GroupM and Google Collaborate on Post-Cookie Preparedness Program Ahead of Deprecation
Revolutionary program by GroupM and Google prepares clients for post-cookie era, unraveling the potential of Privacy Sandbox APIs in shaping the future of advertising
Article Brief:
According to a press release, GroupM and Google Chrome have teamed up to introduce the initial worldwide program for post-cookie technology readiness. The objective is to enhance the comprehension of Google's Privacy Sandbox APIs among WPP's media-buying arm's clients, facilitating faster progress.
Participants can evaluate and enhance their readiness for third-party cookie deprecation in an actual setting by utilizing their own products and target audiences. GroupM will create a cohesive testing structure, perform anonymous meta-analysis on the tests, and grant access to GroupM alpha and beta tests alongside its ad-tech partners.
This program caters to the advertisers' requirement to equip themselves for the phase-out of third-party cookies. The deprecation process is slated to commence in Q1 2024 for roughly 1% of Chrome users, with full deprecation anticipated to occur in the latter half of the year.
Article Insight:
In Q1 of 2024, Google officially confirmed its plan to initiate the phasing out of third-party cookies in Chrome. Despite recent speculations within the industry about a potential delay in deprecation, Google's collaboration with GroupM on a post-cookie readiness program indicates that the time has come for the long-standing tracking and targeting technology, which has been a crucial element of digital marketing, to bid farewell.
"Since Google made their public statement about discontinuing third-party cookies, we have been working closely with the Chrome team, our clients, and partners to ensure a seamless transition for our clients," stated Christian Juhl, GroupM's global CEO. "This new program marks an exciting milestone in our collaboration, allowing our clients to test their existing preparations and enabling us to develop new strategies if needed."
Central to this program is the development of a unified testing framework, which will assist advertisers and ad-tech partners in understanding how to integrate privacy technologies, including Google's Privacy Sandbox APIs. The framework will draw on guidance from the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority, a regulatory body that has previously obtained commitments from Google to promote competition, support online publishers, and protect user privacy in their post-cookie plans.
GroupM, as the leading media-buying agency globally, will utilize its extensive resources to perform a comprehensive analysis of individual brand experiments. This analysis will entail anonymizing and consolidating the data to guide its insights and eventually create a comprehensive meta-study. Additionally, the advertisers who participate will have the opportunity to be the first to test solutions offered by GroupM’s ad-tech partners.
The objective of this program is to enhance client understanding regarding the targeting, optimization, and measurement of digital investments in the realm of display and video post-cookie era. Participating brands can incorporate their current media plans and budgets without any obligatory additional investments, as stated by GroupM. Moreover, they will have the chance to provide feedback on Privacy Sandbox features.
Google initially announced its intention to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome in January 2020. However, due to ongoing efforts by the advertising industry to find alternative solutions, the deadline was postponed multiple times. In April, Google shared the results of tests conducted on interest-based solutions such as the Topics API, which showed a relatively minor impact on performance.
In May, Google further revealed its plan to gradually eliminate cookies for 1% of Chrome users in Q1 2024. This approach allows developers to assess the readiness and effectiveness of their cookieless products in real-world settings. Despite targeting only 1% of Chrome's global user base, this still represents a significant number of users, as the browser boasts a total of 3 billion users worldwide.
