Big changes are happening in the cookie world. For several years now, browsers, such as Safari and Firefox, have been able to block applications of cookies. Third party cookies are on their way to the exit and that can have serious consequences for achieving your business goals. A Customer Data Platform does not use third party cookies, but only first party. So you manage your own data. Want to know more about this? In this blog we explain how it all works.

Any company that deploys its marketing activities digitally will be limited in the use of target audiences, retargeting and result measurement of campaigns. Analytics, website personalization and A/B testing will also function differently under these changes. Fortunately, Spotler Activate offers the solution to best prepare your organization for this and to largely limit the impact.

Privacy

Since 2012, the Telecommunications Act (also known as the Cookie Act) has been in force in the Netherlands, making it mandatory to inform website visitors about which cookies are placed and what they are used for. Since that time, the providers of the major browsers have been tackling and closing the privacy risk step by step.

Not all cookies are disappearing

It is not the case that all cookies will disappear. Browsers will only reduce the use of cookies for privacy-unfriendly purposes. For example, by limiting who has access to the cookies on your device. This way, the website that has access to the cookies that they have placed themselves keeps the first party cookies. So your previous login can be saved and your shopping cart can still be displayed.

First-party cookies are placed by the owner of the website.

The changes especially have major consequences for third party cookies. These cookies can be used to recognize people on other websites. After the introduction of the restrictions, other parties can no longer simply place their own cookies with a visitor to your website. A well-known example of this is the application for retargeting and conversion measurement by, for example, Meta (Facebook/Instagram), Google, LinkedIn or Criteo.

Third-party cookies are placed by a company that is not directly involved with the website.

So there is a clear difference here. It is important to know that with Spotler Activate you become the owner of your data. So only first-party cookies are used. This is of course also a much more pleasant situation for your customers because their data is then managed by you and not by a third party that they actually do not know about.

Limit the impact with Spotler Activate

You can therefore limit the impact of these stricter rules regarding cookies by using Spotler Activate. In Spotler Activate you build a 360-degree profile for every website visitor. It collects data from all visitors of your website. This data is stored securely and remains the property of your company.

From Spotler Activate you are then linked to a large number of external marketing tools for, for example, advertising, email marketing and Google Analytics. By creating a link from one central data source, you benefit from two important advantages in a world without cookies.

Restore data

Because all (historical) customer data is stored in your own database, it is possible to restore data with every visit, both on a website and in the linked channels from which the cookie has expired or has been removed. As soon as Spotler Activate recognizes the visitor, the data that is already known can be forwarded immediately. In this way, your target groups in the advertising platforms remain current.

Serverside Synchronization

Of course, the major advertising platforms are not sitting still either. For example, Meta (responsible for Facebook and Instagram) has launched the Conversions API. This makes it possible to establish a direct server-to-server link with their platforms. When visiting a website, Meta shares an identification number that is stored in Spotler Activate Premium. Then event information can be sent to Meta via the Conversions API.

The practical advantage of this link is that you can send updates to Meta much more often than without the Conversions API. This means better match rates, larger ad target groups and better conversion measurements than if only the Facebook Pixel is implemented in your website.

It is expected that more and more options will arise for server-side data synchronization. In general, it is not easy to make those links directly from your website. By using a Spotler Activate you can immediately take advantage of these new opportunities.

What cookies does Spotler Activate use?

Spotler Activate uses first party cookies. This cookie can easily be placed on behalf of your website with a long validity period. This cookie is accessible when a customer visits your website and is used to enable personalized experiences. This can considerably limit the impact of stricter cookie measures on your business.

And now what?

The sooner you start taking your data into your own hands, the better. It is advisable to put everything on paper beforehand. So what are your goals? What do your conversions look like? It is also very insightful to clearly outline this in the form of a customer journey. Have you also mapped out all touch points? With the associated channels? Then you are ready to start collecting 360-degree customer profiles. Then schedule a demo right away. Then we’ll walk through it together.