Life Without Cookies: How Digital Marketing Is Changing (Forever)

The tracking cookie is about to bite the dust. As marketers everywhere cry for help and search their souls, devoid of hope, where will you stand when the cookie crumbles? It’s a shock to the system – but not a catastrophe. Let’s leave the alarmism at the door.

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First and Third-Party Cookies

Cookies are bits of data stored in a user’s browser. They gather information on browsing habits and have been a major driver of digital marketing since their invention in 1994 by computer programmer Lou Montulli. There’s some confusion between types of tracking cookies, so let’s try and clear it up.

First-party cookies are all about creating a better user experience as we search and use websites. They’re inserted via a small script of code and used on the website you visit. They store passwords, ID, and other information that enhances the time they spend on your website. They fall under the remit of the new legislation around cookies but will remain useful in the future with some restrictions.
Third-party cookies work the same way but track a user once they’re off-site. The crucial tidbit is that they send information back to the cookie provider. While they don’t store personal identifiers, their data is useful for gaining insights that allow marketers to create particular audiences for targeted advertisements.

The Shifting Landscape

With the rise of big data, tracking cookies were a trump card for marketers everywhere. Analytics allowed precise targeting, a/b testing, ad frequency, and outcome measurement. In other words, every crumb of data needed to optimise advertising campaigns in ways marketers hadn’t dreamed of before the digital age. Under new consumer protection laws in Europe (GDPR) and the U.S, the use of user data is heavily restricted.

The browsers Firefox and Safari have already done away with third-party cookies outright. Google will soon follow suit but has pushed the phase-out until sometime between 2022 and 2023. The sun is quickly setting on the days of deep insight into user browsing habits. A lot of user data simply won’t be up for grabs in the near future.

What Happens When the Cookie Crumbles?

Browser cookies are about to lose their bite. Does that mean the future of marketing is bleak? Of course not. Above all, the cookie-less future removes a crutch that many have come to rely on, stifling innovation. Smart strategies, creativity, and staying ahead of the game are more important than ever.

Contextual advertising and automation are the new players sitting on the bench. The rise of AI and deep learning has been brewing for some time now, and marketers will quickly jump on the bandwagon. In fact, reliance up to now on tracking cookies and vast datasets draws strong parallels to A.I. It’s the next logical step in a chain of innovation.

Big data isn’t ghosting us, either. Remember, Google is a giant that is fed by ad revenue. That’s why the search engine goliath has opted to push its phasing out of cookies back as far as it can. Marketers aren’t being left high and dry.

Embrace the Future

When the cookie crumbles, digital marketing will change for good. It’s easy to wax poetic and lament about the good old days. But tracking cookies were only ever a temporary affair. Don’t mourn Icarus, and stay out in front.

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