Part 1: Online marketing without cookies: Impact on advertising formats
Part 3: Customer journey and performance without cookies: Alternatives and solutions
It is essential to look at the three companies mentioned because they alone account for around 70 percent of digital advertising revenue. And all three are already preparing alternative approaches, which are presented below.
server
Facebook relies on Server to Server (S2S)
Anyone who has been involved in performance marketing over the last two years will have noticed that conversion tracking on Facebook and in the entire meta universe is getting weaker and weaker. This often results in lower profitability in the ad manager and in the ad reports. There are various attempts to counteract this. After Google has actively prepared for a time without cookies in recent years (see also Google Analytics is being shut down, compulsory conversion to Universal Analytics - GA4 ), the focus of data protection officers will probably be directed even more towards Facebook.
Many companies believe that a reference to the use of Facebook pixels in the privacy policy is sufficient for GDPR-compliant tracking. But that is not the case.
Many companies would have to make adjustments to their website in order to provide Facebook with data in a legally compliant manner, and even if they did so, many visitors to the website would refuse consent, thus making tracking impossible or illegal.
Facebook is trying to circumvent the browser's restrictions on tracking. To do this, the Meta Group relies on server-to-server tracking (also known as server-side tracking or S2S tracking). Tracking takes place directly through the web server. This means that the use of cookies is no longer necessary, but since a lot of data can only be collected thanks to the Facebook pixel, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Facebook to provide performance data.
When a user visits a specific page or clicks on an ad, a unique identifier is stored on the server with server-to-server tracking. This identifier can later be associated with user actions such as the purchase of a product in order to determine how successful an advertising campaign was.
Facebook has included S2S in its server-to-server bidding integration. An auction server calls the Facebook Audience Network endpoint and any other required sources to collect bids.
It is important to note that the data protection issues mentioned in connection with cookies also apply to S2S. Even when using this technology, it is therefore necessary to obtain the user's consent in advance, which is becoming increasingly difficult.
Login
Permanent login and large user base
One existing solution to deal with the loss of cookies is the permanent login of many users to Facebook, Amazon and Google. Millions of users use these services once or even several times a day.
There are almost two billion users of Google's email service Gmail who are permanently logged in to Google via their Chrome browser or app.
Meta (formerly Facebook) has access to almost 2.9 billion users who use one of the company's products (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram) at least once a month.
The situation is similar at Amazon : In September 2020 alone, Amazon recorded almost 2.5 billion visitors worldwide.
For existing users, the services naturally do not rely on cookies to capture their preferences and needs – they are delivered to them free of charge.
groups
Google focuses on small user groups: FLoC and Privacy Sandbox
Google's approach involves a so-called "privacy sandbox". This is a protected area for users. For example, this involves gradually restricting the use of third-party cookies in the Chrome browser.
Instead of tracking individual users individually, Google focuses on small groups of individuals who share similar interests and can therefore be targeted with advertising measures.
However, in order to continue to be able to display personalized Austria Phone Number Resource advertising, as was possible with cookies, the so-called FLoC model will be used. The abbreviation stands for "Federated Learning of Cohorts". Groups of individuals with a size of at least 1,000 will be formed. Individual identities would then no longer be visible individually, or at least that is the idea.
However, there is criticism of this model. For example, it is possible to identify individual people as soon as additional characteristics are added. In this case, the so-called K-anonymity would no longer be present. This has led to Google pushing back the timeline for the introduction of FLoC further and further.
Companies such as Microsoft, Apple and Amazon are critical of FLoC and could hinder or block the system.
ID
Amazon may be planning its own identification option
According to reports, Amazon is also in the process of developing a way to identify users that does not require cookies and can be used to display advertising. However, such identification should only be usable within Amazon's ecosystem. On the buyer side, this would be Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform), on which programmatic ads can be purchased. Publishers would have access via APS (Amazon Publisher Services).
