On 22nd July 2024, CNBC reported that this decision essentially boils down to Google’s feeling that the marketing industry was not ready for this change.

Hold up, but before that..what are third-party cookies?

What Are These Third-Party Cookies That Aren’t In Bakeries?

Believe it or not, these third-party cookies are tracking you everywhere!

Third-party cookies are little pieces of data that get stored on your device by websites other than the one you’re currently visiting. They’re often used by advertisers, social media platforms, and analytics companies to track what you’re doing online and to build a profile of your browsing habits. Here’s how they work:

How They Work

Setting the Cookie: When you visit a website, it might include content from other companies, like ads or social media buttons. These companies can set their own cookies on your browser.

Tracking You Across Sites: As you hop from site to site, these third-party cookies can track your activity across different websites. This helps the companies figure out what you’re interested in.

Building User Profiles: By collecting this data, they can create detailed profiles of you, which they use to show you ads that are more likely to catch your eye.

When it comes to advertising, third-party cookies enable advertisers to track users across different sites, allowing them to build detailed profiles of user interests and behaviour. This is crucial for creating targeted advertising campaigns that can reach specific audiences more effectively.

By collecting data on user preferences and browsing history, third-party cookies allow advertisers to personalise ads, making them more relevant to individual users. This can lead to higher engagement rates and improved ad performance.

Did Google really respect your privacy?

Why Did Google Initially Want to Abandon Third-Party Cookies?

Google initially planned to phase out third-party cookies due to significant privacy concerns. These cookies have been criticised for enabling invasive tracking of users, leading to a push for stronger privacy protections and increased regulatory scrutiny.

As an alternative, they came up with a more privacy-focused alternative to cookies. The company launched its “Privacy Sandbox” initiative in 2019 to develop a solution that would protect user privacy while ensuring content remained freely available on the open web.

In 2020, Google announced its intention to stop supporting third-party cookies once a solution that worked for users, publishers, and advertisers was found, initially targeting early 2022 for the launch of this new alternative.

One of the proposals was called “Federated Learning of Cohorts” (FLoC), which involved grouping people based on similar browsing behaviours, so only “cohort IDs,” not individual user IDs, would be targeted.

Google had previously expressed strong confidence in the progress of its proposals. However, the company has repeatedly delayed phasing out cookies, citing feedback from the advertising industry regarding the changes’ impact, which could potentially lead to less effective ad campaigns.

Why did Google Change its Mind?

Hey, don’t we all need a deadline extension?

On top of the yet-to-be-developed Privacy Sandbox, there was also considerable opposition from digital advertising companies and regulators who were concerned about the impact of removing third-party cookies on their business models and user tracking capabilities.

Finding an effective replacement for third-party cookies that balances user privacy with the needs of advertisers has proven difficult. Google acknowledged the challenges in developing and implementing alternative technologies that can provide similar functionality.

Digital Marketers, Should You Worry?

You can heave a sigh of relief if you’re in the marketing industry! The decision to retain third-party cookies allows more time to adapt to future changes and explore alternative strategies for user tracking and advertising.

Well, there you have it, cookies or not, you can always expect Demojo to bring you the freshest from the oven when it comes to marketing news. Stay tuned for more marketing news!

The post What Should Marketers Know About Google Backtracking On Third-Party Cookies “Kill” appeared first on Demojo l Define Experience.

Tumblr launches Communities feature

Tumblr is launching a “Communities” feature which will offer a dedicated space for users to connect with others on different topics, outside of Tumblr’s main dashboard. These will be “semi-private” areas on the platform with moderators and privacy settings. The feature is still in development but users can now request to create a new community and be added to a waitlist. There are currently over 5,800 communities on the waitlist.

Instagram introduces new features for Notes

With more and more Gen Z users making the most of Instagram’s Notes feature, the platform is adding new capabilities to Notes. First up, “Notes Prompts,” will allow users to start conversations based on templated questions. For example, users can ask questions like “What music are you listening to right now?” on Notes and friends can directly respond to it. Instagram is also adding a “Like” option and users will be able to add @ mentions to Notes.

YouTube launches its free games catalogue to all users

YouTube is rolling out its free games to all users on both the platform’s app and home page. The “Playables” feature was made available for Premium subscribers last November. There are currently over 75 minigames in YouTube’s catalogue including Angry Birds Showdown, Trivia Crack and Words of Wonders. Users that play the games will be able to save game progress and track their best scores.

That’s enough social news for now, so let’s move on to other marketing news.

Darlie MY highlights the power of a smile with new campaign

Oral care brand Darlie Malaysia has partnered with creative agency FCB SHOUT to highlight the power of a smile with a new brand campaign. The campaign comes with the brand’s new tagline “Closer with a smile”, which was developed in line with the oral care brand’s new regional strategy. The tagline, which was conceived by FCB SHOUT for Darlie in all its Southeast Asian markets, reinforced the brand’s purpose of “inspiring the confidence to connect”.

In Other News

Google has invested US$2 billion in Malaysia to accelerate digital transformation in the country. This includes the development of its first Google data centre and Google Cloud region to meet the growing demand for cloud services locally and around the world.

Malaysian consumers are leading the charge in embracing alternative payment methods and cutting-edge technologies, according to a report by global financial technology platform for business Adyen.  The report is based on a survey of over 38,000 shoppers and 13,000 merchants across 26 markets.

The post Demojo’s Tabloid Tuesday – Issue #29 appeared first on Demojo l Define Experience.

YouTube requires creators to label ‘realistic’ AI-generated content

AI-generated content is increasingly common on social, and YouTube is the latest platform to announce changes to the ways it’s labelled. The video platform now requires creators to disclose when ‘realistic’ content – ie something viewers could mistake for a real person, place or event –  is made with altered or synthetic media, which includes generative AI.

TikTok announces changes to enable smoother shopping experiences

TikTok has announced several updates to its advertising and shopping offerings. Speaking at commerce event ShopTalk, a spokesperson for the app said it was working towards the goal of “creating the most seamless shopping experience possible for users to discover and purchase products.”

Snapchat launches AR filters

Snapchat will allow advertisers to create branded augmented reality filters on the platform. The new Sponsored AR Filters enable brands to create AR overlays that can be added to Snaps after a photo or video is captured before it’s shared.

That’s enough social news for now, so let’s move on to other marketing news.

Lamborghini revamps corporate look after two decades

Luxury sports car brand Automobili Lamborghini has revamped its logo and visual identity after over twenty years. The new logo will feature a broader Lamborghini typeface than its predecessor. The colours black and white are reconfirmed as the primary hues, while yellow, along with the introduction of the gold colour, is used as the accent colour.

In Other News

The sophistication, scale and frequency of cybersecurity threats are currently outstripping protective measures taken by companies with only 3% of organisations being categorised in the highest or mature category for cybersecurity readiness. In fact, 71% of organisations fall in the bottom two categories formative (60%) and beginner (11%).

Malaysia’s first digital bank, GXBank, is inspiring Malaysians not to sit on their dreams and turn them into reality in a new “Pocketful of dreams” campaign.

The post Demojo’s Tabloid Tuesday – Issue #24 appeared first on Demojo l Define Experience.

Instagram Tests New Option To Comment On Specific Frames Within A Carousel Update

Imagine this: you’re looking through pictures of your favourite influencer’s holiday dump. You’re swiping left, and you stumble upon a picture that has you experiencing love at first sight. You want to comment on this specific picture but you can’t. Well, guess what?

Instagram has been testing this new feature that allows you to comment on specific frames within the carousel update. By commenting “@[number]”, you can leave a comment for a specific picture. The comment is then displayed along with a thumbnail of the specific post that you tagged.

This new feature can help marketers to drive more focused engagement and encourages interaction while also helping users to clear up confusion when commenting on carousel posts.

Photo by Mario Joos on X

YouTube Tests New Audience Filters For Its Video Retention Stats

YouTube is testing new audience filters that will soon be able to let creators dig into how different segments of their audience are engaging with their content.

There are three options that creators can choose from: Subscribers and non-subscribers, New and returning viewers, Organic and paid traffic. These options will provide creators with a better understanding of their audience behaviours, and provides more ways to analyse and assess their performance on YouTube.

Photo by Google Marketing Platform

Google Updates Analytics Data Tracking To Ensure Consistency With Ads

Google Analytics will be going through a change as Google facilitates more uniform data tracking across Google Ads and Analytics, with “Key Events” being implemented to replace conversions for behavioural analytics.

This change will ensure that marketers are seeing the same data labels and insights in both Google Analytics and Google Ads. In addition, if your Ads account is linked to Analytics, you will be able to see consistent conversion data in the Advertising Workplace, helping marketers to streamline measurement and optimisation. 

TikTok Publishes Guide On Lead Generation Best Practices

TikTok has partnered up with HubSpot on a new guide to effective lead generation in the app, which includes an overview of TikTok’s main lead generation options and how it works, and an overview of the ideal workflow for lead generation using TikTok’s solutions. Furthermore, there are also Lead Ads and Lead Gen Form best practices, plus creative tips and how to use CapCut to edit videos.

Phew, that’s enough social news for now, so let’s move on to other marketing news.

Embracing Neurodiversity In Marketing

There are new things scientists are discovering every day about the human brain, and it is a never ending fascination. As marketers, it is important for us to include the minority in our marketing strategies, to acknowledge neurodiversity and create a connection with it. By doing so, we help to elevate the experience for our consumers as well as create a safe space for them to be in.

In Other News

Did you ever have dreams of becoming the Pokémon master, the very best of ‘em all? Well, guess what? Oreo just released these special edition OREO Pokémon! Do you have what it takes to become the Pokémon master?

AI is so advanced now that it can create a short film with the right prompts given. You can watch Julie’s Raya Ad here to see how it turned out! What may seem to be a mistake, may be an intentional input. Be on the lookout for it!

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