The world of programmatic advertising is fundamentally changing
Termination of third party cookies, increasing demands on privacy protection and new rules on Consent mean that publishers need to rethink their data and advertising strategies.
What you will learn in this article:
- the difference between first and third party cookies
- how consent works and why it is key for user data collection
- what's changing in digital advertising
- how publishers can prepare for a cookieless future
🍪 First vs. third party cookies
1st-party cookies (first party cookies):
They are created by the page that the user has visited. They allow you to remember login, language, preferences and track interactions within a single site.
3rd-party cookies (third party cookies):
They are created by an external domain - usually an advertising or analytics platform. Their main task is to track users across different sites for the purpose of advertising targeting and retargeting.
🚫 The end of third party cookies
Browsers like Safari a Firefox have already largely blocked them.
Google Chrome - the most widely used browser - plans to remove them completely by the end of year 2025.
That means:
- significant limitation of retargeting and cross-site tracking
- reducing the efficiency of the open software ecosystem
- increase the value of the data that publishers can get it directly from the user
👤 User data is the new currency
Retrieved from 1st-party data is more important now than ever. It may be:
- registered profiles (email, name, preferences)
- interaction on the web (articles read, topics of interest)
- engagement via notifications, newsletters or apps
These data allow:
- personalise content and advertising
- create strong audiences for programmatic deals (e.g. deal-ID campaigns)
- to provide quality and consent supported focus groups to sponsors
✅ Consent: the basis for legal and trustworthy data collection
With the increase in regulations such as GDPR in the EU or ePrivacy, the collection and use of data is possible only on the basis of the user's consent.
For publishers, this means:
- obligation obtain active consent before cookies are set (except where necessary)
- inform transparentlywho and what data is processed
- store and manage consent - ideally using a CMP (Consent Management Platform)
If you do not have a valid consent, you may not run any trackers or personalise your advertising - which can substantially reduce your programmatic advertising revenue.
🔐 Data collection with consent: an advantage, not a hindrance
Although consent may seem to complicate the situation, publishers who obtain and manage consent well, they can gain from it:
- a higher quality and legally usable audience
- the ability to create direct deals with advertisers based on 1st-party data
- higher CPM for consenting supported users
🧩 How to prepare for a cookieless and consent-first future
1. Implement CMP: Choose a reliable content management platform (e.g. Sourcepoint, Didomi, Cookiebot...)
2. Increase the opt-in rate: Optimize the cookie bar to be clear, understandable and user-friendly
3. Focus on registrations: Encourage user sign-ups and create valuable content in exchange for data
4. Test alternative identities: Join projects like Google Privacy Sandbox or use ID solutions like ID5, UID2.0
5. Build your own data hub: Create an internal or partner data infrastructure (DMP/CDP) that allows you to better monetize 1st-party data
📝 Conclusion
The future of programmatic advertising is without third-party cookiesbut with data and consent.
Publishers that start to build trust with the user and capture and process data transparently will be the leaders in the new digital advertising ecosystem.
Wondering how to prepare?
We will be happy to help you with the audit, strategy design and CMP tool selection. Contact us via WeProgrammatic.com.
