Don’t wait – get your first party data strategy in place now and get ahead of the game
Google delays plan to block third party cookies until the end of 2023
In the middle of April, we wrote about the need to shift toward first party data in our blog post “Travel marketing must focus on “first party data” as we wave goodbye to third party cookies.”
A lot has changed in that short space of time. Late last week Vinay Goel (Google Chrome’s Privacy Engineering Director) announced that the depreciation of third party cookies on Chrome would be delayed even further into 2023 – roughly a year later than was originally planned.
Delayed until 2023 – roughly a year later than was originally planned
Firefox and Safari have already implemented third party cookie blocking but Chrome is the big one with 60% of the desktop browser market in the UK (Source: Statista).
Google is caught between a rock and a hard place. The more it cuts off the third-party tracking the more it has the potential to increase its own dominance in the ad space. If it does nothing, it stands accused of not caring about privacy.
The route it has chosen for now seems to be to push back the deadline and engage more with the industry and regulators. Chrome could then phase out third party cookies over a three-month period, starting in mid-2023 and ending in late 2023.
“More time is needed across the ecosystem to get this right” – Vinay Goel, Privacy Engineering Director at Chrome.
However, Google has promised to be clear about its phasing out a roadmap with details to be added to its Privacy Sandbox website.
What do we think?
Google already dominates the ad space and while serious concerns remain over the privacy sandbox approach(es) we think this delay is a good thing to ensure that they
>> Come up with a solution that is fair to all companies in the ad space – big and small
>> Give agencies and our customers time to prepare
Despite the change in deadline, it’s impossible to ignore the rapid changes in data privacy.
With Apple’s new privacy protections for iOS 15, almost 50% of the population will be impacted. Protecting user’s privacy in digital advertising is quickly becoming one of the most important things that digital marketers face in the coming years.
As a result, we know that the future of marketing will rely significantly on first-party data and the strength of the relationships between businesses and their customers.
>> One thing we know for sure: Third party cookies are going away and first party data will be more important than ever. Don’t wait – start building your customer relationships, get your first party data strategy in place now and get ahead of the game.
