Developing a 1PD Testing Framework NOW

The English language idiom “to cry wolf” is derived from the classic Aesop fable “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” In this allegorical tale, a boy who is assigned the responsibility for looking over a flock of sheep repeatedly fools his fellow townspeople into believing the flock is being attacked by wolves. The townspeople become so inured to his calls for help, that when a wolf actually attacks the flock, no one comes to the rescue, and the wolf ends up eating all the sheep (and in some later retellings, the boy as well). If you’ve been following Google’s continually changing deadline for deprecating cookies, the above allegory might be feeling very familiar. 

As recently as October 2023 Google was still updating their messaging around the deprecation, however they’ve stuck to the same timeline for at least 6 months, making it seem like this time they really really really mean it. The most recently published plan consists of 3 phases: opt-in testing with labels (Q4’2023 - Q3’2024), followed by deprecating 1% of global 3rd party cookies as an additional layer of Chrome-facilitated testing (Q1’2023 - Q3’2024), and, assuming all goes well with these phases, finally the full, actual deprecation of third-party cookies beginning in Q3’2024.

There are still plenty of questions regarding exactly what it means to deprecate 1% of cookies, as well as what “phase out” actually means (in at least some regards, haven’t we been phasing them for years?) But two things remain true regardless of the specific deprecation date: cookies will be phased out for durable IDs at some point, and relying solely on durable IDs will cause a dramatic shift in targeting scale and performance. 

The real issue with Google continually pushing the timeline on deprecation is brands have become so inured to hearing cookies will go away someday, that many companies have lost any steam they had gathered behind putting together a workable, tactical approach to 1st party data. 

It’s no fun and hard to prioritize drafting a completely revised targeting strategy for something that feels like a maybe possibly not real event or, at best, a real event that is only happening maybe possibly someday. However, what makes drafting new strategy both un-fun and hard to do, is the amount of time and effort required to put together a good one, not to mention the time delay of testing in the market, which is necessary so you’re able to model the revised scale and performance moving forward. Even in the best of circumstances, the long lead time to solid answers is a very serious consideration, and, should the Q3’2024 deprecation deadline turn out to be solid, unprepared brands are going to find their flocks of ad campaigns eaten by the wolves of progress. 

How do you even approach creating a durable, future-proofed targeting strategy? At a high level you will want to: 

Audit your current strategy. What percentage of your campaigns leverage 3PD vs 1PD?

For campaigns leveraging 3PD vendors, audit their data sources. What percentage of their matching is done via third-party cookies and/or device IDs? Do they offer durable alternatives? If not, you may want to consider divesting from these partners. 

For campaigns leveraging 3PD audiences, which segment qualifiers will be deprecated? Are there durable proxies you’re able to transition to, while maintaining the meaning of the segment? 

Start RFPing future-proofed partners; make sure their solutions are durable, and their scale and business practices support your needs.

Consider new future-proofed, privacy-forward ways to reach your audience. 

After you have audited your current campaigns and vendors, as well as decided on new workable qualifiers and partners, the next step is to carve out test budgets so you can put rubber to the road and find out how your new strategy will perform in the real world. 

None of this is easy! If it were, every brand leveraging digital would already have this in their back pocket. That being said, there will never be a better time to get started; don’t let your business get eaten alive! If you’re struggling with the process, I’m here to help. Please reach out for a data strategy consultation today!