Google’s deprecation of third-party cookies on Chrome will wipe out a significant portion of publisher revenue. Howard Luks, chief revenue officer, Eyeota, details the proactive mitigation efforts that will make all the difference when it comes to how the competitive publishing landscape looks in just a few short years.
I’m not going to sugar-coat it: Google’s deprecation of third-party cookies on Chrome is going to wipe out a significant portion of publisher revenue in relatively short order. That’s a simple truth. The extent of the damage, of course, will vary greatly by organization, but there’s virtually no publisher that shouldn’t be bracing for impact.
That said, the notion that publishers are helpless in this scenario isn’t accurate. Steps can (and, in fact, must) be taken to offset this revenue disruption, and the amount of effort that a given publisher puts into proactive mitigation efforts is going to make all the difference when it comes to how the competitive publishing landscape looks in just a few short years.
Shoring up First-Party Data Positions
Across the board, publishers are going to need to get more mileage from their first-party data assets if they are to survive. In this regard, the playing field is far from level. Smaller, independent publishers have less first-party data to work with than today’s global publishing titans and prestige titles, but they’re the ones that are going to be hurt most by its absence. After all, these are the publishers that can’t afford to abandon their ad businesses for subscription models, nor can they afford to run at a loss for any significant length of time.
So, what can publishers be doing to bolster their first-party data assets in advance of the forthcoming disruption? There are three primary areas that deserve attention right now.
- Emerging identifiers: A bevy of emerging identifiers are flooding the market right now to lessen the effects of the vanishing third-party cookie. But make no mistake: There’s not going to be a single replacement for the cookie. This isn’t a situation in which publishers must or should choose sides. Instead, publishers need to remain open and interoperable with a wide array of alternate identity solutions as they roll out to ensure they’re aligned with whichever ones ultimately gain worthwhile traction in the market.
- Cooperative moves: In addition to embracing multiple identity solutions within the adtech landscape, publishers also need to be seeking out the private marketplace and co-op structures that offer access to stable data connections and scalable inventory. Through industry cooperation with other publishers, it is possible to extend audience knowledge and provide greater advertising value in a privacy-first way.
- Long-term plans: Ultimately, publishers need to be laying the groundwork — now — for a stronger first-party data play in the future. That means enhancing the value exchange with audiences in a way that deepens the relationships and flow of permissioned user data. Such planning might not be able to offset the immediate impact of Google’s shift, but it will be necessary for long-term viability.
In the short term, the first and second areas of focus noted above are going to be key to the survival of independent publishers. Regarding emerging identifiers, publishers aren’t going to be able to afford a swing and a miss. They can’t select a single ID and hope it works out. Even if they do happen to align with the identifier that gains the greatest market traction, it would still only represent a portion of what’s being lost through third-party cookies. As such, they need to be partnering with companies that can help them maintain connections with the broader identifier landscape on an evolving basis.
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Likewise, publishers can’t afford to let old competitive tensions get in the way of their planning for a cookieless world. Co-op structures are one of the only ways for publishers to get liquidity for their supply while offering brands a stable channel and direct connection to identity, and it’s a strategy they need to be mobilizing sooner rather than later. It’s highly likely that SSPs and DSPs will have an important role to play in this mix too.
The forthcoming shifts in the advertising identity landscape, particularly the loss of third-party cookies in Chrome, are a pivotal moment for the publishing industry. Organizations can either take an every-publisher-for-itself approach or can pool resources and tap into partnerships designed to benefit everyone. The choice should be clear, but the time to act grows shorter every day.