What is happening and why?
Due to the increased privacy requests from online consumers, Google (among others) have made the decision to remove support for third-party cookies on the Chrome browser in 2024. As a reminder, advertisers heavily rely on third-party cookies in order to deliver hyper-targeted, relevant ads to consumers. But, the advertising technology industry now needs to shift its reliance on third-party cookies to support other modes of targeting. The latest instance of this shift is Google announcing its plans to no longer support third-party cookies on Chrome in 2024. The Chrome web browser represents 64% of the market, so this change is by far the most significant to date and will completely change ad targeting as we know it today. After this change, third-party cookies will no longer be a viable method for ad targeting, which impacts tactics we use to drive direct bookings and brand awareness for you.
When is this happening?
The expectation is that third-party cookies will phase out over a 3 month period in late 2024. However, we are already working to have the necessary cookieless technology in place by Q1 2022.
Why do we need to take action now if the change isn't happening until 2024?
Sojern is evolving and a cookieless approach is the next phase for newer, better and more advanced targeting that will be vital for future proofing your direct booking strategies and remaining competitive in 2024, and beyond. A cookieless approach:
- unlocks cross-device and cross-channel targeting
- allows us to target Safari users
- enhances targeting accuracy & makes campaign spend more efficient
- fuels our AI audiences
- lets us reactivate historical booking data from your CRM
What identifier will be used instead of third-party cookies?
Hashed emails. This is because hashed emails are quickly becoming the most reliable method of cross-device identification. Emails are stable and unique IDs that stay the same across all devices, apps, and browsers. This means you can take a hashed email and use it for people-based marketing – reaching users wherever they’re logged in with that email, e.g. on social media accounts, or apps on their mobile devices. Going forward, you’ll notice more and more websites will be incentivizing users to login to their site. This will allow Sojern to collect and hash emails in real-time, and use them to retarget users and drive them back to your website.
What actions do I need to take now to prepare for the cookieless world?
To prepare, we recommend that you ensure your website and booking engine are passing hashed emails and 1st party data. Luckily, Sojern can help you with both! Rest assured, we have the systems and processes in place to make this as seamless as possible for you. Reach out to your Sojern representative to get started. In addition to this, we recommend you start testing out ways to incentivize users to provide an email address and/or log in to your website so that we can collect their hashed emails. The best way to do this is by clearly showing the value a user can gain in exchange for sharing their email address, e.g. 10% discount, free welcome drink, upgrade, exclusive offers, etc.
Where can I learn more about this cookieless world?
Webinar series:
The Future of Travel Advertising Without Cookies
Solutions for Travel Marketers in a Cookieless World
Retargeting in the Cookieless World
10 Tips to Prepare for a Cookieless World
A Conversation with Travel Marketers on the Cookieless World
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