Google and the ‘cookie-free’ future, the adv challenge begins now

Google changes, the new core update arrives which requires adjustments by sector operators. In a picture that is always on the move, evolution and updating is also the – constant – watchword for digital adv. For the universe of 200 partners including agencies, investing companies, publishers and AD tech gathered in IAB Italia, as the president Carlo Noseda explains to Adnkronos, the spotlight is on the medium-long term objective. The ‘training’, however, must begin today. “No particular news has been announced by Google except that publishers, advertising investors, agencies, will have to be ready for the future without third-party cookies which will no longer be from 2022 but has been postponed to the end of 2023. Times change but the substance remains the same. We will have more time. And for this reason it is advisable to experiment with the different solutions already today to evaluate their performance “, he says, touching on a crucial issue for the sector.” We discussed it during a recent webinar that we organized as Iab Italia precisely to provide a framework for our associates in about the solutions at stake because there are still many operators and investors who have no idea what will happen in the near future. “What does cookieless mean?” In summary, the cookieless future concerns the blocking by browsers (the software used for browse) of third-party cookies, those portions of code that are saved in the user’s PC that are used to track their browsing and build a profile to be used in order to offer users relevant advertising and therefore customized according to their interests “, explains. So how should the players in the sector move? “There is no single solution, essentially three high rnative. The first is the use of alternative identifiers: this is the case, for example, of the identifiers of users registered in an online newspaper and how these, in an encrypted manner and respecting the rules of privacy, are also used to provide targeted advertising. The identifiers can be of different types (there are for example the universal ones created by groupings of operators), but the concept is the traditional one of a direct knowledge of the user. The second solution is that of contextual advertising, that is linked to the contents that the reader is reading at that moment. Finally, there is the possibility of targeting users not individually but as belonging to large interest groups. It is probable that these solutions will be used jointly in different contexts and mixes “, says Noseda outlining a probable scenario. It is essential to arrive prepared for the appointment, given the advertising value of cookies.” The programmatic advertising market in Italy according to the latest data from the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, presented last March, is worth 588 million euros, up by 6% compared to 2019 “, he highlights. Regardless of the technical solution that will be implemented,” nothing changes with respect to the challenges that the market has to face because the industry will simply have more time to prepare. It is therefore very important to test today. “And few, it seems, are doing it:” Only 10% of Italian advertisers have demonstrated and declared that they have already tested and started investing in advanced solutions. It is no coincidence that we called the meeting held in recent weeks Cookies: from Zero to Hero because we are aware that there is a part of the market that is zero in terms of knowledge of what is happening. For sure the lesson is that it is important to increase customer knowledge. Those with a good customer database will have an advantage and will be able to work regardless of the context of the cookies. “