Data + Privacy

Just a few short weeks ago, the digital advertising industry stopped in its tracks for a moment when Google announced that it no longer plans to deprecate third-party cookies on Chrome.  But that’s all the pause this announcement warrants—a moment. The trajectory of digital advertising remains unchanged. There are plenty of signs that the investments […]

The decision by WFA leadership to succumb to Elon Musk’s pressure and suspend the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) when advertisers needed it most is disappointing and dangerous.  But it presents an opportunity to rethink our industry’s broken approach to brand safety. Musk’s decision to sue the WFA and advertisers is grounded in hypocrisy […]

This summer, the world has been glued to their screens for the Olympics. Traditionally, these events have been synonymous with appointment TV, where viewers gather around the television to tune in at specific times. And we’re seeing that this draw persists today. The opening ceremonies alone drew in nearly 29 million US viewers – the […]

Google is a monopolist. We bring on a guest that’s both a lawyer and a CEO of a search ad business to offer his perspective on the antitrust ruling, and what happens next for Google in light of this decision.

It’s widely accepted that last-click attribution is flawed. While publicly it’s much derided, however, privately it shows no sign of going anywhere. Unfortunately, retail media and commerce media have their own version of last-click addiction: add-to-cart (ATC) rates.  And just like last-click attribution, it’s a metric not fit for consumption. It also highlights the real […]

Google has finally bitten the bullet and decided not to kill off third-party cookies in Chrome. No doubt it will go down as a pivotal moment in the history of digital advertising. But it isn’t a decisive one. With so many variables at play, including data regulation, user privacy concerns and technological advancements, Google’s update […]

Here’s the old news: Chrome cookies are (eventually) going away. Here’s the new news: Only some cookies are going away. Google Chrome is proposing an “approach that elevates user choice,” which will undoubtedly mean more opt-outs. But will the opt-out rate be half? Two-thirds? 10%? 90%? For the past week or so, we’ve been so […]

After years of delayed deadlines, Google has finally put third-party cookie deprecation to rest.  Last Monday’s announcement begets a slew of industry questions about the implementation and impact of Google’s proposal for the user opt-in mechanism, and only time will tell when they will be answered. One thing is clear, however: Google is acknowledging its […]

Keep the cookies; hold for consent. We unpack Google’s reversal on third-party cookies and what it means for the ad industry, which was preparing for a cookieless future.

When Google announced its plan to remove cookies from Chrome, whispers of an apocalypse echoed across the ad industry. Many feared this change would disrupt the $120 billion in ad spending that currently relies on cookies. Words like “demise” and “unprecedented” appeared in headlines.  And then Google surprised us with its latest announcement: Cookies are […]