Beginner's Guide for Adapting in a Cookieless World

Using AI to personalize customer experience and earn trust

What will happen when the third-party cookies crumble?

In 2024, Google will eliminate the use of third-party cookies in its Chrome browser. Third-party cookies are created and placed by third parties, such as Google, Facebook, and Apple, to collect behavioral and location information.

Cookies store information from your computer that contain personal identifiers, including registration numbers or session IDs. Data from third-party cookies is exchanged between advertisers as consumers browse the internet. Eliminating third-party cookies will greatly impact websites that use the cookies to identify consumers and target them with relevant advertising or marketing.

Marketers rely heavily on cookies to provide personalization for campaigns. Without cookies, it will take longer to segment audiences and get good measurable ROI on ad spend.

Alarmingly, only 37 percent of marketers believe they’re prepared for a cookieless future, according to Adobe.[1]

But this is not a doom and gloom scenario. Savvy businesses and brands are turning to other marketing strategies to connect with their audiences, nurture relationships, and drive sales.

The sunsetting of third-party cookies is based on consumers demanding more privacy and control over how their data is used because they don’t trust third-party cookies.

In a recent KPMG study, 86 percent of survey respondents had growing concerns about their data privacy. Another 78 percent expressed concerns about the amount of data collected.[2]

The Future is First-Party Data

As we near the end of third-party cookies, businesses and marketers need to optimize first-party cookies and data.

A first-party cookie is a code that’s automatically created and stored on your visitors’ computer when they visit your website. This cookie contains passwords, language settings, user preferences, and other information that will personalize the user experience.

With first-party cookies, you can learn what a visitor did on your website, how many times they’ve returned, and other information that help you build a relevant marketing strategy personalized for the visitor. The difference will be that you can't see information about your visitors' activities on other websites. For this reason, first-party cookies provide transparency and trust.

First-party data must be collected directly from the source. Unlike second-party data or third-party data, which are purchased from data providers—first-party data is the most reliable, private, and ethical form of gathering the user's personal information. First-party data establishes more resilient marketing programs because you’re not relying on outside parties for information about your audiences.

You’ll recognize the leading brands that are leveraging first-party cookies and data successfully.

For example, Spotify uses artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver personalized messages: “Thank you for being a top listener.”

Both Netflix and Amazon boost sales by offering recommendations based on past activities and purchases. Netflix encourages subscribers, “Because you watched ‘Ozark,’ you may be interested in ‘House of Cards.’” On Amazon.com, shoppers are inspired to buy more, “Others who bought this product, also bought ___.”

You can provide value to your customers by using first-party data to create personalized customer experiences, deepen trust, and make marketing campaigns more effective.

Leveraging AI and First-Party Data

At Causeway Solutions, we are already supporting our clients with first-party data strategies. Using AI and machine learning, we help them personalize experiences along the customer journey. Our clients are building trust while enhancing data security. We equip them with data to conceive appealing, attuned advertising opportunities.

Through our machine learning algorithms, we deliver highly targeted insights to measure public sentiment and deliver actionable data. For example, we can help you identify “cohorts,” which are finely segmented groups of people, to offer relevant and targeted advertising even before they visit your website.

Our experienced team works with our clients to understand their needs and to produce customized analytics that provide solutions suited to their real-world requirements.

Guide for Adapting in a Cookieless World

Partner with a data management and audience analytics consultant who can optimize first-party data, AI and machine learning to provide both insights and execution support.

For example, we provide models that are not just predictive, they are prescriptive. Along with deep data insights, we deliver actionable intelligence. We work with you to turn the data we produce into actions that can be taken—with results that can be measured. Here’s how:

1. For each modeling project, we begin by reviewing the clients’ current data. Then, working with all stakeholders, we identify the important issues and develop a survey to enhance existing data and uncover new information.
2. Causeway Solutions will deploy the surveys, monitor responses to ensure all quotas are being met, and provide an initial report.
3. We combine the survey responses with client data, along with our robust inventory of consumer and voter data. We integrate the combined data sets with our proprietary machine learning algorithms to create, test, and validate the predictive models. Each survey is able to yield multiple models, and each model is applied to every consumer in the targeted geography.
4. The modeling allows us to look at the movement of specific individuals and groups of individuals in a granular fashion, enabling the creation of strategic universes and the development of ongoing marketing to engage your targeted consumers.
5. We consult with you to establish a path for achieving your goals based on the strategic universes.

Our prescriptive modeling suggests a course of action that enables a campaign to reach its goals. It provides insights about individual people and the issues that matter to them.

Predictive modeling allows us to tailor the specific message to the specific individual so it is applicable to them.

If you have the right data and the right team, Google’s changes will have less impact on you.

To learn more about the ways Causeway Solutions leverages AI, machine learning and ResTech to support marketers with first-party data strategies, contact us at [email protected].

Sources

1. “Adobe experience makers: Talking cookieless,” Adobe
2. “Corporate data responsibility: Bridging the consumer trust gap,” KPMG

To learn more, visit Causeway Solutions to get started!