Faced with imminent removal of one of the most valuable tools in the digital marketer’s toolkit, it was music to the industry’s ears to hear that Google was delaying its plans to diminish third-party cookies by a year. One-on-one discussions with IAB Canada senior agency members however, tell a bigger story of the sentiment and planning going on behind the scenes. In the fast paced world of tech, one year is a drop in the bucket for engineers working to develop solutions that thread the needle of compliance, function and innovation. The buzz and commentary dying down means that heads are down, planning and building is taking place and the industry is working around the clock to deliver competitive tools for the next generation of digital marketing.
A major part of this strategic work revolves around first party data acquisition, segmentation and communications planning. With every brand online facing the same challenges, consumers are about to experience a deluge of communication geared towards loyalty, connection and constant contact. In the coming months, we will begin to see best practices emerging as marketers collect key data like attrition rates, content responsiveness and contextual communications on their user bases. We will be keeping an eye on several approaches to next generation advertising including the implementation of modernized tech stacks, dynamic creative insertions, contextual segmentations and other advanced practices.
A more recent reprieve for marketers especially those who threw themselves into the ecommerce scene without much warning, is the return to offline shopping with the ease of lockdowns. While some might see this as a positive, the pendulum swing does not come without some complications. We have had a first row look at a digital-first ecommerce world and while in-store shopping may return to some normalcy, putting a smart ecommerce strategy in place should not be put on lay-away.
The pursuit of building fluid online/offline relationships with customers will require an always-on ecommerce presence. The days of using email solely to drive foot traffic are waning as consumers are expecting more from their online experiences. The very definition of value is being revised in the context of instant access, verifiable action, and flawless deployment. The stakes are higher in a world where brands are unable to rely on third party data to drive volume. While the media supply chain has worked tirelessly to reinvent itself to provide privacy-first, brand safe addressable audiences, the pressure has mounted on the brand side as well. Quality digital marketing has a scheduled landing in 2022 and the digital media supply chain will be right there to meet it.
If you are interested in participating in IAB Canada discussions around privacy, cookieless advertising or other related topics, we encourage you to reach out to committees@iabcanada.com