After years of back-and-forth between Google and regulators, the news finally broke yesterday: Google is abandoning its plans to remove third-party cookies from Chrome.
Unsurprisingly, advertisers have had their say on the matter.
Emotions ranged from no surprise to relief. Many saw it as good news for advertisers, while others had mixed feelings.
Most importantly, they implore us to continue to emphasize proprietary data and a privacy-first strategy with our customers.
Skepticism and lack of surprise
Paid media specialist Niki Grant said she had always been skeptical that there would be a magical world in 2024 where third-party cookies would be deemed obsolete, so she wasn’t particularly surprised by the news:
- “Those of us who have had to actively seek out alternatives are all too aware of the limitations of most cookieless solutions, and I personally think that privacy concerns related to third-party cookies have generally been overblown to begin with!
- “Google has been very proactive in finding an alternative solution, but I would have been shocked if they had actually identified a viable solution in just a few years. The proof will be in the number of Chrome users. In the meantime, I appreciate Google’s candor instead of a haphazard “make do with what you have” solution to save face.”
Julie Bacchini, president and founder of Neptune Moon, is also not shocked by Google’s change of direction:
- “The Google Ads ecosystem (and all ad platforms, to be honest) is so reliant on cookie data that it’s always been hard to imagine how the platform as we know it could function without cookie data. There are still a lot of questions about what exactly is meant by giving users more control. But it’s a bit of a relief because it’s one less thing to worry about in the coming months or year!”
Discosloth co-founder Gil Gildner compared it to the fable of “the boy who cried wolf”:
- “Google always seems to announce upcoming changes, then push back the date or abandon the plans altogether. This is how they try to motivate users (who otherwise wouldn’t care) to adopt new technologies. They did it with GA4 and they’ll do it with something else next.”
Paid search expert Sarah Stemen said Google’s delay in phasing out third-party cookies was likely strategic:
- “As the dominant browser owner, Google is under scrutiny for antitrust behavior. The proposed Privacy Sandbox, while marketed as a privacy-enhancing tool, likely erects barriers for competitors. This could lead to less competition and greater market consolidation in the ad tech sector.
- “By delaying the removal of cookies, Google is buying itself time to refine the Privacy Sandbox or make its implications less transparent. Another possibility is that they simply don’t have a solution, but I think this is probably a delay.”
Relief and positive reactions
Asher Mirza, a digital and performance marketer, said this was great news for a waking performance marketer and a shock for a consumer.
- “It seems like big companies have gone too far in the new age of privacy and realized it would be a loss for everyone and decided to turn around. What a time to be in marketing, where no one gets to decide what happens tomorrow.”
Sophie Fell, director of paid media at Two Trees PPC, said this was good news for advertisers as many still did not have a good handle on their first-party data and this was proving to be a significant hurdle for them to overcome.
- “I think the question now is what’s next. It’ll be interesting to see what percentage of Android and Chrome users adopt the ‘privacy button’ and then what impact that has on audience targeting. For example, will people over 55 be less likely to change their privacy settings, and therefore will marketing to them using cookies be much easier than marketing to those under 35, who may be more likely to use it? There’s a lot of really interesting data coming out in the coming months and no doubt a few more hurdles for advertisers along the way.”
Digital marketer Brett Bodofsky wondered whether similar audiences might come back now.
- “Google Ads abandoned similar audiences due to third-party cookie limitations. Now that that plan is being abandoned, I wouldn’t be against bringing them back. I understand there were launches to accommodate their abandonment. But honestly, I liked similar audiences.”
Digital marketer Robert Brady said the removal of the ominous deadline (which kept getting pushed back) was a positive thing.
- “Google needs to manage expectations and there is simply too much uncertainty from regulators and the technology itself to set a firm date for the cookie phaseout. I expect Google to continue its efforts.”
Mixed feelings/need for adaptation
John Gbemileke Adeoti, Expedier’s head of growth marketing, said the news was both disappointing and a relief.
- “I’m relieved to be able to put my concerns aside. But I am upset that advertisers and brands don’t need to go through so much change in such a short period of time. I mean, when you consider how many brands and marketers are still struggling to make the transition from UA to GA4! To be honest, big tech companies need to do better than gamble with our time and effort.”
Veronika Höller, head of global research at Tresorit, said the privacy debate is here to stay, adding that having an alternative (like the Privacy Sandbox) does not guarantee that it will be effective.
- “The main goal should be to allow users to share their data voluntarily, for a truly personalized experience. It’s about building trust, brand awareness, and thinking outside the box. We shouldn’t expect data to be handed to us on a silver platter. Most of it is already out there, scattered across the different platforms we use. Connect the dots, and suddenly every change won’t be a disaster.”
- “And even if Google decides to shut down—which, let’s face it, is always a possibility—we’ll be ready. Ultimately, we control what people share with us. That happens best when we’re honest, highlight the benefits, combine data sources, and communicate directly with our audiences.”
- “Instead of waiting for incomplete analytics data and lamenting about it, let’s be proactive. Let’s build relationships and earn that data. It’s a much more sustainable and rewarding approach.”
Meanwhile, Optmyzr brand evangelist Navah Hopkins said advertisers have essentially “won” a game of chicken with Google, but:
- “It doesn’t change the fact that the privacy world is here via GDPR, CCPA, and other regulatory considerations. Just because we have an expansion of our ability to target website traffic, to see users (depending on the device) across multiple devices and domains, it doesn’t change the fact that many markets have adopted privacy-era rules and regulations.
- “Just because Chrome is granting this extension doesn’t mean other channels will follow suit. So while we can all laugh, smile, and celebrate that cookies are “here to stay,” people shouldn’t rest on their laurels. Here are three essential things every user should do to prepare for a privacy-first world, whether cookies are here or not:
- Build consent into everything you do.
- Make sure your stakeholders understand that reporting effectiveness will depend on the advertising channel and device.
- Think beyond Google and Chrome.
Focus on proprietary data and privacy
Digital marketing strategist Nicholas James said Google’s reversal was expected for several reasons, including the unfinished state of the Privacy Sandbox and that with this decision, it remains unclear how it will affect its use.
- “However, it remains crucial to refine your first-party data strategies, as success in this area will distinguish true leaders in an evolving digital landscape.”
Fraser Andrews, head of global research at JLR, said he saw this in a very similar way to the Consent Mode v2 update.
- “Ultimately, it will be more beneficial for advertisers to have consented data (provided they actually do something with it!). So my recommendation remains the same: access consented data and learn how to best use it to improve performance.”
Heinz Meyer, director and owner of Orris Digital, said the media was taking a slightly extreme position on this issue.
- “Google is not removing third-party cookie blocking on Chrome, but is giving users the option to accept third-party cookies. So my advice is: prepare for a world without third-party cookies like the one before.”
Wider implications for industry
Marketing strategist Reid Thomas said this was an admission by Google and the IAB in general that there is no alternative to tracking cookies.
- “Cookieless identification, partly due to the efforts of browsers not owned by the largest DSP, never really took off. In essence, Google worked with regulators and privacy advocates to try to find a solution and simply couldn’t get it done.
- “For advertisers, I would continue to treat the world as if cookies were obsolete. For about 30% of users, they already are (Safari, especially on mobile; Firefox; Opera; and some Edge users). For the rest, recent data shows that cookie-based targeting has a negative ROI (Ahmadi et al 2023) and is generally not significantly more accurate than random targeting (Neumann et al 2022).
- “It’s essentially a capitulation that there is no such thing as a ‘new cookie’ and that we need to rethink how we reach audiences, rather than celebrating the return of the ‘good old days’.”
Lisa Erschbamer, director of digital advertising at Proficio, said she wasn’t surprised that Google failed to make this strategy work profitably for them (and without losing media budgets to other ad networks).
- “But more and more people are becoming aware of data and privacy, and I hope more PPC people have started to think beyond Google Ads, seeing it as an integral part of an overall strategy. So it’s not all bad.”