In a recent conversation with Teads Global VP, Data, James Colborn and Lauren Walker, Chief Client Solutions Officer at Annalect, tackled the cookieless future head-on, delving into strategies, challenges, and the need for brands to navigate the delicate balance between audience engagement and contextual relevance.
But how exactly is context helping agencies, publishers, and brands adapt to Google’s impending cookie deadline?
As Lauren explains, “By getting the context we need we can create advertising that’s almost not even seen because it’s so contextual, it’s so interesting. We found that making the experience of our content seamless is giving us value.”
Additionally, audience ownership is another way that brands can connect with consumers without relying on third-party data, Colborn explains.
“The World Cup draw is a perfect example. It peaks as a high-interest point from a readership six months before the actual World Cup. That’s a moment in time that people can potentially capitalize on, IF, they understand where those moments are.”
But while solutions like contextual advertising and audience ownership will be powerful tools for brands in a post-cookie world, it remains to be seen if the industry at large is prepared for Google’s deadline, which as James notes, is likely to happen next year.
“We are in a very sort of interesting window of time now with the announcements from Google that next year is looking to be a much firmer reality that we will finally see the end of third-party cookies,” he says.
In the meantime, brands and publishers are continuing to develop their cookie replacement strategies, with strategies including investments in measurement and first-party data.
But while this shift will pose a challenge for the industry as a whole, Lauren also sees opportunity.
“We’re realizing that having your own massive data tech investment to collect first-party data is not the only way forward here when cookies go away, it’s a balance. By making sure that you work with the right partners who have also lifted our entire ecosystem in preparation for essentially more transparency and more respect for consumers, you can move forward in a cookieless world,” she explains.
The conversation extended to the diverse strategies required for different channels and industries. Lauren shared insights into how various brands, ranging from yogurt to luxury cars, perceive and leverage different moments. The need for a mix of strategies, integrating audience targeting and contextual placement, emerged as a key approach for a successful integrated campaign.
The dynamic dialogue between Teads Global VP, Data, James Colborn, and Lauren Walker, Chief Client Solutions Officer at Annalect, has illuminated the multifaceted strategies that brands are employing to navigate the impending cookieless future. As the industry grapples with the transformative shift brought about by Google’s cookie deadline, working with trusted partners will be imperative.
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