Third-party cookies have not yet been eliminated, but they are certainly on their way out. Apple's Safari and Mozilla Firefox, the two most popular web browsers after Google Chrome, already block cookies, and both Google and Apple are placing limitations on mobile ad identifiers (MAIDs). Google plans to eliminate cookies by the end of 2023.1
As the use of cookie tracking continues to decline, it will become increasingly difficult for advertisers to target their desired audience online, gather information about consumers, and measure the performance of marketing campaigns.
A well-positioned advertising partner can help multiscreen marketers adapt to and minimize the impacts of a cookieless world.
The Powerful Connection Between Targeting and First-Party Data
While the marketplace faces uncertainty about advertising in a cookieless world, Spectrum Reach has always operated without relying on third-party cookies. Our use of privacy-centered methodologies for targeting audiences across all screens and platforms enables us to continue to offer the same high-quality level of targeting our customers have grown accustomed to.
With the use of clean data-room technology, Spectrum Reach's extensive proprietary aggregated and de-identified first-party data allows marketers to use tactics like intent-based targeting, addressable household targeting, content targeting, and viewership retargeting to fill the gap left by tracking cookies. Other media providers will either have to purchase anonymized data identifiers that are less scalable and accurate than Spectrum Reach's, or lose the ability to execute audience targeting entirely. By harnessing proprietary first-party data, layered with second- and third-party aggregated data from direct data partners, Spectrum Reach can deliver an advertiser's target audience across all screens, in a privacy-compliant manner.
Additionally, Spectrum Reach works with industry-leading data providers and identity solution partners like Blockgraph, which empowers both marketers and media sellers to take control of their campaign targeting and measurement with the highest levels of data security and privacy protections. Identity solutions are privacy-safe spaces for media companies and advertisers to share their first-party data for targeting and measurement purposes. More and more companies are utilizing these solutions to responsibly handle consumer data.
"We've made a commitment to deploy a data-first strategy across our entire product portfolio," says Bill Sheahan, Vice President of Product Development at Spectrum Reach. "Weaving unique aggregated and de-identified first-party data into every product we offer and using clean-room environments and identity solutions such as Blockgraph to append data from industry-leading partners enables our clients to more precisely reach their target audiences and measure the effectiveness of their campaigns."
Measuring the Impact and ROI of Marketing without Cookies
The loss of cookies will also impact marketers' ability to gain valuable insights into their campaign performance. In 2021, Spectrum Reach introduced a deterministic multiscreen attribution solution that addresses the issue. Powered by Spectrum Reach's first-party data and enabled by industry-leading audience measurement partners, Spectrum Reach's first-ever attribution solution provides advertisers with the ability to see how their campaigns are performing on every screen.
Multiscreen attribution monitors the direct relationship between website visitation and an advertiser's marketing efforts. The multiscreen responses and response rate identify which consumers visit a company's website after exposure to an ad, as well as which devices and networks drove the greatest share of response on TV and Streaming TV placements. These metrics can guide future campaign decision-making with accuracy and integrity.
"We don't need cookies to provide the benefits of attribution to our clients," says Kim Norris, Group Vice President of Advanced Advertising Sales at Spectrum Reach. "We've built foundational partnerships that allow us to match first-party data with website visitation data, in a fully anonymous and privacy-compliant manner, providing multiscreen insights to help better inform their marketing campaigns."
As marketers shift to a cookieless world, they will find those identity solutions, privacy-centric targeting, and attribution are key to navigating the changing landscape. Spectrum Reach holds itself to the highest privacy standards. And because we use privacy-centered methodologies to target media buys across all screens, we are able to offer the same high-quality level of targeting that multiscreen advertisers need to thrive in a cookieless world.