Marketers may not know what keeping third-party cookies in Chrome means for Google, but they realize it isn’t a green light to return to old habits. The industry-wide shift toward privacy-first marketing strategies continues — whether Chrome catches up or not.
“Google hitting pause on third-party cookie deprecation doesn’t stop the shift,” said Matt Spiegel, EVP at TransUnion. “Marketers can’t keep leaning on a tool that’s losing support across browsers and platforms.”
He believes marketers are higher served by up-to-date strategies, like a privacy-conscious approach unifying identity across touchpoints, than by turning to the past: “Real progress comes from that sort of unified approach — not from clinging to 1 outdated tool.”
Google has modified its course on cookies over and over, and marketers are uninterested in it.
“Over five years, several pivots, countless think pieces and one antitrust verdict later—we’re right back where we began,” said Kartal Goksel, CTO at contextual promoting company Seedtag.
Goksel wants marketers to take control and stop reacting to Google’s waffling ways.
“Let’s stop attempting to predict Big Tech’s next move and begin specializing in what we will control: showing the correct message, in the correct moment, in the correct place,” he said. “Context—yes, capital ‘C’ Context—never gave up the crown. It was, is, and at all times might be king.”
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But beyond strategic philosophy, there are tangible limitations to the cookie established order—even in the event that they proceed to be available.
The limits of cookies
“Even with cookies still around, most ads can’t be targeted or measured across the net, mobiles or emerging channels like CTV,” Mattia Fosci, CEO of selling data provider Anonymised. He believes the industry must embrace the capabilities of AI for more scalable, privacy-safe alternatives. “Open online advertising must evolve or face extinction.”
And while many speculate on Google’s motives and timing—especially within the wake of a U.S. court ruling that labeled the corporate an adtech monopoly—some are calling out the tech giant’s behavior more directly.
“Google misled the industry… in a masterclass of disingenuous subterfuge called Privacy Sandbox,” says Field Garthwaite, CEO and co-founder of video data platform IRIS.TV. “Google doesn’t care about privacy; Google only cares about what provides a margin advantageous to Google.”
Still, Andrew Frank of Gartner reminds marketers to not underestimate Google’s endurance: “The global scale and momentum of Google’s walled garden is peerless within the industry and has proven to be extremely durable against disruptive forces.” In other words, while criticism mounts and alternatives emerge, Google’s dominance isn’t disappearing overnight.
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