Surviving The Cookie Crisis
The discourse surrounding the seemingly endless “death of the cookie” has dominated the digital marketing landscape in recent years. Within these discussions, what genuinely sparks concern is the impending demise of the third-party cookie.
Cookies, as a whole, on websites are not going to die. Google’s Chrome browser is set to initiate a block on only third-party cookies in Q3 of 2024, with Mozilla’s Firefox browser following suit. To learn more about this topic and what it means for marketers, read our recent post on Everything You Need To Know About Cookies.
This post will cover the technical impacts of the death of the third-party cookie, what it means, and how to be prepared.
1. Review your application’s first-party cookies. If your application is embedded or used on another site, like an Intranet, you will want to make sure the first-party cookies are set up correctly.
2. Examine the use of third-party cookies on your application, particularly when embedding content from external sources like YouTube. Identify these third-party platforms to test their functionality in the absence of third-party cookies. If issues arise, communicate with the respective third-party platforms to explore potential updates.
3. Testing the application. Chrome and Firefox currently have third-party cookie blocking turned off, but you can turn it on within the browser and test the application. To do this in Firefox, click Settings on the top right, then Privacy & Security on the left, and finally click on Custom and select All third-party cookies to be blocked.
Instructions for Chrome can be found here.
Ensure comprehensive testing for your web application, including scenarios where the site/application is embedded on an Intranet.
4. Make updates to third-party implementation and retest.
The death of the third-party cookie does not have to be the death of your marketing efforts. By familiarizing your organization with the technical impacts of this change, adequately preparing for it, and testing your applications, this shift can be a painless one.
If your team could use a partner to guide them along this third-party cookie-less future, One North can help. Click the button below to set up an initial call to review your application and create a plan.
Photo Credit: Jason Leung | Unsplash
As Director, QA & Managed Applications, Michael is responsible for delivering One North digital experiences to clients and creating both web applications and custom data integration solutions. Michael’s favorite Chicago spot is the United Center, watching the Hawks in the playoffs.
Favorite movie quote: “Great moments…are born from great opportunity. And that’s what you have here tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here tonight. One game. If we played ’em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game; not tonight.” – Miracle
What you wanted to be when you were little: A firefighter