There has been so much coverage over this past year surrounding the death of 3rd party cookies, and although the “end date” keeps getting pushed further and further out (we are now looking at some time in 2023), the topic keeps cropping up.  Even with all of the coverage, it’s still hard to follow exactly what the issue is or what effect this change will have on advertising.  With that in mind, we took some of the top questions from our clients and our team, and (hopefully) answered them in a way that is a little less technical and a little more accessible.  See below!: 

• What even are cookies?
  • Cookies are tags, or pieces of code, that are placed on someone’s device (cell, laptop, etc) when they visit a website, for the purpose of gathering data.  Think of cookies kind of like a VIP wristband at a concert—the bouncer checks it any time you move in and out of the VIP areas, backstage, etc, but he can’t use it to track all of your movements within any of those areas.  When you visit a website, a cookie is placed on your browser, and this code is then utilized by advertising networks and analytics platforms to see what you go in and out of. If a cookie is present, these networks and platforms can then serve relevant ads and track your behavior accurately.
• What are 3rd party cookies?
  • There are 3 parties to the conversation:
    • 1^st Party:  Your brand & your brand’s website
    • 2^nd Party:  The audience member/consumer
    • 3^rd Party:  Your browser (Google Chrome, etc), which currently is relied upon to place cookies to gather data
• How do 3rd party cookies affect my campaigns?
  • 3rd party cookies can also be used to help monitor a consumer’s path after they engage with an ad. With this path, an advertiser is able to attribute future actions (purchases, etc) to the original ad the consumer clicked. 
    • Example:  You see a display banner for a flip flop sale at Target and click through, but after browsing some of their inventory you decide to come back later when you can devote more time to your search for the perfect flops.  You X out of the Target website, but go back to the site a few days later and end up making a purchase.  3rd party cookies on the Target site can trace your path back to the original banner ad you clicked on, even though you didn’t buy something at that time. 
  • 3rd party cookies also help create a picture of who that person is; this behavioral information is then used to match against the targets when setting up a digital campaign.
    • Example:  Cookies have shown that you are a frequent visitor of vacation sites, tropical destination hotel sites, and shoe store sites.  These behaviors can be used to help determine that you would be some of the lower hanging fruit for advertising sales on flip flops.
• How are 1st party cookies different?
  • 1st party cookies are data a site collects from a consumer directly.  Both Google and Facebook have a wealth of 1st party data, used to target ads on their own platforms. Because of this, while the life of the 3rd party cookie is coming to an end, this does not mean the end of tracking.
  • Google has also created their own method of targeting called Privacy Sandbox.  Consumer data is still collected, but rather than allow ads to target specific individuals, the individuals are lumped together into like groups and ads will be served to the group.   
• Can I still do retargeting?  Has it changed in any way?
  • Cookies are currently used in retargeting as a method of determining which consumer devices will be served ads.  A consumer visits your website, where a cookie is placed on their device.  After that, your retargeting campaign is set up to only deliver ads to the people who have those cookies attached to them.
  • When 3rd party cookies disappear, the specifics of retargeting will also change.  Instead of relying on a browser (Google) to place the cookie, website owners will now be the ones placing the cookies on site.  The end result will not change, just the process leading up to it.
• Can we still track foot traffic attributed to getting served ads?
  • Foot traffic tracking currently relies on the opt-in location data from mobile devices; with the new iOS Update (see next item) this decision to opt-in (or opt-out) is now in the consumers’ hands, rather than set as an opted-in default.  Because of this, fewer Apple devices are opted in, which means that the ability to track them from the moment they are served an ad to the moment they walk through your doors is limited only to those Apple devices who have opted in to location tracking.  NOTE:  This does not currently affect non-Apple devices, so complete foot traffic tracking for Samsung, etc, is still possible. 
  • Work arounds and long term solutions are currently being worked on by digital vendors, and we expect to have some answers soon.
• What role does Apple/iPhone play in this whole thing?
  • The iOS Update that has been getting so much attention is similar to the 3rd party cookies issue, but is not the same thing.  With the new App Tracking Transparency feature, iPhone users will see a new pop-up asking them if they want to be tracked by allowing the app they’re in to access their unique device ID for advertising purposes.  (Up until now, this type of tracking happened automatically, and users weren’t given the opportunity beforehand to opt out.)  This change throws a wrench in Facebook’s ability to target, especially, as in-app Device ID tracking is one of the biggest ways they gather their targeting information.
  • Does it affect other phones, like Galaxy etc?  No….not yet.