You’ve probably heard the news; the Digital world is about to undergo radical change with the removal of third-party cookies. Brands and marketers might feel worried about life after cookies, but given that this seismic shift is now underway, an opportunity has been presented to market to consumers more intelligently and more creatively. Let’s be honest, cookies were messy anyway. It’s time to harness best in class technology to leverage first party data effectively, build bespoke content strategies, and employ contextual targeting so B2B partnerships can flourish.
Third-party cookie free Digital Marketing tactics for true success.
Here are a few tactics that can help you break the cookie cycle and market to your audience more efficiently and effectively than ever.
1. Your leads are now diamonds.
With the foot on the accelerator to find new customers, we often forget how valuable and lucrative our own customer base could be, they really are diamonds. First-party data is the data you collect from your consumers directly. It is by far the most reliable and relevant way of identifying your audience, how they engage with your brand, how to communicate with them and their purchase or conversion journey. Once third-party cookies are no more, email addresses and other people-based identifiers will need to be used. Use your first-party data to run predictive modelling to gage your customer’s next steps, create automated campaigns to market to them, by looking at items your customers have purchased in the past and send them email communications about similar products, or a discount for their next transaction. Personalised communication with our first-party data is critical for success, and in a crowded environment, personalisation and context is key!
2. Content and contextual targeting are the new cookies.
What’s old is new again and contextual advertising has made a grand return. Contextual advertising is advertising that is relevant to the environment or screen content, and from the general public’s perspective, contextual ads are far more relevant and less ‘creepy’ than cookie-based behavioural retargeting. Think beer ads in a bar, or cereal ads on a supermarket website – it makes sense! In a third-party cookie free world, it’s important to consider the context of the environment you’re wanting to advertise in, then put yourself in the behind the eyes of the consumer and think, will my advertisement make sense?
3. B2B Partnerships
The reality is, the absence of third-party cookies means that the size of audience publishers and agencies can access has decreased. However, if the last year has taught us anything it’s that with the uncertainty that disruption brings, opportunity is also created. As brands, agencies and publishers, we have even more of an opportunity to develop strategic partnerships with other brands to expand our reach through second-party data.
Second-party data is another company’s first-party data that is shared with a partner through a mutual/contractual agreement. These B2B partnerships are useful amongst companies with businesses that overlap in some way, so that cross selling is contextual. For instance, the collaboration financial institutions have with airlines on branded cards for frequent flyer points. We anticipate the growth of B2B partnerships following the death of the cookie, and encourage all brands, publishers and marketers to think outside the box and create relationships with relevant entities to expand reach.
At DPR&Co, we are confident, prepared and excited for this industry shift. We believe this is a time for brands to re-consider budget allocations, understand their audiences more clearly and through personalised marketing, build stronger relationships with their users.
We are here to support your business through this industry change. Contact us for your FREE Digital Content Audit today.
