How Performance Marketers Can Thrive in the Post-Cookie Landscape

With the dawn of a new era approaching in 2024, the digital marketing landscape is on the brink of a seismic transformation: the deprecation of cookies. These unobtrusive data bits have been the bedrock of online measurement, but their imminent departure has sent ripples of change throughout the tech and marketing spheres.

In the wake of this impending shift, Phonexa’s Amplify webinar series orchestrated an illuminating episode featuring Michael Jeter, Director for Google Cloud Enterprise.

Drawing from his extensive experience and deep-seated expertise, Jeter took center stage to dissect the nuances of a cookie-less future with Phonexa CMO Talar Malakian.

With insights that bridged the gap between technological shifts and sustainable business strategies, Jeter delved into actionable approaches for navigating the post-cookie era while unlocking richer customer experiences. The discussion not only dissected the challenges but also illustrated pathways to future-proofing measurement approaches and fortifying data infrastructures.

Let’s dive into the perspectives and strategies unveiled by Jeter, from decoding the intricacies of the impending cookie deprecation to unraveling the threads of customer experience enhancement.

Want to watch the recording? Click here.

Addressing Challenges Related to Data Cleanliness

The conversation between Jeter and Malakian kicked off with a discussion about common symptoms of poor data quality and how to resolve these challenges.

“Most clients come to us, and they say, ‘Hey, we have all this historical sales data – or we have all this historical product information…we’ve heard all the buzzwords around segmentation, personalization, becoming really hyper-focused on a particular segment of the market, increasing high LTV activation,'”  said Jeter. “But the question that [clients] usually come back with is, ‘How do I do that?'”

Jeter then shared that while most marketers know the outcome they want to drive toward, they may not know how to get from point A to point Z. He advises most CMOs and CROs to start with a journey mentality in mind.

“First, there’s a data assessment that you can run and perform. And that can either be performed by Google Cloud, or you can actually have a partner come in and do a data readiness assessment,” said Jeter. “They actually look at a couple of different dimensions. The primary one that they look at is where does your data reside…and what’s the level of effort that it will take to actually make use of that information.”

Jeter stressed that a data readiness assessment is a crucial starting point for resolving issues related to data cleanliness.

“The second element that you have to look at is how clean or accurate is the information because there’s nothing worse than making decisions based on bad information,” said Jeter. “The next lens you have to look through is do we actually have the resources in-house to execute on this vision, or do we need to bring in partners.”

Preparing for Third-Party Cookie Deprecation

Jeter then touched on the varied reactions he’s received regarding the deprecation of third-party cookies.

The main concerns marketers and businesses have expressed to Jeter are:

• What does this mean for marketing my products and services to my clients?
• How effective will my marketing dollars be?
• What will be my return on ad spend?
• What will my marketing campaigns look like 24-to-36 months from now?
• How effective will those campaigns be?

“End users have been pushing for better transparency about what data is being collected [about] them and also for more increased privacy. Overall, the sentiment is mixed,” said Jeter. “There’s a massive push in the industry around first-party data and how smart we can get around the data that we own and have inside our organization, and can we use that to supplement, augment, and provide better insights to our clients.”

Embracing a First-Party Approach to Data

Today, numerous enterprises primarily emphasize integrating first-party data into their core operations, according to Jeter.

“Imagine for a second that you aren’t running an organization that was born in the cloud. You’re running an organization that has some legacy to it,” said Jeter. “The idea of leveraging first-party data could be a tough one because getting access to the information and actually making that data useful could present challenges.”

Jeter explained that the first step is to make first-party data central to what you do, how you operate, and how you market. The next step is analyzing how that data is captured and creating a relationship with users that entices them to provide more information.

“It’s really starting with that foundation of saying first-party data is going to be how we run our organization and our marketing engagement. And then the second is what are some other data sources that we can leverage to pull in to better inform who our client really is,” said Jeter.

Adaptation is the key to survival in the fast-paced realm of digital business.

The insights shared by Jeter during the Amplify webinar make one thing clear as we navigate the ever-shifting digital terrain: the future belongs to those who embrace change with knowledge and foresight.

To learn more about upcoming Amplify webinars, connect with Malakian on LinkedIn.

Want to watch the recording? Click here.

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