After years of work and endless delays, Google announced on July 22, 2024, that it would not end third-party cookies in its Chrome browser. Instead, they’ll be moving forward with an alternative path that puts more control on the user end.
Wait, remind me: What are third-party cookies?
Third-party cookies (3PC) are tiny morsels of code that track users across the web and have been instrumental in powering targeted advertising and personalized marketing efforts for years.
In this post, we’ll highlight what that means for B2B teams and some opportunities that may come from this reversal.
Understanding the 3rd Party Cookie Policy Update
This change by Google represents a significant shift in how they’ve approached privacy strategy over the past four years.
Concerns over privacy and regulatory changes initially led Google’s developers on a hunt (via their Privacy Sandbox) to find the perfect intersection of user privacy and advertising. But, for unknown reasons, they’ve decided that the power to control user data should ultimately be the user’s free will.
So far, we know that Google is exploring a “new experience” in Chrome to allow users to make “informed choices” about their web browsing privacy. They will also continue to develop the Privacy Sandbox APIs for future alternatives.
Most immediately, B2B organizations’ approaches to digital advertising, especially display or paid search ads, will remain the same.
While this change of mind may benefit digital advertisers in the short run from scrambling to adjust their strategies, it is still essential that B2B organizations understand that the new “informed choices” approach will most likely impact their ability to reach target audiences in the future.
How User-Led Cookies May Impact B2B Teams
By giving the user more information and power to determine the information they provide to advertising, more users (especially educated B2B buyers) will likely opt out of 3PCs.
Here’s what that means for B2B teams:
- Smaller audience sizes for targeting purposes
- Limited reach to specific audiences within display networks
- Contacts are less likely to be deanonymized
- Intent signals will be skewed
Future-Proofing Your B2B Digital Strategy
Enhanced Data Strategy Development
The ditched efforts provide B2B marketers with time to build robust and diversified data collection strategies. By investing in alternative ways to gather first-party data directly from your audience, such as through newsletters, webinars, and gated content, you can reduce reliance on third-party cookies and enhance the quality of your insights (Econsultancy).
Refinement of Consent Management Practices
If the 3PC debacle taught us one thing, it is that strengthening consent management processes is crucial. Implementing a robust Consent Management Platform (CMP) that complies with frameworks like the IAB TCF can help manage user permissions effectively, ensuring compliance with global data protection regulations (Cookiebot).
Informing users about how their data is collected, used, and protected builds trust, which is crucial for long-term engagement.
Explore Alternative Advertising Platforms
Diversification is the theme, which also goes for your ad platforms. Make sure you’re reaching audiences more likely to opt-out of 3PCs by looking into contextual advertising.
Contextual advertising targets ads based on the content users are engaging with and becomes more critical. This approach respects user privacy and naturally aligns ads with user interests.
Choose a B2B Partner You Can Trust
Google’s decision to scrap the deprecation of third-party cookies offers B2B marketers a valuable window to adapt and refine their strategies.
By proactively diversifying their strategies, B2B organizations can maintain and potentially enhance their marketing effectiveness. Adopting a privacy-first approach and leveraging new technologies will future-proof your strategies against further regulatory shifts.
Do you need help navigating the murky waters of data privacy and B2B strategy? Contact our team of GTM experts to see what we can do.
