Are you really ready for a new era of privacy-centric marketing? | Opinion

This is an uncomfortably exciting year to be a digital marketer. We’ve been talking about changes in the industry for some time, like the deprecation of third-party cookies in Chrome. That process is already underway and is only a few months away from completion.

Over the years, people have become increasingly aware (and frankly , became concerned). But they also say they prefer personalized content and ad experiences. In fact, 66% of Canadians are likely to visit a brand or product’s website after viewing an ad tailored to them.

Now is the time to take a hard look at your advertising privacy strategy and get realistic about how much you may rely on traditional technologies like third-party cookies.

Companies that provide highly relevant ads and Privacy-focused experiences lead to differentiation. And those who don’t may lose customers. 45% of Canadians surveyed said a positive experience with privacy with their second-choice brand would lead them to switch from their first-choice brand.

what’s around the corner

The next six months will require more industry collaboration and flexibility as we all navigate an evolving situation.

New privacy regulations are being implemented around the world, and all of these laws create increasingly complex compliance efforts that advertisers and publishers of all sizes must navigate.

Additionally, Chrome is expected to begin phasing out third-party cookies in late 2024, and as of January it will be rolling out Tracking Protection, a new feature that restricts third-party cookies by default when you browse the web. Testing is starting. , which limits the ability to track users across different websites.

A major platform shift may be daunting, but it’s nothing new. We’ve been here before. Think about pivoting to mobile. Initially, many marketers ignored the changing consumer landscape and resisted change, in part because the tools they used on desktop at the time simply didn’t work on mobile. Finally, marketers embraced the direction people were headed, ushering in an era of unprecedented growth and innovation for business.

But to get where we want to be, we can’t use the same methods that got us where we are today. That begs the question. Are you? Really Are you ready for what’s next?

Here’s how you can prepare now for this year and beyond.

reset your way of thinking

Today’s digital advertising era requires a new approach. Marketers must move from “accuracy” to “prediction” to deliver results at scale.

As marketers, the fundamental marketing goals of driving awareness, intent, and sales remain the same, but the way we achieve these goals remains the same. We are building new technology to deliver ad performance without compromising privacy. Google’s approach is focused on first-party data, AI, and privacy-preserving technologies.

Our traditional expectations for how we reach and re-engage with audiences and how we measure campaign performance are already changing, and we’ll see that change soon.

What does this actually mean? Think about remarketing. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why people are concerned about their online privacy. Because they are known to be tracking people on the web. In a world without third-party cookies, it would be difficult for standalone remarketing campaigns to achieve the same scale they do today without additional technologies such as AI.

Create a lasting strategy with three key elements

Let’s review our strategy with a new way of thinking.

We’ve been talking for years about the importance of adopting durable strategies and solutions that center privacy, and now we’ve reached the point of no return. I mentioned Google’s recipe for privacy-centric marketing and recommended that advertisers and publishers adopt a similar approach based on their business goals.

• Strengthen your first-party data strategy: In an ever-evolving landscape, building and strengthening your first-party strategy is more important than ever, especially as consumers move from device to device and are becoming harder to reach. It has become. By focusing on delivering value in exchange for trusting people’s data and building long-term relationships, consumer goods giant PepsiCo was able to increase its first-party data by 50%.

• Leverage AI-powered solutions: AI-driven tools create predictions that help you optimize towards your campaign goals, requiring less data to fill in the gaps of unknowns. Kiehl’s used Canada as one of the first markets he tested P-MAX, which allows advertisers to use all of Google’s ad inventory and formats, and the results were significant. By leveraging AI-powered tools, the cosmetics company saw a 78% return on ad spend and a 49% increase in revenue for its Kiehl’s brand.

• Test and implement privacy-preserving technologies: Marketers should use tools that enable this new privacy-preserving technology, such as tagging. Conversely, ad technology providers should start testing privacy sandbox APIs and other privacy-centric technologies now to find the best results for their businesses. Our advertising team, like many others in the industry, has been testing the Privacy Sandbox’s Relevance and Measurement API, with promising results from our Interest-Based Advertising (IBA) testing last April. shared.

These results should not be interpreted as a definitive indicator of Google’s IBA performance after third-party cookies. We intentionally compared the performance of third-party cookies to a broader suite of signals. That’s because we believe the Privacy Sandbox is a signal, not a standalone solution.

The time to act is now

Marketers who think the end of third-party cookies is far in the future are already behind the times. If you don’t take action now, you’ll be at a disadvantage.

Companies that have begun to adopt this new mindset shift and privacy-preserving technologies are already beginning to see results. Frankly, privacy is good for business. What they showed us is that it’s important to test and learn now to find and adjust what works best.

No matter where you stand, the landscape has already changed. Third-party identifiers are rapidly deteriorating.

It’s time to embrace change and usher in a new era of innovation and growth together.