What the ad industry is saying about Google’s pivot on cookies

Google is halting its plan to phase out third-party cookies from the Chrome web browser, but one sentiment seems to be emerging in the aftermath of this development: The third-party cookie may already be a thing of the past.

“Ad tech has already moved on from third-party cookies,” Nikhil Lai, senior analyst at Forrester, tells The Current. “Most of the internet lacks third-party cookies, and many Chrome users have disabled third-party cookies.”

The response to Google’s about-face from those in the advertising industry, both in the U.S. and abroad, was instant. Some said they felt yanked around by the search giant’s ever-changing cookie plan. Others expressed that the industry had already moved on, building solutions alongside cookies and for environments like connected TV and audio that never used them to begin with.

“The survival of the cookie delays the inevitable,” says Rob Norman, digital advertising advisor and former CEO of GroupM North America. “The cookie never was a silver bullet, and marketers still need to become independent of individual identifiers. It would be a mistake to assume that was no longer the case.”

Want to get a read on what’s next for identity? Here’s an overview of timely views from across the industry.

(Responses provided to The Current unless otherwise noted.)

What the ad tech (and tech) world is saying

Jeff Green, founder and CEO, The Trade Desk:
“Google has finally acknowledged what the advertising industry has been saying for years: Privacy Sandbox is not a good product and doesn’t sufficiently protect consumers' privacy or empower advertisers. And it probably hurts publisher monetization most. Google seems to finally acknowledge that the best option for them is to give consumers the choice. The question that remains is, will Google truly give consumers choice? Or will they make the decision for consumers and then bury consumers' access to change it?” (via LinkedIn)

Martin Pichler, chief sales officer, highfivve:
”Other major browser providers have already banned the use of third-party cookies for years. Especially in Europe, with its stringent data protection regulations, this trend will continue, and the ad tech industry will keep working on alternative solutions.”

Max Snow, CEO, Yobi:
"Look at the power Google has over this industry; a scary reminder that billions of dollars in ad spend are beholden to one entity. It is only through collaboration and innovation that we can democratize the future of AI and digital performance and avoid the imbalance we have reached in social and search. We need continued investment by all players to re-shift this power dynamic."

Fabrice Beer-Gabel, VP of strategy and partnerships, Intent IQ:
"This is another twist and turn to our industry. While perhaps relieving some near-term pressure, it shows that change is always at our doorstep and the remaining cookies are still on notice. It also reminds us that now more than ever, advertisers and publishers need a unified solution for privacy-safe addressability that delivers scale and accuracy across fragmented channels, and for that, they should be focused on proof of performance.”

What agencies are saying

Rebekah Payne, SVP of marketing services, VML:
“While there is a sense of relief from the industry that Google won’t deprecate third-party cookies after all, we can’t lose sight of the fact that a significant number of consumers utilize other browsers to navigate the internet. Additionally, consumer expectations around data privacy and compliance remain lofty. Investing in a first-party data collection strategy remains the key to future-proofing your marketing organization.”

Pedro Mona, head of consultancy, Assembly Europe:
“As an industry, it is important that we continue to respect and uphold user's right to privacy. Regulation and its continuous enforcement across ad tech need to be an area of focus. A user's right to privacy needs to be respected, and consent management enforcement is key for the future of digital. Cookies are just one of the methodologies for tracking.”

Ramakrishnan Raja, principal, Resonant Agency:
“This sudden reversal, after years of industry preparation and countless fireside chats about the impending cookie-apocalypse, underscores a critical lesson for CMOs: the paramount importance of adopting first-party data-centricity in their marketing play.” (via LinkedIn)

Ryan Schuster, associate director of paid media search, Exverus Media: “It's easy to draw parallels between Google Chrome's use of cookies and the latest CrowdStrike/Y24K debacle. Both are strong examples of a singular entity having too much influence over the economy. Decisions send ripple effects (or tidal waves, as with CrowdStrike) that have the power to affect millions.”

What analysts are saying

Nikhil Lai, senior analyst, Forrester:
“This announcement provides momentum to alternative identity solutions, which effectively sell against Google’s miscommunication and mismanagement. However, this should be about consumers more than advertisers. By putting up ad blockers, clearing their browsing histories, emptying cookie caches, and opting out of tracking, consumers express their dissatisfaction with audience targeting’s status quo. No matter Google’s unilateral actions, advertisers must deliver consumers relevant, compelling creative. That’s what advertising is all about.”

Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf, senior analyst, Emarketer:
“The extent to which consumers opt out of sharing third-party cookies (if that is what Google is proposing) depends largely on the prominence of the privacy call to action. If there’s an ATT-style pop-up, we could easily end up with more consumers defaulting to not sharing their data.” (via Emarketer)

What industry groups are saying

Anthony Katsur, CEO, IAB Tech Lab:
“These changes give Chrome more time to work with the advertising ecosystem to develop a better Privacy Sandbox that works for everyone versus their initial approach, which, until recently, was developed with minimal industry input. The IAB Tech Lab believes the industry should continue working toward a vision of a privacy-centric world without third-party cookies."

Caitlin Fennessy, VP and chief knowledge officer, International Association of Privacy Professionals:
“This shift reflects an industrywide struggle to identify privacy-protective and functional ad tech options that don’t run afoul of a growing digital rulebook governing not only privacy, but also competition, AI, online safety and more. Recent enforcement actions have pushed the industry toward consent and user choice, while questioning the validity and practicality of that choice. Privacy-enhancing technologies are promising, but their rollout and uptake has proven more challenging and fraught than many hoped. Privacy professionals in industry and government alike have a lot of difficult decisions still to come as they work to remake the advertising backbone of the internet in a more privacy-protective mold.”

James Rosewell, co-founder, Movement for an Open Web:
“The devil is in the detail. Google says that they’re going to be offering consumers an informed choice. What’s important is that this choice is truly informed, unbiased and applies equally to Google’s own properties as it does to other B2B and B2C providers.”