Where Next for Marketers Following Google's Cookies U-Turn?

With the ongoing saga around Google’s retiring of third-party cookies now seemingly resolved – it won’t – the marketers and their agency partners are getting to grips with the reality that the status quo will remain, despite five years of preparation for what never really felt like the inevitable.

Instead of phasing third-party cookies through its Chrome browser, the tech giant now intends to allow users to either operate through its Privacy Sandbox which was being built as the alternative, or continue to allow their data-gathering practices to continue.

And while the ad world groaned in unison at the announcement, the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) is certainly not happy.

“Third-party cookies are not good for the web,” wrote Hadley Beeman in a blog post on the W3C website. “This announcement came out of the blue, and undermines a lot of the work we’ve done together to make the web work without third-party cookies,” she later added after years of working alongside Chrome’s Privacy Sandbox team to find better approaches for using third-party cookies.

Advertising powers much of the internet and it needs user data to improve that experience for each person, however privacy regulations across the world are also strengthening, and so Google and everyone else know they have set expectations still to meet.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has also expressed disappointment in Google’s decision. In a statement, the ICO also called on the digital ad industry to persevere with the work to introduce more private alternatives to third-party cookies regardless.

Writing for Creative Salon, Belle Cartwright, global tech acceleration lead at EssenceMediacom believes that the news will be largely met by a sense of indifference by the ad industry after so many years of indecision from Google.

“The marketer of the future will need a variety of alternative data signals to get a similar picture of marketing success. With this in mind, there is still a clear need to move away from cookie-based technologies,” Cartwright foretells.

Here are the responses from some agency executives to the decision as the share where next for marketers who were expecting to implement a new online data gathering strategy from next year.

Struan Wood, head of customer experience at New Commercial Arts

Google announcing the end of cookies was a great day for customers. It was a watershed moment where suddenly brands had to prioritise their experiences, their owned channels and the actual happiness (or not) of their customers. More often than not creativity flourishes with more constraints and that's what we saw as brands began to plan for the years ahead.

But this doesn’t mean that the recent U-turn is an inherently bad day for customers. Personalised experiences can be great. Go scroll your parents’ social media feeds if you disagree. But it will be a bad day, or days ahead, if brands forget the lessons of brand and experience building, and go back to just relying on cookies. Bad for waistlines and profit margins.

Ben Rooke, senior performance lead, Total Media

Google’s decision to retain third-party cookies in Chrome is a notable shift but shouldn't prompt marketers to overhaul their strategies. The effectiveness of third-party cookies has been waning for years, making them significantly less reliable for tracking pre-GDPR.

Instead, marketers should focus on strengthening first-party data collection through robust consent management systems and creating compelling value exchanges that build user trust. Leveraging advanced tools like Google's consent mode and Meta's Conversions API can provide more accurate and effective tracking alternatives.

Additionally, shifting towards behavioural and contextual targeting will be key in delivering personalised ads that resonate with users' interests and browsing activities while respecting privacy. Furthermore, adopting robust measurement frameworks that integrate econometric modelling, cookie-less attribution, and a testing culture will better inform marketers on investment decisions than cookie-based tracking ever could.

This approach aligns with the industry’s broader move towards greater privacy and compliance. Insights from Apple's removal of cookies show that only a small fraction of users will consent to cookies when prompted, highlighting the importance of how choices are presented. By focusing on first-party data and innovative targeting methods, marketers can ensure sustainable success in a future where privacy and personalisation go hand in hand.

The digital landscape is evolving, and staying agile with these strategies will be crucial for navigating this change effectively.

William Roberts, senior vice president, Corporate Enterprise, Weber Shandwick, UK

It’s great news for B2B marketers that cookies have a stay of execution, however as Google kick the can down the road it gives marketers time to develop innovative approaches, less dependent on purely third-party data, which will ultimately lead to a better customer experience.

B2B marketers who use this time wisely can rise above competitors who relax into the cookie business as usual mode.

Cookies surviving the chop gives us all a moment of respite, but don’t relax, this is an opportunity for B2B brands to be more in control of their own data and to boost customer experience.