“C” is for Cookies

Authored by: Peter McCue, International Research Manager at TripleLift

This article was updated on February 3, 2023

Recently, I was reminded of a particular blue monster’s diet journey. It was a Sunday morning, and I watched Sesame Street with my niece as she was trying to get her hourly Elmo fix. I almost spilled my coffee as Cookie Monster ran across our TV screen and started rapping about deprecating cookies. “…Taking only cookies all wrong! ‘Cause, you also gotta eat fruits or veggies or meat if you want to be healthy and strong!”

I couldn’t believe it. Like our industry, Cookie Monster’s calorically dense food of choice shaped him into the well-known monster he is today. However, Cookie Monster had to diversify his diet to benefit his constituents. Now, our industry is being asked to do the same. We need to fundamentally change how we operate to preserve the privacy of our audiences, better yet, retain the success that digital advertising provides brands and publishers around the globe. Let’s see how the advertising industry is going about these changes in the U.S. and the U.K.

Industry Perceptions on Privacy and Identity Readiness

The geographical differences in survey responses may be attributable to the driving force behind the third-party cookie’s demise in each region. In the U.K., regulations such as the GDPR, enforced by the U.K.’s ICO, are the primary motivator. Most companies in the U.S. respond to platform changes from major industry players, and the market responses reflect different motivations. One commonality, however, is that both markets show a lag between the triggering motivator and the adoption of solutions. Since both markets are uncertain, understanding the portfolio of solutions available (for advertisers and publishers) and how they address specific needs is the key to thriving. 

Third-party cookies are going away. It’s time to face that reality and adopt an attitude of pragmatism. Like Cookie Monster, SSPs need to diversify their plates and take a fresh, collaborative approach to addressing the vast majority of impressions on the open web, impressions that will soon no longer be tracked. If Cookie Monster can deal with cookie deprecation, we can too.

*AdAge, TripleLift U.S. Privacy & Identity Study, n=269, August 2021
*ExchangeWire, TripleLift U.K. Privacy & Identity Study, n=963, August 2021

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