Cookies or no cookies: We’ve already begun building the foundation for a “privacy-by-design” ecosystem
Updated on July 23, 2024 by Michael Stoeckel, Jessie De Luca, & Laura Franta-Abdalla
While Google’s recent decision to offer a user opt-out model rather than disabling its browser cookies altogether gives much more flexibility, work across the ad industry in recent years has not been in vain. Ultimately, signs continue to point to an overall shift to a privacy-first digital ad ecosystem. Are we ready?
What does the privacy-by-design shift so far mean for media planners and buyers?
According to the IAB’s 2024 report last spring, “State of Data 2024: How the Digital Ad Industry is Adapting to the Privacy-by-Design Ecosystem,” 95% of advertising and data leaders across brand, agency, and publisher entities already believed that cookie deprecation is just the beginning of a significant shift toward a privacy-first ad model.
The same report revealed that media buying and planning teams not only appreciate the fact that they need to prioritize formats that allow access to first-party data and audience engagement audiences, they have already made strides over recent years to do so. Buyers and planners plan to continue shifting budgets toward mediums insulated from cookie dependence—including CTV, retail media, and search & social platforms. In fact, the promise of first-party data access, better targeting, and native measurement capabilities seem to be an even bigger draw than some might have realized. Almost 90% of ad buyers shared that they are changing how they tackle personalization and measuring ad investment. Another 75%+ shared that they are significantly shifting their selection of media channels and KPIs. Teams have also begun opting again for more direct buys over programmatic ones.
Despite the fact that cookies are now not completely off of the table for digital advertisers, these shifts remain smart ones, though some teams may also decide ways to begin planning, buying, measuring, and optimizing across all digital channels—programmatic and otherwise.
IAB’s VP of Measurement, Addressability & Data Center, Angelina Eng, shared advice in early 2024 that continues to ring true, regardless of Google’s decision:
“To tackle data quality challenges, it’s crucial for brands, agencies, and publishers to continue to adopt innovative analytical methods including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and media mix modeling that are less dependent on tracking signals and third-party cookies.”
- Angelina Eng, VP Measurement, Addressability & Data Center @ IAB
Less abrupt pivots could also reduce extra risk for diverse-owned media suppliers
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While shifts toward privacy-by-design will likely have many positive effects, the IAB’s report warned that the need to overhaul data processes could put extra strain on smaller media publishers. These types of sweeping transformations often come at a cost, with the need to invest in elements of data operations, like privacy tech and training. The data so far reveals that larger publishers have made more progress on this front.
Specifically, it will become an additional resource challenge for many diverse-owned suppliers, which, on average, tend to be smaller. This means media teams will need to make an effort to intentionally plan and track their diverse-owned media supplier investments closely to prevent losing any progress they or their clients have made in this area. In fact, according to the ANA, a recent study showed a significant difference between intent and action regarding the desire to invest in diverse-owned media. While these strains and pressures could further widen that gap, Google’s decision to pivot toward a user’s choice model signals a more gentle data privacy shift than we previously anticipated. Ultimately, this could be helpful for those of us invested in moving the equity needle.
The bottom line: A more definitive path toward ad privacy can only help industry innovators
Cookie deprecation or not, putting the choice to opt for privacy in the hands of informed users—and other anticipated future data privacy legislation—will continue pushing advertisers toward more privacy-friendly mediums, from CTV to digital direct. Facts that also remain: To avoid paying top dollar to these platforms and attain reach, planning and buying teams will need to be able to view spending against performance across each digital option, calibrate much more quickly, and take advantage of discounts wherever they can—without the traditional financial and operational headaches that burden media teams. All of us across the industry, especially media management and ad tech providers, have a responsibility to offer solutions that make this possible.
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