Unmasking the "Post Post-Third-Party-Cookie" Future

Part of the industry is celebrating Google’s decision to halt the deprecation of third-party cookies.

Another group is speculating Google’s next moves, sometimes with subtly implied suggestions that it was all part of a cunning plan (I find it overly conflictive and more akin to a conspiracy theory than a professional analysis: are they also suggesting that the CMA participated in what could be considered, in that case, a theatrical piece?).

In parallel, while Google sticks to that press release, the CMA and the ICO are deep diving into better understanding what their detailed intentions are.

I fear that the whole sector has lost an opportunity, as many can’t see the patterns in the history of digital advertising and dangerously fail to connect the dots. 

This saga isn’t over. One day we might look back at this moment and realise how much it backfired on a big part of the industry, especially those media owners and ad tech companies distracted by scraping the bottom of the barrel.

In contrast, how should the companies and executives that have seriously embraced the future of a world without third-party cookies navigate the coming months? We need to look back at history.