Third-Party Cookie Delay: A Reprieve, Not a Respite for Marketers

Google has pushed back the end of third-party cookies (3PC) in Chrome yet again, with a new target of early 2025. This news offers a sigh of relief for some, but it's crucial to remember this is a delay and not a cancellation. Let's unpack what this means for the industry.

A Shifting Timeline

Remember when 2020 was supposed to be the year of the 3PC apocalypse? The industry spoke, and Google listened. Here's the revised timeline:

• January 2020: Google initially announced plans to phase out 3PC within two years.
• February 2022: The first delay hit, with the sunset pushed to late 2023.
• January 2024: The timeline shifted again, targeting a mid-2024 deprecation.
• April 2024: Google’s most recent update places the official end date in early 2025.

Why the Delay?

Two key factors contributed to Google's decision:

• Industry Concerns: Marketers and developers expressed a need for more time to adapt and explore alternatives. Google's Privacy Sandbox initiative, designed to replace 3PC tracking, needed further refinement.
• Regulatory Scrutiny: Antitrust investigations, particularly from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), prompted Google to address competition concerns before completely phasing out 3PC.

What This Means for the Privacy Sandbox Initiatives

While the phase-out of third-party cookies (3PC) has been pushed back to early 2025, most initiatives within the Privacy Sandbox, including the Topics API, Protected Audience API and Attribution Reporting API, are still on track for a Q3 2024 rollout.

• Testing Time Extended: The delay offers valuable extra time for developers and testers to refine Privacy Sandbox solutions within Chrome. This translates to potentially smoother functionality and a more seamless transition for advertisers when 3PC finally sunsets. Solutions in development include:
  • Enhanced Cohort Targeting: Refining how advertisers target audience segments based on similar interests or browsing behaviors without relying on individual user identifiers.
  • Improved Contextual Targeting: Testing methods for analyzing the context of webpages and content to deliver relevant ads without user tracking.
  • Privacy-Preserving Attribution: Developing solutions that accurately measure campaign effectiveness while upholding user privacy standards.
• Integration Focus: Expect continued development on integrating these Sandbox solutions with Google Marketing Platform (GMP) products like Display & Video 360 (DV360) and Campaign Manager 360 (CM360). This will ensure a streamlined workflow for managing campaigns after 3PC deprecation.
• Addressing Industry Feedback: Google can use the additional time to incorporate valuable industry feedback. This could lead to increased transparency around how the Sandbox works, more open collaboration with stakeholders and potential adjustments to features based on advertiser needs.

Bonus time for website owners:

The delay also offers an advantage for website owners. Here are two proposals where you can take action:

• Related Website Sets (RWS): Do you have a company with websites on multiple domains (e.g., brandx.com and fly-brandx.com) or domains for different countries (such as example.com, example.rs, example.uk, etc.)? RWS lets these sites share cookies. With the delay, you have more time to submit your domains for approval within RWS. Pro Tip: Make sure your domains meet the RWS guidelines before Q3 2024.
• CHIPS (SameSite=Lax for Cookies with Partitioned Storage): Do you use embedded services like chat widgets? CHIPS allows these services to use cookies with your main website. The extra time allows you to test and implement CHIPS if it works for your website.

“While 2025 is now the official 3PC end date, acting now is the smart move. At Adswerve, we’re constantly testing solutions that will work best for advertisers and website owners while prioritizing user privacy. We’re also aggressively exploring Privacy Sandbox initiatives and finding ways to best utilize those solutions for our clients. The time for complacency is over; let’s get to work.”
- Luka Cempre, Senior Data Scientist

What This Means for Marketers

• More Time to Adapt: This delay offers a valuable window to test and refine cookieless marketing strategies. Focus on collecting first-party (1P) data directly from your users. Integrate this with data from your own systems (like your CMS) to create a powerful, unified customer picture. Leverage user modeling and contextual targeting to deliver relevant experiences, and explore alternative identifiers to enhance your reach.
• Urgency Still Exists: While the deadline shifts, the cookieless future is inevitable. Don't get complacent. Prioritize building a sustainable, privacy-first marketing approach.

“The viability of 3PC has been degrading for years. The playbook for how to respond is the same today as it was before this delay. Marketers should continue moving ahead with their plans as if 3rd party cookies are already gone.”
- Jake Winter, Principal Lead

What This Means for Agencies

• Upskilling Opportunity: Invest in training your team on cookieless solutions, data privacy regulations and alternative targeting methods.
• Client Education Is Key: Guide your clients through the upcoming changes and their impact on campaigns.
• New Revenue Streams Emerge: Expertise in 1P data and privacy-compliant measurement can be a valuable asset for agencies.

“Time is a finite thing, and I implore our agency partners to look at the extra time as an opportunity to focus on actioning the long-term plans that pertain to cookie deprecation rather than short-term fixes. Agencies should continue working with their clients to test and learn durable cookieless solutions, so they have more concrete and proven strategies in place when the deadline comes. Keep pushing forward; 2025 will be here faster than we think.”
- Kelly Hayes, Director of Account Management, Agency

What This Means for The Google Marketing Platform (GMP)

• Focus on Privacy Sandbox: Expect to see continued development and testing of Privacy Sandbox integrations within DV360, CM360 and other platforms. These solutions will leverage technologies like Conversion Domains and Floodlight Conversion Categories to help you reach your target audiences effectively while respecting user privacy.
• 1P Data Takes Center Stage: Look for further development of tools within GMP to streamline 1P data collection and campaign integration. Focus on collaborating with internal teams to gather as much 1P data as possible and leverage GMP for seamless data utilization.
• GA4 Remains Central: Expect ongoing development of GA4's functionalities for collecting and analyzing privacy-compliant data. Use the extended timeframe to test and refine existing workflows and explore new possibilities within GA4, including:
  • Setting up GA4 for media measurement.
  • Establishing audience segmentation strategies.
  • Configuring BigQuery data exports.
  • Implementing event-based bidding tactics.
    

“The net result is unaffected. We were just given a little gift of being able to connect and align more between upcoming Summer PTOs and hectic calendars. We have the opportunity to feel a little less anxious, but media and analytics teams shouldn’t cancel 3PCD-related items like team meetings, roadmap developments or strategy change approvals. Instead, use the given time to double down and really think about what GMP strategies will be the best suited for your goals and needs, rather than rushing to accomplish a baseline ‘good enough’ because there wasn’t enough time."
- Mary Kotara, Lead Consultant, Media

“Cookies will live on into 2025, but focusing on your 3PCD readiness shouldn’t change. Taking actionable steps within the respective GMP platforms, dialing in your 1P data strategy and shaping your overall mindset to make sure you’re prepared should remain top priorities.”
- Jeff Collins, Associate Director, Media Activation

A Final Note

While Google extends the timeline for phasing out 3PC, it's important to remember that other browsers like Safari and Firefox have already blocked 3PC. Use this delay to your advantage — experiment, build a strong data foundation and emerge from this shift stronger than ever.

Don't wait until the very last minute — the future is now, and it's privacy-focused.

"This delay gives the industry a brief reprieve, but it doesn’t mean you should slow down or sideline any efforts you have in development. Anything done now to build a 1P data strategy is only going to get you further ahead of the curve!"
- Lars von Sneidern, Sr. Director of Analytics / Services Product Manager

Need help developing and executing your strategy for 3PC deprecation? We can give you the tools, expertise and guidance you need to ensure your platforms are set up correctly and your strategies are successful. Reach out for more information about our 3PC Countdown solutions for marketers and agencies.