Text | Zhiniuer Media
Zhiniuer has recently learned that Google has once again postponed the end of third-party cookies in its Chrome browser.
According to the latest announcement on the official website of privacysandbox.com (Privacy Sandbox): "Update on the plan to phase out third-party cookies on Chrome".
According to the announcement, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Google have published quarterly reports to update the ecosystem on the status of the Privacy Sandbox for the Web.
On April 26, the CMA released its latest update on the implementation of Google's Privacy Sandbox commitments. The report provides an overview of the progress made to date, including the CMA's latest view on the potential impact of Google's proposed changes to the Privacy Sandbox.
The main points of the report are as follows:
1. Based on the available evidence, Google has complied with its commitments from January 1, 2024 to March 31, 2024 (relevant reporting period). This means that Google has followed the required processes set out in the pledge and is engaging with relevant parties to address the remaining concerns prior to the deprecation of third-party cookies. However, Google needs further progress to address the pre-deprecation competition issue.
2. The privacy sandbox tool is also being tested. The test results will form part of a broader evidence base to assess the effectiveness of the Privacy Sandbox. The testing period will last until the end of June this year.
3. Given the time required to resolve the pending issues and consider the test results, Google should postpone the deprecation of third-party cookies for a limited time. On the premise of addressing related competition concerns, Google now plans to deprecate third-party cookies starting in early 2025.
As part of the commitment, Google is required to report on the progress of the Privacy Sandbox proposal, its expected timing of updates, its interactions with the CMA and third parties, including in connection with the testing of the proposals, and the approach taken to address the concerns raised.
The role of the CMA is to oversee Google, ensuring that the Privacy Sandbox is developed in a way that benefits consumers. As part of this role, they will continue to interact with Google on the design and development of the proposal.
According to foreign media reports, Google has still not found the best third-party cookie alternative, and in addition to addressing the CMA's "concerns" about privacy, there are other organizational forces that may be an important factor in the postponement of its plan.
According to the latest information from the UK government's official January 2024 update, the CMA has accepted the commitments provided by Google that address the competition concerns that arose after the CMA investigated Google's proposal to remove third-party cookies and other features from its Chrome browser.
"We recognise the ongoing challenges of coordinating diverse feedback from industry, regulators and developers and will continue to work closely with the ecosystem as a whole," the privacysandbox.com announcement also said. "It is also important that the CMA has sufficient time to review all evidence, including industry test results, which the CMA has asked market participants to provide by the end of June. With these two important factors in mind, we will not be completing the deprecation of third-party cookies in the second half of Q4. ”
"We remain committed to working closely with the CMA and ICO and hope to complete this process this year," the announcement concluded. Assuming we can reach an agreement, we expect to deprecate third-party cookies from early next year. "In this way, Google has not yet come up with a more specific timeline than 2025.
So, what is the impact of the end of cookies on the advertising and marketing industry? Here are some of the key takeaways from the industry's perspective:
The trend of data security and privacy protection is irreversible, how will enterprises and the digital marketing industry arrange troops to cope with the test of the "new law"? Li Yang, CTO of Youyi Interconnection, once said in an exclusive interview with "Zhi Niu Er" that the impact of the "new law" on enterprise digital marketing is emerging: for market players, the most important thing is to adapt and change. On the basis of user authorization and within the scope of security compliance, in-depth and efficient mining and making full use of the value of data throughout the life cycle of consumers has become a long-term marketing trend and focus in the future. Based on this, marketing technology will also usher in a new round of explosion. For the full version, please check: ""Holding Bull's Ear" Interview with Li Yang, CTO of Youyi Hutong: "The Impact of "Data Security + Privacy Protection" Continues, and Digital Marketing Looks Forward to "Breaking the Cocoon" for New Growth
Only on the premise of ensuring data privacy and security, the compliant use of consumer data and data collaboration are the keys to solving the dilemma and achieving long-term development. In an interview with ZHINIUER Media, Ken Liu, former general manager of LiveRamp China, said that to truly be customer-centric and win the key advantage of enterprises in the long-term competition, it is imperative to ensure the data privacy and data security of "users", which is the only way to strengthen the data strategy of enterprises and facilitate digital transformation. For the full version, please check out: How can brands "maximize" the value of data in the era of data privacy?
In April this year, Zhi Niuer recently released an in-depth insight article "Google's "de-cookieization", what is the impact on the domestic digital marketing industry?", focusing on the analysis of the role of third-party cookies and the impact of "de-cookieization" on the domestic digital marketing circle.
The role of third-party cookies
If you go to a restaurant, the cookie remembers what you order each time you visit, as well as your taste preferences, and this information is stored in your browser. Advertisers can use this information in cookies to deliver personalized advertisements to target users.
On the flip side of providing advertisers with push accuracy, third-party cookies have long been used to track users' online behavior, raising concerns about privacy and data security. Safari and Firefox browsers have long since "blocked" third-party cookies.
In 2020, Google announced that it would retire third-party cookies by 2022. In June 2021, plans to deactivate third-party cookies were postponed. Google said it will retire third-party cookies in 2023 and replace them with the Privacy Sandbox program as the industry adapts to new technologies and transformations.
In July 2022, Google again postponed the opt-out of third-party cookies and said it planned to complete the transition in 2024, and in January 2024, Google began implementing a do-it-off plan. 1% of Chrome users will no longer be tracked by third-party cookies. However, according to the latest news, third-party cookies will end this plan by the end of 2024 and will no longer be possible.
As an alternative, Google's Privacy Sandbox initiative aims to create new standards and technologies that will continue to support the growth of the online advertising ecosystem without relying on third-party cookies. However, some people believe that the "privacy sandbox" will allow Google to have more first-hand data, creating a "monopoly" in the industry.
Is Google ready for "de-cookieization" for marketers?
According to The State of Marketing, 81% of marketing practitioners "rely on third-party cookies to some extent" and 20% are "not ready to lose access to third-party cookies". About three-quarters of the respondents believe that Google's elimination of third-party cookies will make marketing more difficult.
As we all know, cookies have been one of the cornerstones of targeted advertising in the digital marketing industry for many years. Google's Chrome browser accounts for 65% of global internet traffic. By Google stops supporting third-party cookies, advertisers lose a key source of data.
As a direct consequence, advertisers need to re-evaluate and adjust their marketing strategies, such as redesigning campaigns, adjusting budget allocation, and exploring new marketing channels and tools, as "de-cookieization" impairs ad recommendation accuracy.
At the same time, disabling third-party cookies makes first-party data more valuable. First-party data, which is data collected directly from a user's behavior on a brand's website or app. Brands need to strengthen their data collection and analysis capabilities to attract and retain users by providing high-quality content and services to continuously expand their first-party data pool.
For platform technology and data analytics companies, how to improve privacy protection and compliance while still being able to provide effective advertising services is the challenge they face from data collection and processing. From the perspective of technological innovation, it is imperative to explore and adopt new technologies to replace third-party cookies, such as through augmented reality and AI-driven advertising technology, context-targeted advertising, interest-based grouping technology, etc., which will gain more attention and development.
From the user's point of view, the disabling of third-party cookies not only strengthens the protection of personal privacy, but also eliminates the precise push of advertisements based on the interests and behaviors of individual users, which means that the number of advertisements received by users may not be reduced, and other forms of advertising will directly affect the online experience to a certain extent.
Google's "de-cookieization" will reshape the digital advertising landscape.
Big tech companies with first-party data and user bases, such as Google, Meta and Amazon, will have a strong presence in the advertising market. Small and medium-sized websites and content providers that rely on advertising revenue will lose the ability to precisely target ads, and their advertising revenue and business models will be reshaped. They may be forced to adjust their business models due to the pressure to survive. For example, adding subscription services, or partnering with data platforms.
The role of third-party cookies
The world is flat. What is the impact of Google's "de-cookieization" on China's digital marketing circle?
While disabling third-party cookies has an impact on both PC and mobile, it is more impactful on PC given user habits, ad delivery dependence, and market adaptation. The proportion of traffic on China's mobile side is much larger than that on the PC side.
According to relevant statistics, as early as 2022, the number of mobile users of China's search engines has reached 750 million. It's fair to say that the mobile advertising ecosystem has adapted to changes in privacy-preserving technologies, making it easier for advertisers and developers to find alternatives.
In addition to the characteristics of mobile tilt, China's search engine marketing field also presents the characteristics of diversified marketing forms and enhanced technical elements.
With the rapid rise of advertising formats such as short-form video, social media, and native advertising, advertisers can develop diversified marketing strategies and multi-channel placement. In addition, the wide application of artificial intelligence, big data and other technologies can help advertisers find alternative technologies for "cookie-free" to accurately target and optimize advertising effects.
Taking Taboola, the world's leading native advertising platform and the largest advertising platform on the open web, as an example, Taboola relies on the world's top AI technology to contextualize content in an environment without third-party cookies, which means that highly relevant content can be pushed to the "right audience" at the right time and in the right environment.
Judging from the current market structure, the traffic platforms and media platforms of Internet giants represented by Tencent, Baidu, Alibaba, and Toutiao have laid a solid foundation on first-party data.
The grasp of first-party data makes them less dependent on third-party cookies, and disabling third-party cookies will not have a substantial impact on them. However, it is worth noting that Google's "de-cookieization" has a tendency to intensify the concentration of the digital advertising market. Because of their strong first-party data and user base, these large Internet platforms will form a situation of "the strong will always be strong" in the advertising market.
In this data policy revolution that disables third-party cookies, mastering first-party data, or combining first-party and second-party data, will become an industry trend.
Through transparent data collection and use strategies such as user registration, subscription, and in-depth operation of private domain traffic, the collection and activation of first-party data and the formulation of corresponding data strategies have become the key to the development of advertisers. In addition, working with media providers or technology partners with second-party data can also help advertisers connect with their target audiences, improve user insights, and improve the accuracy of advertising.
Taboola collects and analyzes data from more than 9,000 media partners, as well as billions of clicks and impressions, to generate insights. Advertisers can deliver compelling campaigns to the right audience with contextual intelligence. To date, more than 16,000 advertisers have partnered with Taboola and reached more than 500 million daily active users in a brand-safe environment.
"De-cookieization" emphasizes the importance of user privacy protection. "In order to replace cookies, more privacy-preserving technologies may emerge, such as new anonymous variable device fingerprinting technology. China's advertising and marketing industry also needs to adapt to this change and strengthen the protection of user privacy. Dr. Wu Di said.
The digital advertising industry as a whole is moving in a more privacy-friendly and innovation-driven direction. How to continue to carry out effective marketing activities while protecting user privacy and remain competitive in the new era of digital marketing is a proposition of the times faced by the entire industry.