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Cookie Deprecation Has Already Begun. Make First-party Data Your MVP

Author srose@triplelift.com

first-party data battle card

2024 won’t be the beginning of cookie deprecation, it’ll be the end of it. A strategy based on first-party data is the key to cookieless success. Let’s dive in.

The Problem: Third-party Cookies Are Already Disappearing

Cookie deprecation isn’t impending, it’s already begun. Firefox and Safari already block third-party cookies. Furthermore, when Chrome finally follows suit in 2024, things will get tough for the 80% of advertisers still relying on third-party cookies. 

It’s already crunch time and that means it’s time for first-party data.

The Promise: We’re All-in on Embrace First-party Data 

We’ve revised our playbook for 2023 with freshly supplemented materials so advertisers can update their battledecks, and create and test winning strategies today, setting themselves up for cookieless success tomorrow. 

But let’s take a quick step back. What is first-party data, you ask? It’s data that is owned either by the publisher or advertiser. Our publisher first-party data solution helps advertisers expand beyond their own CRM data and into the highly scalable world of publisher first-party data. And most importantly, it doesn’t require third-party cookies or ID graphs while still delivering advertiser results at scale.

TripleLift is so confident in the power of first-party data that we acquired 1plusX in March of 2022, to build technology that will allow us to package publisher first-party data to target at scale.

“TripleLift’s publisher first-party data solution enables targeting where there aren’t third party cookies, such as Safari, first impression visitors, and even Chrome. This helps advertisers nearly double their audience reach compared to only using third party data providers, and at a lower price. Stay tuned to participate in beta opportunities.”


Grant Nelson, Senior Product Manager

The Opportunity: Challenges You’re Overcoming with First-party Data 

What will a world without third-party cookies look like? We’re already becoming familiar with the challenges (opportunities) a cookie-less landscape presents. Nevertheless, when the dust settles, players in AdTech will have to suit up for a whole new ball game. Let’s take a look at some numbers and see what they’re up against, according to our proprietary data (Source: TripleLift Data Analysis, 2023).

  • First, expect 90% of online traffic to lack a cross-domain identifier. 
  • Second, web users identified with an identity solution will drop to less than 10%. 
  • Finally, right now, roughly 50% of all programmatic ad requests come from cookie-constrained environments and are not targetable.

But we’re not here to ruin your day; we’ve got solutions. So, as NPR’s Ira Glass always says, stay with us.

The Solution: First-party Data

The future of the digital ad space is not all doom and gloom. In fact, the deprecation of third-party browser cookies will ultimately make the digital landscape a better place for everyone: publishers, advertisers and consumers. 

The key? Grounding your strategy with publisher first-party data. Here’s how.

The first step is to work with supply partners who have the ability to unleash a publisher’s first-party data. Activating on deal IDs is key as it allows publishers to leverage their valuable audience data, and allows advertisers to target those audiences, whilst protecting the publishers’ data by not making segments available in the bid stream. Moreover, multi-pub deals provide greater scale vs a typical 1:1 PMP. And finally, it’s crucial to test your strategy in cookie-constrained environments, like Safari and Firefox. And lucky for you, there’s plenty of opportunity to do that right now. 

The Takeaway: Future-Proofing Your Targeting Strategy Doesn’t Have To Be a Slog

If you haven’t started getting ready for a digital world with limited third-party data, or you’re just feeling a little overwhelmed, we’ve got you covered. In the bottom of the ninth, with the game on the line, setting yourself up for success doesn’t have to be stressful, especially when you have an MVP just waiting to knock it out of the park for you. Our new and improved Prepper Playbook has everything you need to call the right shots.

If you still feel like you need a little extra support, we’re always here to help. 

The post Cookie Deprecation Has Already Begun. Make First-party Data Your MVP appeared first on TripleLift.