Throughout the past 25 years, marketers have used third party cookies to monitor online consumer behavior. Many digital channels use cookies for targeting, advertising, and behavioral marketing in general. Now agencies are left with crumbs after recent announcements and shifts in technology.
Cookies are being left to the past by browser blockage, third-party ad-blocking software, and new rules like the GDPR and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Apple’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) and Firefox’s Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) have recent features that block cookies from third parties automatically. In January 2020, Google revealed that it would phase out cookies in its Chrome browser within the next two years.
With these new developments and a major announcement, digital marketing must now comprehend a world without cookies. But with technology, there’s always a way to get around. Digital marketing strategies can still reach audiences using other methods, some of them already tried-and-true.
How Marketers Target Audiences Without Cookies
Contextual Marketing
The next best option is keyword or context-based advertising. These advertisements are based on content, rather than on customer behaviors. When you browse through your favorite cooking blog, you will see ads for kitchen equipment.
You will see ads for the car wash services while you read a blog post about the best DIY methods to wash your car at home.
People-Based Targeting
People-based ads depend on a unique identifier based on the user, not on the device. Brands must first recognize their clients and connect with them through different devices.
The identification-first strategy offers marketers an upper hand to successfully target them. This type of marketing relies on first-party targeting that helps to unlock a holistic view of the consumer.
Phone Calls
Customer phone conversations can be the ultimate source of customer data. They are a holy grail for advertisers operating in industries that rely on phone calls for sales.
There are several AI tools like Invoca Signal AI to determine what your customers need and want from their calls, analyze their behaviors, and create a detailed customer profile to personalize the customer experience.
Pushing Forward in Marketing
Although it seems frightening right now, bear in mind that cookies are a 25-year-old technology and we are due to find another going forward in marketing and technology. It will be all about developing new technology, creativity and finding a delicate balance between profit and privacy.
The first step in doing this is to take advantage of the customer data data that you get when people purposefully interact with your brand.
- Written by: The MBC Group
- Posted on: March 5, 2020
