Cookies were created to improve the user experience of websites by allowing them to remember certain information about a user as they navigate the site. While cookies have provided many benefits for both users and marketers, concerns have been raised about the privacy implications of cookie tracking. In recent years, web browsers and regulators have taken steps to limit their use and protect user privacy, which has led to the development of alternative methods for collecting data and delivering personalized experiences.
In the past, cookies were a valuable tool for tracking users across devices and browsers, and for attributing conversions to specific marketing campaigns. However, with the rise of privacy concerns and the increasing use of ad blockers, cookies are becoming less effective and in some cases, unavailable. As the world moves towards a cookieless future, marketers are facing new challenges in understanding and reaching their target audiences.
Challenges of Cookieless Attribution
One of the main challenges that marketers are facing in a cookieless world is attribution. Attribution refers to the process of identifying which marketing channels or touchpoints led to a conversion or a desired action by a user. Without cookies, it may be more difficult to track users across devices and browsers, and to attribute conversions to specific marketing campaigns or efforts. This makes it harder for marketers to optimize their strategies and understand which channels are most effective for reaching and converting customers.
In the absence of cookies, it becomes much harder to track a user’s behavior across multiple devices. For example, a user may browse a website on their laptop and then make a purchase on their mobile phone. Without cookies, it is difficult to attribute the purchase to the advertising campaign that led the user to the website in the first place.
Another challenge of attribution in a cookieless world is the loss of granular data insights. Cookies allow marketers to track user behavior at a very granular level, such as which pages the user visited, how long they spent on each page, and which actions they took. The loss of cookies makes it more difficult to track user behavior in such detail. This can make it harder to identify which touchpoints or marketing channels are driving conversions.
Impact of Third-Party Data Loss
Third-party data refers to data that is collected and shared by companies other than the one it is originally collected from. In recent years, there have been several high-profile breaches and privacy scandals that have led to increased scrutiny of this practice. As a result, many companies are now facing challenges related to third-party data loss.
One inherent challenges is the loss of valuable insights and intelligence. Third-party data is often used by companies to enrich and build a more complete understanding of their customers and target audience. This data can be used to personalize marketing campaigns, improve customer engagement, and drive revenue growth. The loss of third-party data can also have legal and compliance implications because many companies rely on it for compliance with regulations such as GDPR and CCPA.
Another challenge of third-party data loss is the impact on advertising and marketing campaigns. Third-party data is often used to target advertising and marketing campaigns to specific audiences. For example, a retailer may use it to target ads to users who have recently searched for a specific product or who have demonstrated an interest in a particular category of products. The loss of this data can make it more difficult for companies to effectively target their advertising and marketing campaigns, which can lead to reduced effectiveness and ROI.
Effective Alternatives for Cookieless Attribution
With the disappearance of cookies, marketers will have to rely on other methods of identifying users and their behaviors. These include using first-party data, IP addresses, device fingerprints, and probabilistic models, which can be less accurate than cookies. In order to overcome these challenges, marketers will need to adopt new strategies and technologies. One of the most promising solutions is the use of deterministic identity solutions, which rely on user-provided information, such as email addresses or phone numbers, to identify and track users.
Companies can focus on building their own first-party data by encouraging customers to opt-in to data collection and by offering personalized experiences and incentives. By collecting data directly from customers, marketers can gain a better understanding of their preferences and behaviors, and can target ads more effectively. They can also work to build more transparent and ethical data practices to ensure compliance with regulations and build trust with customers.
Opportunities in a Cookieless World
While the transition to a cookieless world may be a challenging time for marketers, it also presents an opportunity to reassess their marketing strategies and discover innovative ways to connect with customers. By embracing alternative methods and technologies, as well as building a more transparent and ethical approach to data collection, companies can continue to deliver personalized experiences and effectively target their advertising and marketing campaigns, while also prioritizing user privacy and compliance with regulations. With the right approach, marketers can successfully navigate the challenges of a cookieless world and thrive in the new era of digital marketing.
Exploring the Keen Platform
Keen’s marketing mix models are created at the investment decision level, so no personal-level interaction data from cookies is needed. The Keen Platform is different because it combines our knowledge estate, or Marketing Elasticity Engine, and your data (historical time series data, prior ROI and lift studies). The Keen Platform then runs this collective data through a Bayesian regression to generate a marketing mix model which is quality controlled by fitting against the P&L of your business. Based on this output, we deliver historical performance data just like you would get from a traditional mix provider.
From there the Keen Platform prompts you to make decisions: choose from a list of custom scenarios to plan your optimized marketing spend. Plans built from Keen Platform scenarios take into consideration your historic performance and projections on outside factors (distributions, category movement, price trends, etc.) resulting in a revenue forecast which is typically within a 4% margin of error.
Finally, it is time to learn, apply and repeat. As you execute against your plan, we update your knowledge estate and include the most recent data, which informs the priors in our model and offers insights to continue to provide you with predictive outcomes to execute against – no cookie data necessary.
Learn more about how Keen can support your cookieless marketing strategy by downloading the “How to Adapt Your Marketing Strategy in a Cookieless World” guide.
