For some time now, experts have been discussing how the advertising industry will change with the switching off of third-party cookies. Here you can find out why Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) will not play a role in the future and how they differ from topics and FLEDGE. A look back again: Third party cookies are coming to an end, but what does that mean for targeting?
And to be very clear in advance: The end of third-party cookies (i.e. collecting user information through third-party cookies) is not the end of tracking. As an alternative to third-party cookies, there are other technologies that can be used for continuous and extensive collection of user data. The plan was to replace third-party cookies with privacy-friendly technologies. For this purpose, the “Google Sandbox” initiative was launched by Google in August 2020.
Why was the FLoC initiative a flop?
Google Sandbox initially proposed FLoC as an alternative for third-party cookie tracking. This should summarize cohorts of users, from which the similarities are worked out and made available. FLoC was harshly criticized by data protectionists even before the introduction, as it is still possible to specifically identify people with too small cohort sizes. Even during the test phase, Google FLoC technology was rejected by third parties, such as the Firefox browser, due to privacy concerns. This response is considered the most obvious reason why the FLoC initiative was abandoned in favor of the topics.
What is different about Google Topics?
A few weeks ago, Google Sandbox presented topics as a promising alternative. With Google Topics, it should be possible to display interest-based advertising and at the same time preserve the privacy of users, eliminating the need for a cohort allocation. “With topics, the browser identifies a handful of topics such as' fitness' or 'travel' and 'transportation', which represent users' top interests for a week based on browsing history,” says Vinay Goel in a Google blog post. The topics are redefined weekly, are intended to represent the user's top interests and can even be individually adapted by the user. After three weeks, all data is deleted. This gives users both greater control and greater transparency over their data, as all topics can be viewed.
What does this mean for the advertising industry?
With Google Topics, retargeting should be more transparent, controlled and more privacy-compliant for users. In addition, direct retargeting via third parties will no longer be possible. Future retargeting should be carried out using the user's local browsing data - this process is called FLEDGE and its functionality should be much more privacy-friendly and yet efficient: An advertiser cannot find out who the user is or what his usage behavior towards other websites on the web looks like. However, the advertiser can instruct the users' browsers via an API to include them in the interest group for their offer, which can then function as a retargeting list. This gives the advertiser the opportunity to address the interest groups in which the anonymized (but belongs to the potential target group) user with his product range in a programmatic auction over a limited period of time. This means that precise retargeting takes place based on the user's search behavior without having to receive the necessary data from third parties.
How is adlicious preparing for the end of the cookie era?
Whether in the financial sector, tourism or fashion retail, personalization remains a growth driver and brands should not miss out on it. It is now time to set yourself up for the 'cookieless' era and find suitable solutions. adlicious has proprietary dynamic ad technology, which creates data-based display advertising materials in real time to suit the defined target group. Users therefore see a personalized advertising medium in the website environment based on their interests and purchase intentions. Different rich media elements such as videos/images, animations and interactions can be automatically integrated into the advertising material and used for various marketing goals such as branding, prospecting or even retargeting. The clear advantage of this dynamic ad advertising solution is that it works 100% without cookies, but still allows precise user communication while maintaining privacy. “More and more of our customers are now using dynamic ad technology, as it offers them a resource-saving opportunity to address their heterogeneous target groups in a personalized way. Our campaigns are still based on Google data, but are still completely independent of third-party cookies. We have now carried out dynamic campaigns in various industries and can proudly say that our dynamic ad technology is making a big contribution to solving the Cookieless era.” - Viktor Eichmann, managing director, adlicious GmbH
What do these changes mean for your campaign: There is currently still a need for clarification between Google and the other parties involved regarding new guidelines. The strategic transition from FLOCs to 'topics' shows that the development of solutions that are satisfactory for all parties involved is complex and will therefore continue. There will be less of a problem with user guidance and personalized communication, but more with measurability through external systems. A future without third-party cookies may seem challenging and currently contains unanswered questions, but offers the opportunity to offer personalized measures while protecting user privacy.
