We’ve been talking about Google getting rid of their use of third-party cookies for a while now (post-apocalyptic cookieless world eBook, anyone?), and to be honest, we’ve been excited about the change! Because at Terminus, we’ve been preparing for the cookieless future with the introduction of our Priority Ad Groups and B2B Unified ID, which allow for increased use of IP and first party data for more accurate and compliant ad targeting. Last week Google announced they are pushing their timeline for getting rid of third-party cookies, because–well, not to totally toot our own horn, but…it seems like not all ad regulators and publishers were as prepared as we were to make the switch. Here’s Google’s reasoning for pushing the cookieless deadline to end-of-2023:
“We believe the web community needs to come together to develop a set of open standards to fundamentally enhance privacy on the web, giving people more transparency and greater control over how their data is used. In order to do this, we need to move at a responsible pace. This will allow sufficient time for public discussion on the right solutions, continued engagement with regulators, and for publishers and the advertising industry to migrate their services. This is important to avoid jeopardizing the business models of many web publishers which support freely available content. And by providing privacy-preserving technology, we as an industry can help ensure that cookies are not replaced with alternative forms of individual tracking, and discourage the rise of covert approaches like fingerprinting.” – Quote from Google
We get it. Totally reasonable and responsible. So, since cookies have been top-of-mind for us (and our customers) lately, you may be asking: what’s Terminus’ plan now that the cookie-pocalypse is delayed? Great question! We’ve got all the questions and answers below:
Is this a good thing?
Yes! It’s a very good thing for Terminus and our customers. Customers will continue to be able to run cookie-based targeting and retargeting campaigns with no impact to their ability to spend. Our best-in-class cookie advertising capabilities will remain for the next two years until Google discontinues cookies in 2023.
Will Terminus customers still have access to cookie-based targeting and retargeting?
Yup! Cookie-based Targeting and Retargeting will continue to work as it does today, and Visitor ID will continue to leverage our cookie graph for identifying site visitors as it does today. Basically, we were ready to take on the cookieless future with a focus on IP data–but we won’t deny that IP + Cookie data is even better.
What does this mean for Priority Ad Groups and B2B Unified ID?
It means…we go on as planned! Google’s announcement doesn’t mean that cookies are never going away, which means we still plan to roll out Priority Ad Groups and B2B Unified ID in order to get our customers ready for the cookieless future. Now, Terminus customers get the best of both worlds. They’ll continue to use cookie-based targeting and retargeting, while also utilizing IP data for best-in-class location and contextual targeting. Basically, you’ve got two targeting superpowers at your fingertips with Terminus.
Will this affect my ad performance?
Yes…in a good way. When we roll out Priority Ad Groups as planned, match rates will be greatly improved with IP + Cookies allowing us to target more accounts. This also means better match rates in non-GDPR countries. Media spend will increase as our ability to meet willingness to spend as we fall back from IP to cookie will give us a better performance. As a bonus: Priority Ad Groups will be a huge win for Global Targeting, because it allows us to support cookies internationally (outside of areas affected by GDPR/LGPD).
All in all, we’re on board with Google’s decision and are excited to take advantage of the opportunity it presents for our customers in the next couple of years. With the ability to reach someone via a Cookie, IP Address, or Unified ID, Terminus is truly creating the market leading ABM solution with the most reach and accuracy.
Got more cookie questions? No problem! Join us for a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) on July 13 with resident cookie expert Dan Hellerman.
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