{"id":482,"date":"2024-05-08T16:03:50","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T14:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.usercentrics.com\/?post_type=knowledge&p=33643"},"modified":"2025-06-23T15:20:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T13:20:58","slug":"is-privacy-led-marketing-the-solution-to-the-cookieless-future","status":"publish","type":"knowledge","link":"https:\/\/usercentrics.com\/us\/knowledge-hub\/is-privacy-led-marketing-the-solution-to-the-cookieless-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Privacy-Led Marketing the solution to the cookieless future?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By now, pretty much everyone knows about the ever-expanding number of data privacy laws around the world, and the need for consent to process personal data from users online. Added to that are a growing number of requirements levied on businesses from influential tech platforms. As enforcement expands, the risk of revenue loss can bring a far more immediate and pressing impact on digital marketing strategy and operations.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, there is a way forward and marketers are already embracing it. The evolution away from third-party cookies and the data they collect has been in process for some time. These changes continue to ramp up as companies have increasing motivation to adapt their digital marketing and privacy compliance practices to protect revenue operations.<\/p>\n

We look at the practicalities that come with the end of third-party cookies, why new data sources bring greater opportunities for marketers, and what Privacy-Led Marketing promises for growth in the era of greater customer control and choice.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

How are privacy regulations influencing the changes in marketing?<\/h2>\n\n\n

A number of legacy marketing operations now need to be conducted in new ways to meet privacy compliance requirements. Some older technologies are being phased out, and new ones are being developed and evolving. Marketing is increasingly being seen as and conducted as an ecosystem, where all tools and activities are connected and influenced, if not outright controlled, by data privacy. New tools are increasingly becoming necessary to better manage this ecosystem, to enable more successful campaigns, analysis, and optimization that are compliant with regulatory and business requirements.<\/p>\n

Consumers online are also increasingly aware of their rights as granted by these regulations, and how they pertain to companies\u2019 access to and use of their personal data. Companies can\u2019t just take what they want. Some types and tactics in digital marketing could have negative effects on brand reputation these days.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cWe need to understand how data is flowing, what data we actually need, and to really challenge that \u2014 not to collect everything but to get first-party data and build strategies around that.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

– Sandra Wojciechowska\u2060, Data Protection Officer & Head of Consent Management, \u2060e-dialog\u2060 (Consented podcast, Episode 3: Is Privacy-Led Marketing the solution to the cookieless future?)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It has been common in the past to collect a lot of third-party data from people online, much of it without their awareness, and certainly without their consent. Regulations now prevent that in many cases around the world. More and more, companies must notify users about what personal data they collect, how, for what purposes, and who may have access to it, among other things. No more harvesting vast amounts of data from anywhere companies can get it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many privacy regulations now also require companies to get user consent before collecting or processing their data, or at least meet requirements for a different legal basis before doing so. Even in areas like the United States where prior consent is not required in many cases, people must have the option to opt out of companies\u2019 processing of their data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this affects how companies can interact with customers and users, how they get information about them, how they run campaigns and analyze performance, and more. The good news is that Privacy-Led marketing enables companies to do all of these things in more sophisticated and lucrative ways than before.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Read about marketing data privacy<\/a> now<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n

What are the issues with third-party cookies?<\/h2>\n\n\n

Third-party cookies are typically set by domains (companies) other than the one operating a website. They\u2019re set by elements integrated into the website, rather than built as part of the website itself, and they track people across the internet, not just while they\u2019re on a particular website.<\/p>\n

Sometimes information about how they function, what data they collect, and who receives that data is known or easily accessible to website operators, and therefore easily communicated. Those third-party services can also be more easily controlled, enabling compliance with data privacy requirements.<\/p>\n

Plenty of these services, however, are nested several layers deep, and run by vendors, for other vendors, for yet other vendors. This obfuscates their presence and functions from the website operator, not to mention the website users. This can be a problem for controlling all data-collecting services and for transparently providing comprehensive information to users, as well as for getting valid consent for data use.<\/p>\n

Why are third-party cookies being phased out?<\/h3>\n

The strategy with third-party data collected via these services has largely been \u201cget as much as you can and sort it out later\u201d. Third-party cookies certainly did provide marketers with a lot of data. There are obvious issues with transparency and consent, and thus for data privacy compliance. Additionally, much of the data has been of poor quality, and needs to be combined with vast amounts of other data to enable meaningful analysis and application.<\/p>\n

This data use also does little to build trust with customers and develop long-term engagement and relationships. Customers feel a lack of control over what should belong to them. Increasingly, ensuring people feel in control over their data and building trust with your company is critical for effective marketing. Laws are only getting more strict, activists continue to push for change, and consumers are becoming more savvy about their data and rights. In a nutshell: it just doesn\u2019t work well anymore.<\/p>\n

Third-party cookie use is an old, imperfect, and blunt instrument for marketing purposes. Fortunately, technologies have evolved along with privacy regulations. Marketers have more precise and sophisticated tools now to know what data collecting services are in use, provide transparency to users, obtain data with consent, and use both the consent and the data in smarter, more integrated ways throughout the marketing ecosystem.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note, however, that as Usercentrics CMO Adelina Peltea noted in our recent episode of the Consented podcast<\/a>, \u201cCookieless does not mean all cookies are disappearing.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Google is phasing out third-party cookies in Chrome \u2013 why it\u2019s important<\/h3>\n

Google announced that they would be phasing out the use of third-party cookies several years ago. Their plans for how to do so and the exact timeline for the changes have evolved several times. However, Google began disabling third-party cookies<\/a> in early January 2024 in the Chrome browser.<\/p>\n

Google is actually late to the party, as Mozilla’s Firefox, Brave Software’s Brave, and Apple’s Safari browsers have blocked third-party cookie use for some time.<\/p>\n

Why are changes to cookie use in Chrome influential?<\/h3>\n

This initiative initially affected about one percent of Chrome\u2019s global users, with the rollout to expand over the course of the year until third-party cookies are fully deprecated in Chrome. While this is only one web browser, Chrome does have the majority market share, so this will affect nearly 3.5 billion web users (over 42 percent of the global population).<\/p>\n

\"Chrome<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

What are marketers using to replace third-party cookies?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Marketers need to shift away from third-party cookie data sources to more owned channels, which can be better controlled. There\u2019s the added benefit that they tend to result in higher quality data and better conversion rates, though marketers do need to determine new ways of handling measurement and attribution. These changes also streamline being transparent with users, obtaining valid consent for privacy compliance, and providing better user experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zero-party and first-party data are replacing third-party sources, and driving development of new tools and tactics to collect and activate these rich data sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zero-party and first-party data \u2013 what they are and why they\u2019re they are better for marketing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Zero- and first-party data are generally collected by a company about its own users and\/or customers via various means. They are more targeted, more likely to be obtained with consent, and easier to provide information about as required by privacy laws.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Read about first party data marketing<\/a> now<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Zero-party data \u2013 marketing gold standard<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Zero-party data is so categorized because it comes directly to the company from the customer. There are no intermediary vendors or systems collecting, packaging, or processing it first. It\u2019s also referred to as opt-in or self-reported data due to its consensual nature and customer origins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zero-party data is shared by customers, visitors, and users intentionally and voluntarily. This is typically prompted by the company, but with the goal to enable the customer to decide what data they consent to share, and shape their experience with the organization and its products and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is zero-party data collected and deployed?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This data can be collected via many mechanisms, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n