Benni Lucas is Resolution Digital’s Head of Marketing Technology
As Google prepares to scrap Chrome's support for third-party tracking cookies, half of Australian marketers are still woefully unprepared – lacking a robust first-party data strategy in order to survive in the privacy first, cookieless future.
Without the insights provided by third-party tracking cookies, online impressions are worth significantly less. Not only because marketers have far less third-party information with which to create relevant experiences, but also because they can't measure the effectiveness of their efforts.
The impact will be severe. A randomised, controlled experiment by Google found that disabling access to cookies saw the average advertising revenue of the top 500 global publishers decrease by a massive 52%. The follow-on effect to marketers will be just as brutal.
How are marketers in Australia adapting to privacy changes?
How are local marketers preparing for the impact of the demise of third-party tracking cookies? Resolution Digital surveyed a group of marketers in Australia, from a mix of industries, to understand how they're adapting to these privacy first changes and taking advantage of new technologies.
While the writing has been on the wall for some time, a shocking 53% of respondents still aren't ready for a cookieless future. Many aren't even preparing or, worse yet, aren't even aware of the impending changes.
Those respondents who are prepared for the coming changes recognise that, going forward, they require a first-party data strategy. This involves making the most of the data they collect through direct customer interactions via various channels.
How does a first-party data strategy reshape marketing?
A first-party data strategy underpins a stronger focus on personalisation and customer experience (CX). Becoming a strong, trusted and liked brand is crucial for this to work best.
Along with addressing privacy concerns, the benefits of a first-party data strategy include developing deeper insights, delivering more contextually relevant experiences and even saving money by using data more efficiently across paid media.
A clear and comprehensive first-party data strategy is imperative for this privacy-first ecosystem, and we are seeing this change not only for digital media buying but also with the importance of reliable attribution, data governance and empowering remarkable omnichannel customer experiences.
Despite this, the cookieless future survey findings reveal that only 12% of respondents have implemented first-party data strategy. Meanwhile, another 29% have begun work on a 1pd strategy strategy, including developing partnerships, processes, and technologies.
Marketers still relying on third-party cookies will need a clear and comprehensive first-party data strategy to find success in the new privacy first ecosystem.