• DE&I Commitment
  • Careers
  • SIGN IN
  • Book a Meeting
    Book a Meeting
  • Company
    Learn a little more about us, our values, and our team
    Our Values
    We don't just talk the talk; we live by our core values
    About Us
    Empowering brands to realize their potential with data, insights, and technology
    Leadership
    Meet our leadership team
    Secure Data Architecture
    Our promise of data security and privacy. We keep your data safe from publishers, competitors and bad actors
    Corporate Social Responsibility
    We are committed to making a positive impact on our communities and our planet
  • Platform
    Plan, manage, optimize, and measure your campaigns with our omnichannel platform
    Omnichannel Advertising
    A platform that connects all walled garden media for more effective campaigns
    Data Connectivity
    Make data-driven decisions as you plan and strategize
    AI-Powered Capabilities
    Take your campaigns to the next level by leveraging proprietary AI-based technology
    See the industries we serve
    Learn how our customizable solutions can help with your unique needs
    Explore our partner integrations
    See the media, retailer, and data partners we work with
  • Case Studies
  • News and Events
    Check out recent announcements and see what we’re up to
    Newsroom
    Check out our recent media mentions and announcements
    Events
    Join us for our next conference or webinar
    Omnichannel platform launch
    Read the press release to see how we're helping marketers win the walled gardens
    AI Breakthrough Award
    Skai Named "Best AI-based Solution for Advertising" in 6th Annual Artificial Intelligence Breakthrough Awards Program
  • Resources
    From new releases, to industry trends and best practices, Skai has you covered
    The Breakthrough
    Read the latest blog posts and thought leadership from Skai and other industry experts
    Skai Research
    Explore our studies, whitepapers and quarterly trends reports so you can stay up to date
    Quarterly Trends Hub
    Dive into the latest market insights, industry trends, and predictive analysis
    Holiday Hub 2023
    Your go-to source for holiday marketing tips, tricks, and best practices
Back to Blog

August 2023 Omnichannel Forum: How to Navigate Changes in Consumer Tracking

Skai

August  31, 2023

The Omnichannel Forum is a monthly series that poses a single question to a panel of industry experts. August’s host is industry analyst Joanna O’Connell. This month’s contributors include:

  • Alex Else. Head of Omnichannel Product Solutions, Group M Nexus.
  • Gemma Spence. Global Vice President, VMLY&R Commerce
  • Lauren Bennett. Director, Performance Solutions, Rakuten Advertising
  • Aaron Goldman. CMO, Mediaocean
  • Peter Galli. Director of Digital Marketing, HART Consumer Products

We’ve all been talking about cookie deprecation for years now. Google’s January 2020 announcement that it would deprecate 3rd party cookies from its Chrome browser was BIG news. Rightly so – the digital advertising industry sits on a foundation of these unfancy little bits of code.

Since that time, Google has extended the industry’s runway countless times by pushing the cookie deprecation deadline. The latest is something like late 2024. And yet still, with all this warning, many across the ad ecosystem remain unprepared. Partly because this is seen as “just a cookie problem.” It’s not – it’s much bigger. The real question is, how do we truly put consumers at the center of our marketing efforts?

As Peter notes below, the increased privacy regulations will continue to impact the ‘way we have always done things’ in digital.

Consumer privacy is not binary (all privacy or no privacy). And it shouldn’t be treated as such. Fundamentally, privacy in practice means giving consumers a baseline level of protection over their data use and then, beyond that, giving them the power to have control and make choices over how their data is accessed and used and by whom.

Because consumers aren’t simplistic – they can both welcome personalization in certain settings and actively dislike it in others. Taking this notion a step further, Forrester has plenty of research that shows how diverse consumers can be in their understanding of – and comfort with – the data economy.

So, the real opportunity to be both “omnichannel” and consumer privacy-friendly means more than just ensuring you’re being compliant. It’s about embracing some new paradigms that demonstrate your real commitment to putting consumers at the center of your marketing approach. Certainly, the rush to first-party data is absolutely understandable – creating more direct connections with consumers opens many marketing doors. This theme comes through loud and clear from this month’s contributors.

But it’s important that you are not collecting data for data collection’s sake. Start with strategy, always, by considering questions like: What is our relationship with consumers? How do they want to interact with us? How do we add value to their lives? How can we ensure a fair value exchange? Answering these kinds of questions allows your organization to build a thoughtful approach to data collection and usage, experience building, media targeting, and more.

And in the meantime, test, test, test! Get comfortable with what’s going to change – many tried and true data-driven marketing practices will either be less effective (e.g., MTA or multi-touch attribution; holistic frequency management) or rendered near obsolete (traditional 3rd party cookie-based retargeting). Build a roadmap of new targeting techniques (e.g., contextual) to test (keep the winners, dump the loser) in your prospecting campaigns. Investigate 2nd party opportunities with key media partners. Take a look at existing creative approaches and look for ways to draw consumers in (rather than chasing them around). Invest in data science and AI to get prepared for a more fragmented data world.

But no matter what, DO SOMETHING.

– Joanna O’Connell, Industry Analyst


August 2023: How do the current and impending privacy-related changes affect a marketer’s ability to develop a comprehensive omnichannel strategy, and how should they navigate this?

Alex Else

Head of Omnichannel Product Solutions, Group M Nexus

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Alex.pngThe changes in privacy, particularly the cookieless future, are arguably our biggest challenge. They present a real question as to how we may continually adopt mitigating capabilities and ensure we use the changes as an opportunity for innovation and alignment. 

Every channel is removing cookies. Some are already cookieless, and others are pivoting, but the speed at which this transition takes place varies in each market. Nevertheless, omnichannel has an existing track record of working in this way.  It takes privacy concerns into account to achieve scale, embraces the complexity of all channels, and drives alignment across them. Coupled with our focus on driving solutions, creating capabilities using best-in-class data and technology to deliver in cookieless ways, omnichannel is already helping every channel progress in the right direction.

Key questions remain: How do we manage and guide advertiser expectations on areas such as user journey, retargeting, frequency capping, etc.? Omnichannel has meant grappling with these thorny issues for some time by embracing and spearheading the many ID solutions in this cookieless catalyst. Currently, they are fragmented, but we expect them to evolve rapidly hereafter.

 

Gemma Spence

Global Vice President, VMLY&R Commerce

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Gemma.pngPrivacy-related changes such as cookies have significant implications for a marketer’s ability to develop a comprehensive omnichannel strategy. These changes restrict access to user data and impose stricter tracking, audience development, and targeting limitations. As a result, marketers face challenges in personalization, accurate attribution measurement, and understanding customer behaviour across channels.

The reality is this will drive up the cost of inventory and decrease effectiveness. To navigate these changes effectively, marketers should focus on first-party data, obtaining consent, and complying with privacy regulations that they can use for DMP, CPD, and clean room enrichment for much-targeted insights around their core audiences’ preferences choices, and selection criteria. They should explore privacy-friendly technologies, invest in contextual targeting, collaborate with trusted partners, and adopt multi-touchpoint attribution models.

Additionally, it is crucial for marketers to stay updated on privacy landscape changes and adapt their strategies accordingly. By implementing these approaches, marketers can maintain effective and privacy-conscious omnichannel strategies while delivering personalized experiences to their customers.

 

Lauren Bennett

Director, Performance Solutions, Rakuten Advertising

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Laura-B.pngFirst and foremost, abiding by the newest regulations on a company’s website with effective data governance is of utmost importance, including GDPR & CCPA. By layering Google into the conversation, updating Enhanced Conversions and Consent Mode (for those in EMEA) are the best ways to protect current data gathering.   

A user expects a reliable and trustworthy website to be transparent with what data is being collected with the option of participating or not. Gaining the trust of a user by using a consent management platform brings forth the best opportunity to use what they share for future advertising efforts and to gain the user as part of a brand’s first-party data. 

Across the board, first-party data continues to be the biggest area of opportunity to drive a successful omnichannel strategy from an audience, creative and performance-driven viewpoint. Across all of the different platforms to run digital marketing efforts, first-party data is the underlying common denominator of success.

 

Peter Galli

Director of Digital Marketing, HART Consumer Products

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Peter.pngThe changes we have seen over the past few years, and many more that are coming down the pipeline, have certainly changed how we, as digital marketers can target our main consumer as well as measure the success of our activations.

The transition from horizontal tracking to vertical tracking has been happening for a few years, but the increased privacy regulations will continue to impact the “way we have always done things” in digital. In my opinion, marketers should focus on three key areas to help mitigate this risk: ensuring legal compliance with the ever-changing privacy laws, growing their first-party data safely and using it effectively, and testing and learning through new tools that hit the market.  

 

Aaron Goldman

CMO, Mediaocean

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is AG.png The shifting tides of data deprecation and government regulation have created a marketing tsunami. Yes, we love our marine metaphors. 😉

In a world without cookies, you need to set your compass by first-party data and build pools of consumer IDs with consent. Then, you can use ad tech platforms or data clean rooms to match with publishers and set sail with targeted messaging. This is relatively easy to do within walled gardens but more difficult out on the open seas, er, open web. It’s like going from shooting fish in a barrel to deep-water fishing.

You’re gonna need a bigger boat!

Request a Demo of Skai

Related Posts

  • Consumer Goods Analytics Strategies to Power Savvy Decision-Making
    Read More
  • Skai’s Omnichannel Insights Across the Walled Gardens: Cybersecurity Client Increased Sales 116% and ROAS 91%
    Read More
  • Why Walled Garden and Omnichannel Marketing Go Hand-in-Hand
    Read More
  • Omnichannel Retail Media Strategy: Four Ways Brands Are Evolving
    Read More
  • Use AI-powered Smart Tags to Uncover Opportunity and Take Action on your Microsoft Advertising Campaigns
    Read More
  • Skai Expands Its Retail Media Footprint in the UK Through a Prominent Partnership with Nectar360
    Read More
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email
  • Copy Link
    Copied!

    Subscribe to Updates

    Media that matters.
    Marketing that works.
    © 2023 Kenshoo, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
    Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Recruitment Privacy Policy.
    • Omnichannel Strategy
      • Skai HQ
      • Dynamic Marketing Mix
      • Budget Forecasting
      • Strategic Consulting
    • Walled Garden Advertising
      • Overview
      • Retail Media
      • Paid Search
      • Paid Social
      • App Marketing
      • Auditing
      • Expert Services
    • Marketing Measurement
      • Incrementality
      • Experiments
      • Cross-Channel Attribution
    • Resources
      • Blog
      • Glossary
      • Case Studies
      • Capabilities
      • Quarterly Trends Hub
      • Training & Enablement
      • Developer Hub
    Privacy Preference

    We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential, while others help us to improve this website and your experience.

    Privacy Preference

    Save All

    Save

    Accept Only Essential Cookies

    Manage Cookie Preferences

    Cookie Details Privacy Policy Imprint

    Privacy Preference

    Here you will find an overview of all cookies used. You can give your consent to whole categories or display further information and select certain cookies.

    Save All Save Accept Only Essential Cookies

    Back

    Privacy Preference

    Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website, Imprint
    PurposeSaves the visitors preferences selected in the Cookie Box of Borlabs Cookie.
    Host(s).skai.io, skai.io
    Cookie Nameborlabs-cookie
    Cookie Expiry1 Year
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s)skai.io
    Cookie Namewordpress_sec_,wordpress_test_cookie,wp-postpass_*, wordpresspass_*, wordpressuser_*
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    PurposeThis cookie stores selections made by the user in the Accessibe tool in order to maintain those settings on future visits. These cookies help us make our website compliant with our obligations under US law.
    Privacy Policy https://accessibe.com/privacy-policy
    Cookie NameacsbState, acsbReset
    Cookie Expiryn/a

    We use these cookies to enhance functionality and allow for personalisation, such as live chats, videos and the use of social media.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s).comeet.co, www.comeet.co
    Cookie Namevisid_incap_, nlbi_#######, incap_ses_, referrer22_00a, incap_ses_1364_2167377
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s).chilipiper.com, skai.chilipiper.com
    Cookie Namefs_uid, CHILI_PIPER_CLUSTER, guest-session, _sp_ses*, _sp_id*
    Cookie ExpirySession / 2 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Host(s)skai.io
    Cookie NamemoduleFormPardotDownload
    Cookie Expiry30 days

    Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderGoogle Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
    PurposeCookie by Google used for website analytics. Generates statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.
    Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
    Cookie Name_ga, _ga_*, _gat,_gat_*,_gid, GOOGLE_ABUSE_EXEMPTION, AEC, __Secure-ENID, SOCS, CONSENT
    Cookie ExpirySession / 2 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderHotjar Ltd., Dragonara Business Centre, 5th Floor, Dragonara Road, Paceville St Julian's STJ 3141 Malta
    PurposeHotjar is an user behavior analytic tool by Hotjar Ltd.. We use Hotjar to understand how users interact with our website.
    Privacy Policy https://www.hotjar.com/legal/policies/privacy/
    Host(s)*.hotjar.com
    Cookie Name_hjClosedSurveyInvites, _hjDonePolls, _hjMinimizedPolls, _hjDoneTestersWidgets, _hjIncludedInSample, _hjShownFeedbackMessage, _hjid, _hjRecordingLastActivity, hjTLDTest, _hjUserAttributesHash, _hjCachedUserAttributes, _hjLocalStorageTest, _hjptid, _hjSessionUser_2229986, _hjIncludedInPageviewSample, _hjIncludedInSessionSample, _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress, _hjFirstSeen
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    PurposeVWO is AB Testing software that we'll use to test different elements of the website - form placement, nav, different page layouts, etc.
    Privacy Policy https://vwo.com/compliance/cookies-notice/
    Host(s).skai.io, dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com
    Cookie Name_vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_goal_{GOALID}, _vis_opt_test_cookie, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_exclude, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_split, _vis_opt_s, _vis_opt_out, _vwo_uuid, _vwo_uuid_{CAMPAIGNID}, _vwo_ds, _vwo_sn, _vwo_uuid_v2, _vis_opt_exp_{CAMPAIGNID}_combi_choose, _vwo_referrer, _vwo, _vwo_global_opt_out, _vwo_ssm, uuid
    Cookie ExpirySession / 10 Years

    Marketing cookies are used by third-party advertisers or publishers to display personalized ads. They do this by tracking visitors across websites.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderPardot
    PurposeCookie name associated with services from marketing automation and lead generation platform Pardot. The visitor value is the visitor_id in your Pardot account. This cookie is set for visitors by the Pardot tracking code.
    Host(s).pardot.com, pi.pardot.com, skai.io
    Cookie Namepardot, visitor_id*, lpv*
    Cookie ExpirySession / 10 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderMeta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland
    PurposeCookie by Facebook used for website analytics, ad targeting, and ad measurement.
    Privacy Policy https://www.facebook.com/policies/cookies
    Cookie Name_fbp,act,c_user,datr,fr,tr,m_pixel_ration,pl,presence,sb,spin,wd,xs
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderLinkedin
    Cookie Namelidc, li_gc, lang, AnalyticsSyncHistory, UserMatchHistory, li_sugr, bcookie, TDCPM, TDID, bscookie, ln_or
    Cookie ExpirySession / 1 Year
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderSkai
    Cookie Nameken_gclid
    Accept
    Name
    Provider6sense
    Cookie Name_gd_session, _an_uid, _gd_visitor, _gd_svisitor, 6suuid
    Cookie ExpirySession / 400 Days
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderGoogle Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
    PurposeCookie by Google used for conversion tracking of Google Ads.
    Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
    Cookie NameIDE, 1P_JAR, NID, _gcl_au, OTZ, test_cookie
    Cookie ExpirySession / 400 Days
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOwner of this website
    Cookie NamePHPSESSID, sid, okto-autoposter-XXX, oktgid, oktsid, oktlogid-XXX, oktolead-XXX-Email, oktolead-XXX-Company, oktolead-XXX-FirstName, oktolead-XXX-LastName, oktolead-XXX-Phone, oktolead-XXX-Country, oktolead-XXX-Url, oktolead-XXX-State, oktolead-XXX-Comment, optout
    Cookie ExpirySession / 2 Years

    Content from video platforms and social media platforms is blocked by default. If External Media cookies are accepted, access to those contents no longer requires manual consent.

    Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

    Accept
    Name
    ProviderWistia
    Host(s).wistia.com
    Cookie Namecb_anonymous_id, _sp_ses.2b40, _li_dcdm_c, __hssrc, _gcl_au, _clsk, hubspotutk, _sp_id.2b40, __hssc, __hstc, _uetsid, _uetvid, _gid, _ga, _ga_GQR109DZ3Y, _lc2, fpi, _ex-pricing-cta, _fbp, cb_group_id, cb_user_id, _clck
    Cookie ExpirySession / 400 Days
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderMeta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland
    PurposeUsed to unblock Instagram content.
    Privacy Policy https://www.instagram.com/legal/privacy/
    Host(s).instagram.com
    Cookie Namepigeon_state
    Cookie ExpirySession
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderOpenstreetmap Foundation, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0WS, United Kingdom
    PurposeUsed to unblock OpenStreetMap content.
    Privacy Policy https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy
    Host(s).openstreetmap.org
    Cookie Name_osm_location, _osm_session, _osm_totp_token, _osm_welcome, _pk_id., _pk_ref., _pk_ses., qos_token
    Cookie Expiry1-10 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderTwitter International Company, One Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2, D02 AX07, Ireland
    PurposeUsed to unblock Twitter content.
    Privacy Policy https://twitter.com/privacy
    Host(s).twimg.com, .twitter.com
    Cookie Name__widgetsettings, local_storage_support_test
    Cookie ExpiryUnlimited
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderVimeo Inc., 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA
    PurposeUsed to unblock Vimeo content.
    Privacy Policy https://vimeo.com/privacy
    Host(s)player.vimeo.com
    Cookie Namevuid
    Cookie Expiry2 Years
    Accept
    Name
    ProviderGoogle Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
    PurposeUsed to unblock YouTube content.
    Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en&gl=en
    Host(s)google.com
    Cookie NameCONSENT
    Cookie Expiry6 Month

    Borlabs Cookie powered by Borlabs Cookie

    Privacy Policy Imprint