Job and revenue losses inevitable in a post-cookie world, research reveals
Most marketers say the loss of cookies will reduce ad-targeting opportunities and some say they expect to see a drop in revenue, according to research.
When asked what the optimal number of ID solutions was, 36% of marketers said they were “open to using any number
The stats reveal that 57% of marketers say the loss of cookies will reduce ad-targeting opportunities, with over two-thirds (66%) expecting a 10-25% drop of revenue, as a result.
Likewise, almost 60% (57%) of publishers anticipate having to reduce their workforce due to revenue loss brought on by third-party cookie deprecation, according to part two of Lotame’s “Beyond the Cookie: Identity Solution Adoption & Testing Among Marketers and Publishers” report.
“A cookieless future is closer on the horizon and whether or not the industry ‘feels prepared,’ the result is inevitable. Digital advertising is changing, and identity solutions will be part of that new future,” said Luke Dickens, the managing director for Australia and New Zealand at Lotame.
“Addressability and connectivity are at greatest threat in the post-cookie world. Testing identity solutions now can not only soften the blow of a cookieless landscape but future proof a business’s ability to connect with consumers in meaningful and respectful ways.”
The report surveyed 200 Singapore-based senior decision-makers in digital media and marketing to evaluate identity solution adoption. Respondents were polled in September 2021, after Google revealed another delay to deprecating third-party cookies to 2023.
What did the study find?
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For marketers, their primary reason for adopting new identity solutions is to support audience targeting (59%). For publishers, 64% cited data privacy as their top reason.
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When asked what the optimal number of ID solutions was, 36% of marketers said they were “open to using any number.” Meanwhile, 35% of publishers said two, and 30% said three.
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Across all respondents, when asked to react to Google’s decision to delay the end of third-party cookies, 55% said they were “glad because we needed more time to prepare,” while 42% said, “I was expecting them to delay.” However, 39% also said, “I’m suspicious of the reasoning behind it.”
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In reaction to Apple’s Privacy Relay, 53% of all respondents said “I'm concerned for our ability to monetize our email channel,” while 46% said, “I'm concerned for the impact on email hash identifiers.”
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Email-based identity solutions (69%) were the most popular choice when asked what types of ID solutions marketers and publishers were planning to test in the next six months to one year.
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Contextual (44%) was in second place, followed by cohorts (33%) and probabilistic (27%).