With third-party cookies phasing out, the cookie jar is beginning to look more and more empty.

In fact, with the rollout of more regulations and privacy measures, a “Privacy Pain Points” study by Cassie found 7 in 10 marketing professionals say intelligent tracking prevention, i.e. via the use of cookies inhibited their ability to deliver personalized brand experiences. Marketers rely on customer data in order to create better personalized experiences, but now with limited access, trust and transparency have to be at the forefront of building relationships. Adjusting to new innovations takes time. Marketers need to pivot quickly and find other ways to cater to their customers without compromising their private information. In a post-cookie future, more organizations will prioritize consumer privacy or be left behind.

Recent updates to UK data privacy laws are creating more flexibility for businesses and reducing barriers for international data bridges to other countries. And the traction for a global movement towards data privacy continues with the EU-US Data Privacy Framework in place. More countries are demanding transparency for data sharing overseas, which means marketers have to keep in mind ethical considerations when managing consumer data. The Privacy Pain Points report revealed 51% of marketers still feel unprepared to meet the compliance requirements of new privacy regulations. With the increasing prevalence of data breaches and misuse of personal information, consumers are becoming more concerned about the privacy and security of their data. Below, are a few ways marketers can learn how to navigate a post-cookie future while building consumer trust, adhering to compliance and managing data privacy moving forward.

Where The Cookie Crumbles

Cookieless marketing will rely more on surveys, website analytics, and social media interactions to create tailored experiences and increase engagement and conversions. Without cookies, marketers will have to prioritize user engagement. Alternatives include reliance on first-party data, contextual marketing, a consent-based approach, unified IDs and identity solutions, advanced analytics and modeling and collaborative data partnerships. And in terms of protecting privacy, marketers can also create unified IDs by collecting and integrating data from various sources to standardize them. The state of marketing campaigns will have to evolve and become more associated with anonymized crowdsourced data. In many ways, this shift in tactics is forcing marketers to either revert back to traditional methods or move forward with new innovation. Many marketers will need to relearn traditional tactics like lookalike audiences. Using the selected features, marketers can apply modeling techniques to compare the selected features of existing customers to a larger audience pool and reach beyond their existing customer base.

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Managing User Experience

With cookies phasing out, organizations have to re-obtain consent in order to collect first-party data directly. Consent fatigue is a symptom of consumers feeling tired and overwhelmed with popups. Implications of Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) and Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) like Safari’s and Firefox’s ITP affect websites and impact visitor engagement.

Returning visitors to websites are now repeatedly asked to provide consent, with poor user experience leading to consent fatigue whereby users are more likely to opt out. There’s no easy way for users to opt back in once they’ve opted out, meaning brands lose that attribution opportunity.

User interface is key when navigating cookie consent fatigue because the layout of the website will make it easier for consumers to manage their data preferences. Oftentimes, when consumers get frustrated with popups or see a large amount of text before going to the website, they may click on “agree” or “disagree” without truly digesting what they are consenting to. Fostering a culture of meaningful consent requires a collaborative and coordinated effort from policymakers, marketers and end users.

By understanding these features, and using something like an ITP calculator, marketers can get more accurate data about how these features are affecting web traffic and what percentages of visitors are using enhanced privacy features.

Regulation And Building A Culture of Compliance

Maintaining consumer privacy is front and center on a global scale. According to the IAPP, more than 59 privacy legislation bills were considered this year, showcasing an ongoing push for stronger regulation and consumer privacy protection. Educating team members about regulations and best practices will help create a culture of compliance and help ensure that everyone understands their responsibilities and works together to meet compliance requirements. Regular audits for data collection, user interface mechanisms and security can also help identify areas of non-compliance. These are foundational steps to ensure marketing practices align with the applicable regulations. By building a culture of compliance and trust and focusing on data-driven marketing while maintaining transparency, marketers can stay updated on industry best practices and better mitigate compliance risks.

Building Trust

As marketers enter a new era of data privacy, establishing and building trust with consumers will be essential to maintain brand loyalty. Consumers are becoming more aware of how their data is collected, used, and stored. With new regulations, marketing analytic tools such as GA4 and privacy browsers that delete cookies like Safari’s & Firefox’s  ITP and ETP, data privacy will be more ingrained into every organization. To build trust with customers, marketers have to map out a customer’s journey and tap into the core of their needs and who they are. Organizations have to think about who their audience is and what kind of messages are being sent about how their customer’s data is being used. Within the past year, the role of marketers continues to shift based on the needs of the media and consumer landscape. With a cookieless future arriving, the modern marketer will need to be agile and flexible in their approach to targeting consumers and most importantly, lead with transparency in order to build trust.

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