With the rise in consumer privacy and the impending changes to the digital media landscape, marketers can no longer rely on measurement approaches that utilize third-party cookies. ​

Measurement will need to adapt to incorporate both probabilistic and deterministic approaches. Probabilistic attribution will overcome privacy constraints while deterministic approaches will be more reliant on “person-based” identifiers in a private identity graph. 

Having an identity foundation will be crucial in order to drive deeper insights through: ​

• Ensuring robust data collection and enrichment through third parties to equip more robust modeling and understanding of the customer ​
• Leveraging persistent ID technologies and integrated stacks to limit data loss / ensure effective reach and overall fidelity of the data ​
• Engaging with data safe havens to derive person level insights to aid in decision making and generating actionable insights ​

Marketers should prepare for these upcoming changes and alternate approaches to support the reporting and measurement needs of their organizations, by considering how: ​

1. Promotions and loyalty activations will serve as key channels for first-party data acquisition and profile enrichment.

Incentive-based engagements are data accelerators that capture and convert by giving consumers a reason to share their data in a “do, get” value exchange.

• Embrace content, loyalty and promotions as a way to generate first-party Personal Identifiable Information (PII) to support your ID graph. ​
• Provide a framework where information and communications are a feature / value-add and not simply another touchpoint. ​
  • Ensure any gated content is worth it for the individual to engage with. ​

2. Platforms that rely solely on third-party cookies will evolve and be replaced by other technologies.

Technologies, like CDPs, that can connect first-, second- and third-party data will play a role in replacing or augmenting many of the current technologies used to manage media and orchestration. Integrated media must adopt CRM principles to drive the total customer experience.

3. Customer experience and customer journey will gain greater prominence.

Organizations will increase focus on growing and analyzing first-party customer data to drive better experiences.

Key Takeaways:

• Align your technology stack to your measurement roadmap.
• Identify opportunities to increase first-party data collection. ​
• Consider innovations leveraging data safe havens, expansions of first-party data, and identifiers. ​
• Verify your attribution solution will adapt to changing data foundations.

A cookieless world will change how customer experiences are activated, managed, and measured. To learn more, download our eBook here which lays out six innovative ways brands can be compliant and consumer-friendly, to collect, enrich, and organize their first-party data and transform customer experiences.