cookie
March 10, 2020
Third Party Cookie Dead? Now what
As the cookie collapses and regulation chokes the digital ecosystem, brands need to plan ahead
The crumbling cookie, the privacy protection push, the rising regulations – digital marketing ecosystem is witnessing an age of upheaval.
The woke global consumer, aided by regulations such as GDPR and CCPA, wants the control back. Tracking consent, opt-in, opt-out, right to be forgotten and the list goes on… Suddenly, the usually very proactive data and digital ecosystem has gone into a reaction mode. Tech giants and data providers are revisiting their data policies and brands struggling to ensure compliance of their existing tech stacks.
As always, India is never far behind in following the trends. The implications of changes brought about by the global tech providers are already being felt. That coupled with our homegrown PDP (Personal Data Protection Bill) necessitates brands and marketers to sit up and notice. But before we throw the baby out with the bathwater, the question is – Will India be a different story?
Yes, it will be. Sometimes, not being as evolved as the western world is a boon in disguise. India by and large is still in its infancy when it comes to data driven marketing. Other than the large global brands with centralized data and tech infrastructure, the rest can be counted on fingers quite literally. Therefore, unlike the evolved markets we don’t have to go back to the drawing board and reinvent completely. We can simply plan ahead and change trajectory.
So how can Indian brands plan ahead and change trajectory? Is there a ready reckoner so far? Unfortunately, there is a lot of jargon doing rounds that overwhelms and confuses rather than help. At GroupM Motivator, we believe in simplifying the complex for emerging brands. Here are the key implications that Indian brands need to be aware of and plan for.
1. The Strengthening Of The Walled Gardens – There was a time when data driven marketing meant breaking down of the silos. Today the scenario stands reversed. The need to be compliant is driving the giants such as Google, Facebook and several other large publisher networks to further strengthen the walls. The implication is not just for cross platform media buying, tracking and optimizing, but for brands wanting to invest in tech stacks as well.
2. The Break In Attribution Journey – The single view of consumer and end to end digital consumer journey attribution will become a distant reality. The walled gardens and the demise of the cookie will make it increasingly difficult in a cross platform, cross screen environment. Therefore, marketers need to be very wary of promising El dorado.
3. The Deepening Divide By Publisher Size – The bigger publishers and networks with massive own data and ability to target intelligently will benefit, at least in the short term. On the other hand, the value of inventory from smaller publishers will go down. This will in turn impact the brand’s media mix and money outflow by network.
Needless to say, a few of the above may be short term and will be overcome as the ecosystem finds stable alternatives. While that happens, brands will have to plan ahead. Here are the imperatives that are likely to shape the future of digital marketing.
4. The Rise Of Owned Assets – Sadly, most brands in India are underleveraging their own media massively. While the websites exist, the core objective currently doesn’t go beyond information dissemination and landing traffic from paid media campaigns. Now with first party data becoming the most valid, compliant data available to brands, the owned assets will rise to power. The brand website are the new data farming hubs. However, in order to truly leverage the power of owned media, brands need to invest in both a compelling UI/UX and interactive triggers for consumers to leave behind data in exchange of value of some kind.
5. The Consolidation Of The Stack – As walls become stronger and compliance becomes a key concern, brands will tend to make safer choices. It will increasingly make more sense for brands to invest in stacks from a single technology provider rather than customize a mixed bag.
6. The Resurgence Of Digital Creative – The heightened focus on performance and targeting had gradually led to digital creative becoming an ancillary service in digital marketing. Now is the time for creativity to make a comeback. There are two clear implications visible.
a. With limited opportunities to reach the intended TG through paid efficiently, brands will have to find ways to bring the TG to the communication. The onus of giving organic legs to the brand communication will again have to be shouldered by compelling creative and content.
b. For targetable audiences, to make best use of data, the focus on non-intrusive customization will go up. These seem like chaotic times for the digital media industry. But as they say, every wave of new technology that changes the world is followed by regulation. Time for brands to ride the wave and emerge winners.
The woke global consumer, aided by regulations such as GDPR and CCPA, wants the control back. Tracking consent, opt-in, opt-out, right to be forgotten and the list goes on… Suddenly, the usually very proactive data and digital ecosystem has gone into a reaction mode. Tech giants and data providers are revisiting their data policies and brands struggling to ensure compliance of their existing tech stacks.
As always, India is never far behind in following the trends. The implications of changes brought about by the global tech providers are already being felt. That coupled with our homegrown PDP (Personal Data Protection Bill) necessitates brands and marketers to sit up and notice. But before we throw the baby out with the bathwater, the question is – Will India be a different story?
Brand Solutions
So how can Indian brands plan ahead and change trajectory? Is there a ready reckoner so far? Unfortunately, there is a lot of jargon doing rounds that overwhelms and confuses rather than help. At GroupM Motivator, we believe in simplifying the complex for emerging brands. Here are the key implications that Indian brands need to be aware of and plan for.
1. The Strengthening Of The Walled Gardens – There was a time when data driven marketing meant breaking down of the silos. Today the scenario stands reversed. The need to be compliant is driving the giants such as Google, Facebook and several other large publisher networks to further strengthen the walls. The implication is not just for cross platform media buying, tracking and optimizing, but for brands wanting to invest in tech stacks as well.
2. The Break In Attribution Journey – The single view of consumer and end to end digital consumer journey attribution will become a distant reality. The walled gardens and the demise of the cookie will make it increasingly difficult in a cross platform, cross screen environment. Therefore, marketers need to be very wary of promising El dorado.
3. The Deepening Divide By Publisher Size – The bigger publishers and networks with massive own data and ability to target intelligently will benefit, at least in the short term. On the other hand, the value of inventory from smaller publishers will go down. This will in turn impact the brand’s media mix and money outflow by network.
Needless to say, a few of the above may be short term and will be overcome as the ecosystem finds stable alternatives. While that happens, brands will have to plan ahead. Here are the imperatives that are likely to shape the future of digital marketing.
4. The Rise Of Owned Assets – Sadly, most brands in India are underleveraging their own media massively. While the websites exist, the core objective currently doesn’t go beyond information dissemination and landing traffic from paid media campaigns. Now with first party data becoming the most valid, compliant data available to brands, the owned assets will rise to power. The brand website are the new data farming hubs. However, in order to truly leverage the power of owned media, brands need to invest in both a compelling UI/UX and interactive triggers for consumers to leave behind data in exchange of value of some kind.
5. The Consolidation Of The Stack – As walls become stronger and compliance becomes a key concern, brands will tend to make safer choices. It will increasingly make more sense for brands to invest in stacks from a single technology provider rather than customize a mixed bag.
6. The Resurgence Of Digital Creative – The heightened focus on performance and targeting had gradually led to digital creative becoming an ancillary service in digital marketing. Now is the time for creativity to make a comeback. There are two clear implications visible.
a. With limited opportunities to reach the intended TG through paid efficiently, brands will have to find ways to bring the TG to the communication. The onus of giving organic legs to the brand communication will again have to be shouldered by compelling creative and content.
b. For targetable audiences, to make best use of data, the focus on non-intrusive customization will go up. These seem like chaotic times for the digital media industry. But as they say, every wave of new technology that changes the world is followed by regulation. Time for brands to ride the wave and emerge winners.
Hello, my name is Tushar. I'm a Digital Advertising enthusiast who wants to share AdTech knowledge with the entire world.