Chewing on Cookies: Part 1

Weamp8217ve been talking about cookies with our clients for years of course but maybe at this arguably profound transition period for digital advertising we figured now might be a good time to take a step back and review the fundamentals where we are today and what got us hereThe topic will remain relevant for months if not years and viewpoints amp8211 including our own amp8211 are unfolding as new frameworks options and environments evolve and take shapeSo for this monthamp8217s blog weamp8217ll merely reflect on the basics amp8211 the role cookies have played and what has transpired so far in the transition away from cookies Much of this will be amp8220old newsamp8221 to many readers but we beg your indulgence as we set the table for a more current and forwardlooking discussion of this complex topic in subsequent blogsNext month for example for our second blog on the topic weamp8217ll explore the impact of the current and anticipated privacy regulations and updates on ad tech as an industryAnd then for our third and final blog entry on cookies weamp8217ll address what this all means for our client base amp8211 SMBs as well as small and midsize MVPDs whose orientation has been in the more traditional amp8211 and to some quaint amp8211 metrics of linear TV such as panelbased audienceratings measurementBut first how did we get to this placeThe cookie jar is stocked thanks to pixels tiny units of code on web pages These pixels leave siteretargeting amp8220cookiesamp8221 in the user39s browser When that user moves on to visit certain other websites that happen to reside within that origin websiteamp8217s retargeting network the Google Display Network not surprisingly has been a common aggregator that user can be served a targeted ad that reflects the useramp8217s browsing history If you recently searched online for nearby shoe stores you may subsequently have seen a shoe ad on your screen when visiting a website that has nothing to do with footwearCoincidentally the cookie is celebrating its 30th birthday this year In 1994 Netscape Communications remember them introduced the first Hypertext Transfer Protocol HTTP amp8220cookieamp8221 enabling websites to remember a user39s login info and sitevisit preferences Within a decade cookies had become an essential digital advertising tool ushering in an era of personalized adserving to which weamp8217ve all now become accustomed They became seemingly indispensable not only for targeting ads but in tracking and measuring the success of campaignsIn our January blog we cited 19thcentury Philadelphia retailer John Wanamaker credited with the immortal comment amp8220Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted the trouble is I don39t know which halfamp8221 In that blog we discussed the newest tools enabling targeting and personalization in linear TV advertising amp8211 meshing the best of both worlds if you will with the power and reach of TV with the efficiency of digital technologyAnd since our clients look to us to help them answer amp8220which halfamp8221 weamp8217re tasked with helping them determine their digital marketing strategies in a postcookie worldWe touched on how a cookie operates Itamp8217s worth noting just how effectively it can operate It can store a user39s login information what pages that user visits how long that user stayed on that page the useramp8217s device location language and so onThere are two commonly considered types of cookiesamp8220Firstpartyamp8221 cookies are collected by the website a user visitsamp8220Thirdpartyamp8221 cookies perform the same function as firstparty cookies though the site uses cookies provided by another company in these cases Thirdparty cookies are delivered by a server other than the useramp8217s they track a user39s behavior not only on one site but across multiple other sites And theyamp8217ve blossomed into a huge industryWhy no quotsecondparty cookiequot Well that would be one set by your own browser amp8211but an ad wouldnamp8217t get very far that wayamp8230 So thatamp8217s why you never hear or read the termOver the years the use of cookies has understandably become swept up in the broader conversation surrounding consumer privacy While various surveys over the years have indicated that at least some younger consumers were willing to make this tradeoff in lieu of paying subscription fees to access content privacy concerns in the main have largely grownAccordingly regulations have popped up around the world in recent yearsIn the UK for example itamp8217s called The Cookie Law it started as an EU Directive adopted by all EU countries in May 2011 giving individuals the right to refuse the use of cookies Each EU country then updated its own laws to complyThere is no federal cookie law in the United States though various states have taken the matter up Not surprisingly US privacy laws are led by California via the California Privacy Rights Act CPRA passed in the November 2020 ballot by 56 of state voters It amended and strengthened the California Consumer Protection Act CCPA of 2018 Other US states with privacy regulations include Colorado Ohio Virginia and Wisconsin Given the virtually borderless nature of the Web here in the US these statebystate laws de facto touch all AmericansIn general privacy regulations here and overseas consider the information collected via cookies to be protected personal informationA common theme among cookie regulations across the globe is the optinoptout framework leading to the common practice of a disclaimer regarding cookies on most sites when you first visit them and commonly provided disclosures on sites typically under the amp8220Privacy Policyamp8221 headerIf youamp8217ve recently visited a website for the first time chances are fairly good youamp8217ve been served a popup query soliciting your optin or optout for that site to track your activity thereSo while there is not yet a federal law regarding cookies American industries have always been entrusted to take the lead in selfregulation in order to stave off the heavy hand of the federal governmentGoogle for example is ending thirdparty cookies for all Chrome users in 2024 but advertisers and publishers will still need to obtain consent to process user data Apple39s antitracking update to its Safari browser already blocks thirdparty cookiesOn the one hand this step will arguably be beneficial for the protection of consumer privacy but of course it will also make it harder for advertisers to track consumersamp8217 digital activity and target adsMoving forward advertisers will need to rely more heavily on tactics such as contextual targeting to segment and target audiences and will have to leverage different forms of data amp8211 both traditional and innovativeItamp8217s admittedly a lot to unpackamp8230 and weamp8217ll embark on the unpacking process in next monthamp8217s blog on this topicI encourage readers to reach out with their questions or thoughts Feel free to email me at infoviamediatvcomPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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Chewing on Cookies: Part 1

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David Solomon

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Chewing on Cookies: Part 1

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