Google abandons cookies plan: APAC experts weigh in
Excerpt shared from Campaign's 'Google abandons cookies plan: APAC experts weigh in ':
Google's decision to backtrack on removing cookies has left the ad industry in a tailspin. As the dust settles, Campaign speaks to industry experts to find out how marketers can cope with the latest news.
After four years of efforts to phase out cookies, Google has decided to keep them in its Chrome browser. Instead of eliminating cookies, Google will now offer users a new experience in Chrome that allows them to make an informed choice regarding their cookie
preferences, which they can adjust anytime.
This decision prompts businesses worldwide, which had been preparing for a future without cookies, to rethink their strategies again. Although this shift might seem sudden, it follows a series of delays and setbacks.
Google first announced its intention to remove cookies in 2020, with an initial phase-out target of the following year. However, the plan faced significant resistance from advertisers and close scrutiny from regulators worried about potential anti-competitive impacts, leading
to repeated postponements.
Campaign speaks to industry experts to find out what Google’s decision means for advertisers in Asia Pacific and the industry at large.
David Nelson – Co-founder and CEO, Limelight
Is this a smart decision by Google?
There is a common belief that Google and other whales of ad tech have a skillfully crafted master plan. In some way, their executives and senior directors have insight and abilities that minnows don't possess. Yet repeatedly, these whales demonstrate that this is not the case. It's time ad tech woke up to the fact that following a whale will only get you into deep water. No motive exists here other than Google acting in the best way for Google today. I am sure that a new decision will be made as soon as Google thinks a new direction is best for them. I don't mean that as a criticism, just a statement of reality. We can't and shouldn't expect Google to do anything else. So why do we think that they will act differently? Why are so many publishers, agencies and ad tech firms so eager to follow in their wake? The answer is
simple, of course: it's money. Yes, this is a sensible decision by Google. It gives them options for when they are possibly broken up, and they are sensibly hedging their bets.
What can we expect to see from Google next regarding privacy now that cookies are staying?
This overwhelming control of ad spending is terrible for our industry, and I hope we will see a future where the Google we know today is broken down into its constituent parts. I don't wish Google any damage, but hope for a more open and cooperative digital marketing world. One where standards of all kinds are governed by the whole industry, not dictated to by one company.
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