As the power of technology has continued to grow, online consumers have been faced with an overwhelming invasion of privacy. The main perpetrators behind these privacy conflicts are cookies. Not the delicious dessert but digital cookies that allow data to be collected on consumers when they visit a website. Cookies were first developed by Lou Montulli in 1994 when he was trying to help websites develop a way to gather more insights on their customers. Originally cookies were only supposed to be able to count the number of users visiting a site and which parts of the site they visited. However as cookies continued to develop, they were able to gather mass amounts of data on a single user such as their geographical location, device type, past browsing history, purchase preferences and IP address. This influx of data has benefited marketers and their ability to precisely target consumers however has led to overwhelming and aggressive marketing tactics forced on consumers.
Many have felt that the ability of cookies to collect such private data is an invasion of privacy. As a result, in 2011 the EU enforced an ePrivacy Directive which forced users to accept cookies when entering a website for the first time in order for cookies to collect data. Simon Hill, a writer for DigitalTrends, explained that:
In order to comply with the new law, website owners were charged with telling visitors about the cookies they use and obtaining their consent. In practice, websites that have complied now display a pop-up when you first visit that links to an explanation of their cookie policy and allows you to accept it. (Hill)
This helped the privacy issue happening around the globe however users often had no choice but to allow cookies in order to access most websites and therefore still felt as though their privacy was being invaded. Then in 2020, Google officially announced the removal of cookies from Chrome by 2023. With the number one search engine planning to remove cookies, consumers are able to gain back some of their privacy however this leaves advertisers scrambling for an alternative solution in order to do their job effectively.
While the exact solution to this problem is uncertain, there are a multitude of promising approaches that advertisers are exploring. Firstly, consensual 1st party data is one of the most accurate and promising methods of data collection. This type of data is collected when users willingly give up their personal information such as their email address or telephone number. Not only is this information respectful of users' privacy, but it is also often accurate since the data is coming directly from the consumer themselves. Secondly, advertisers have begun to expand more into organic search environments to target customers. This approach involves relying on social media, email marketing, and SEO (search engine optimization) to reach a target audience. Lastly, advertisers can start retreating to an older method of marketing called contextual advertising. Lidia Vijga, the co-founder and head of growth at a media planning company explains this concept:
Essentially, publishers can utilize technology to understand how a user will interact with an ad based on the context in which they are seeing it. This can get incredibly specific and extend beyond the device, too — for example, ads could be created and targeted based on anticipated or real-time weather patterns. (Vijga)
Simply put, contextual marketing takes into consideration external factors and uses publicly available information to target a niche group. Together these three solutions will help advertisers begin to navigate the cookie-less world that will soon be upon us.
Sources:
Hill, S. (2015, March 29). The history of cookies and their effect on privacy. Digital Trends. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/history-of-cookies-and-effect-on-privacy/
Vijga, L. (2021, May 17). A simple solution to a cookieless world. Atheneum Collective. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://atheneumcollective.com/a-simple-solution-to-a-cookieless-world/
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