Data + Privacy

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 […]

Google has hit the brakes on its plan to eliminate third-party cookies.  Instead of phasing out third-party cookies by default, Google now says it will offer Chrome users new privacy controls, allowing them to opt into or out of cookie tracking at the browser level in a more straightforward way.  But the industry shouldn’t let […]

The controversy regarding ID bridging in the bidstream can only be one of two things: confusion over how the ecosystem has evolved or overvigilance at the expense of publishers who are under attack like never before. The concept of ID bridging has long been the foundation of programmatic advertising. What is cookie matching but an […]

During a panel at the recent Cannes Lions, Tracy-Ann Lim, chief media officer at JPMorgan Chase, put it simply: “Winter is coming from a data privacy standpoint.”  In late April, Google delayed third-party cookie deprecation for the third time, extending what has now been a five-year waiting game into 2025. Does this latest delay mean […]

We set the scene for Google’s upcoming antitrust trial in September, including details from the recently released witness list, a who’s who of the ad tech world.