29 March 2023
5 min read
Why are cookies important?
Third-party cookies gather information about consumers to ensure that everyone gets to see ads that resonate with their individual preferences. But with these personalised ads also come some privacy issues. Safari and FireFox have stopped supporting third-party cookies almost a decade ago, but now the biggest browser Google Chrome also enters the cookieless era. One of the most important regulations for advertisers is that no more third-party cookie data can be sold by companies, meaning there is less data about individual users. Also, transparency about cookies is required, meaning that users need to give consent for cookies and as some people decline cookies, there is less first- and second party data available too.
The cookie challenge
Due to the regulations, the so-called walled gardens arose. Secluded platforms like Facebook and Google have a lot of customer information, yet the data connection cannot be made. This causes a major problem for marketers and advertisers, who lost about 80% of their data. Normally, marketers use this information for personal and relevant ads, while advertisers used this information to learn more about their visiting customers. Marketers who depend on cookie data for their advertising thus need to change their ways and advertisers need to think about other (re)targeting tactics.
Solutions from Cape
Contextual advertising
One important solution to create relevant ads is contextual advertising. By using information from the receiver’s surroundings, you can create ads that are personalized and stand out. With Cape, it is possible to integrate time-of-day, specific locations, or other contextual data to create super-relevant ads without using third-party cookies.
For example, a connected weather feed API can contain a list of cities with temperature or sun-hour forecasts that automatically integrate into ads. These ads can be easily published to DV360 or CM360 to create ads that update in real-time.
Essent uses this technology to show how much money their customers could save with solar panels at the exact moment they see the ad. So, if it is raining in Amsterdam, the receiver will see ‘Save €10 with solar panels’ or even no ad at all below a certain threshold. While, at the exact same moment, the sun is shining in Rotterdam, where people will see an ad that says ‘Save €20 with solar panels’. All done automatically!
Or look at Just Eat Takeaway.com, where they set up video ads based on the weather, location, day of the week and even time of day! This setup allows for super relevant ads, where breakfast options are shown in the morning, copy changes as quickly as the weather (it's raining, we got you covered for dinner!) and they only advertise from restaurants within the service area of the audience.
Retail media
Retail media, or in other words, advertising on the website of retailers, is another solution. Retail media can be described as a win-win-win-situation where the retailer gets an extra source of income, the advertiser gets to use first-party data and the customer gets to see relevant ads. With Cape, you can manage all campaign types, budgets, and creatives in one place. This includes validation checks and the ability to publish campaigns to the right audience at the platform of choice, and all the necessary campaign build-up, targeting and naming conventions.
