According to New Year predictions by eMarketer, the number of individuals expected to be in possession of a mobile phone will exceed 4.55 billion in 2014. As a result, mobile is transforming the way we consume and connect to media.
Next time you pay a visit to your local coffee shop, take a look around and you’ll find more people reading the news on their tablet or iPhone than on a laptop, and fewer still perusing an actual printed newspaper.
Yet when it comes to the digital advertising industry, figures indicate that mobile ad budgets continue to lag behind other media channels. This gaping hole between the universal consumption of mobile and ad spend dedicated to the channel is a major paradox of the ad tech arena.
The reason?
A long held addiction by advertisers to the cookie.
As the go-to method of identification on the web since the birth of digital advertising in the ‘90s, the cookie was seen as an essential element of every successful digital advertising campaign. The technology had its faults, including issues with fragmentation, privacy concerns and data leakage but – regardless – the industry turned a blind eye, continuing to utilise a tracking tool that was just about fit for purpose.
Fast forward almost two decades and marketers are still relying on cookies, despite their incompatibility with the mobile channel.
The fact is that cookies do not work in mobile, losing traction on desktop and are quickly losing effectiveness in reaching today’s digital consumer.
So what’s the alternative?
Forward-thinking publishers, advertisers and technology firms are setting the agenda for the mobile market by rethinking how audiences can be identified and reached more effectively across multiple channels, while simultaneously respecting consumer choice.
What steps can the industry take to cut the cookie addiction?
1. Embrace mobile, and take the plunge
Several premium publishers, such as Facebook, Twitter and Google, have recognised the role that mobile will play to grow their business – without the involvement of third-party cookies – and are setting the precedent for the next phase in digital advertising by committing to a ‘mobile-first’ approach.
To illustrate this, Facebook significantly increased its mobile ad spend and subsequently credits 41% of its quarterly earnings to mobile.
Focusing more and more effort on its mobile strategy, Twitter spent $300M to acquire MoPub, a startup that helps mobile publishers manage their ad inventory.
To follow their lead it is important to rank mobile as a critical part of your overall marketing strategy. That said, it is essential to seek out technologies that help make mobile audience reach effective considering legacy methods (i.e. the cookie) are not.
2. Bear in mind that consumers aren’t likely to miss the cookie
The cookie has generated more than a few issues around consumer privacy making it harder for advertisers to regain trust, and therefore recognise and target their intended audiences.
To combat this, giants like Apple and Google are opting to strike out with unique identifiers of their own. Apple’s Safari was the pioneer of a default approach to non-cookie based IDs, utilising their Apple ID to give the company greater control over privacy and its own first party data.
Google, Microsoft, Facebook and others are following suit with cookie replacements anticipated to track and record activity on everything from web browsers and social media platforms to roaming tablets, smartphones and games consoles.
However, cookie-free alternative solutions should still take a privacy-by-design approach and it remains as important as ever to respect consumer privacy and choice.
3. Be receptive to change
Admittedly, old habits are hard to shake and the fact many businesses have a vested interest in the cookie’s lifespan is one reason why the industry has leaned on it for so long.
The time has come for change and with a little exploratory research it will become apparent how many alternatives there are, each specifically designed for mobile and infinitely more effective.
For those who struggle to let go completely, many of these tools can be used side-by-side with existing technology, leaving the familiar cookie safety net intact.
It can be hard to keep pace with technological advancements in the fast moving digital space but we need to adhere to the demands of the consumer. Every time a mobile device is used it dictates the future direction of the industry.
The good news is, marketers do not need to go “cold turkey” on cookies, just find alternatives to help complete the picture of audience recognition in a world of new technology.
