Google has begun blocking cookies for 1% of its users, with a larger-scale roll out of complete elimination of third-party cookies by the end of Q3, 2024. This change was initially announced when Apple iOS changed its privacy tracking from an opt-out to an opt-in in 2021, but the implementation date has been pushed back for years. Now, the writing is on the wall. So—what does a cookie-less world look like?
For starters, pull marketing becomes a must instead of a choice.
If a customer is so passionate about a brand (or product within a brand) that they absolutely know they want it (pull marketing at work), they will likely go to Google and make what we call a “branded” search. This means the customer will search for a product with a brand name followed by a description in it. Think, “Levi wide leg jeans.” When consumers do branded searches, marketers don’t need to worry about push marketing tools like retargeting and dynamic in-steam advertising (both driven by Google’s third party cookies) because the customer is already sure they want to buy something and less likely to click away. Essentially, good pull marketing makes the digital advertising ecosystem less necessary.
So how do you create good pull marketing? Now more than ever, creating expertise for your brand that helps you stand out from the noise is crucial. You can review a past blog entry on it here.
Marketers also need to go back to basics and be more brand centric. The online marketplace is so crowded that marketers are easily tempted to get straight to the sale. This doesn’t leave much time for relationship formation with a consumer, which is crucial to brand building.
Here are some tips to implement at each stage of the funnel to build better relationships (and pull marketing) with ideal customers:
Awareness: Audit your branding and advertising and infuse your brand story and expertise everywhere you can. Add brand value wherever you can. Do you sell plywood? Offer gated content that instructs potential customers how to build the treehouse they really want.
Consideration: Build credibility and back up your expertise with certifications, processes, etc. Give potential customers a behind the scenes look.
Conversion: Give customers an unexpected benefit like a coupon for the next purchase or a sample of a new release.
Loyalty: Give loyalists first peeks, rewards programs, etc.
While a cookie-less world sounds scary for advertising, it also levels the playing field for companies who don’t (or have never) had the money to use dynamic display or instream ads on Google. If you’re a small company with a small ad budget but great brand building, this might be your era to shine.
I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: Digital success still comes down to Marketing 101: Strong relationships will always win. The problem is, marketers don’t always focus on them because they take longer to build than a monetized click takes to get (but… relationships also last longer).
