lifted Google’s update efforts. The UK government agency acts as a watchdog for Google’s Privacy Sandbox. We’re trying to figure out how much the elimination of third-party cookies will benefit Google more than anyone else. So throughout Google’s update efforts over the years, they’ve had a lot to say.
Most recently, the CMA’s update listed around 80 concerns, almost double the number shared just a few months ago. The concerns primarily centered on Google appearing to be finalizing its third-party deprecation so that it can keep first-party data within its own ecosystem and use it as it wishes. ing.
Keep in mind that Google’s parent company, Alphabet, also announced last week that it had significantly reduced its revenue. Earnings increased and the company paid its first dividend. Ad revenue from the entire ecosystem, especially his YouTube, fueled its success.
So, Google wants to make sure that whatever we do with third-party cookies doesn’t interfere with our revenue.
CMA says to put on the brakes. Other ad groups say, “Wait a minute, let’s think about this a little more,” and advertisers want to pump the brakes. So Google is happy to pull you over to the side of the road and try to fix the problem.
What’s next?
So what happens? there is nothing.
The last time we wrote about this, we reported on a survey that found that 58% of advertising professionals believe the obsolescence of cookies will be delayed until 2025, and many are doing nothing about their planned demise. did.
They were right about the first part.
Google’s retirement of third-party cookies may be delayed for another two to three years, and monitoring advertising may remain a major player for some time to come.
“The digital advertising industry should not be complacent and use this delay as an excuse,” IAB Tech Lab CEO Anthony Catur said.
But that’s kind of the thing. Given Google and the industry’s many hurdles, it’s clear that we won’t be ready to phase out third-party cookies until next year.
But here’s the problem. Media companies aren’t waiting for Google to make a move. They are rapidly securing their data to build better data and monetization strategies. They are moving to cookie-free solutions for advertising. Some brands are starting to adopt more first-party data solutions to define their capabilities.
I’m still a big fan of preparing your own first-party data answers. Because it’s a smart strategy.
But for now, I can’t get Brittany’s song out of my head. “It may seem like unrequited love, but it doesn’t mean I’m serious, because I lose all feeling, which is very typical,” she said. “
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Cover image: Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute