How to Win in a Cookie-Less Future Using First-Party Data

If there’s one clear certainty about the future of digital advertising, it’s that it will be “cookie-less.” Right now, the over US$600 billion digital advertising industry as we know it is heavily reliant on third-party cookies. However, with Google planning to phase third-party cookies out by 2024, and 86 percent of consumers agreeing with the move, a transition toward cookie-less advertising looks all but inevitable, and it promises to radically transform the way Mexican retailers and financial institutions engage with customers, both existing and prospective. While 2024 doesn’t sound like much time to prepare, there’s no need to panic, as Mexican companies can already do plenty to make their advertising propositions cookie-proof for when the time comes.

For companies that wish to avoid a bumpy landing once third-party cookies are no more, the adoption of new technologies, especially including first-party data, will be vital. First-party data is any information you collect directly from your audience through digital channels that you own. This could be from a user’s behavior when using your website or application, surveys, social media, online chat and customer feedback or conversations, to name just a few examples. First-party data has many advantages over third-party, such as being reliable, unique to your company, and not at risk of being outlawed anytime in the future.

The transfer from third-party to first-party is not just a case of cutting one’s losses, as Boston Consulting Group and Google have calculated that companies who use first-party data to perform key marketing tasks achieve up to 29 percent more revenue and 15 percent more cost savings. 

The same survey also found that companies that link their first-party data sources can generate up to two times more revenue from a single advertisement, while also improving cost efficiency by up to one and a half times. First-party data allows for companies to accurately target the right customers, strengthen customer relationships, achieve higher transparency and drive down advertising spending waste.

It also gives your company access to its very own research pool that can inform marketing and business decisions your competitors don’t have access to. While third-party data is accessible to all,  first-party data offers your company a unique insight into your customers’ wants, needs, preferences and behaviors.

Indeed, at REWORTH, we believe that cookie-less alternatives to third-party data-driven advertising present Mexican companies with a unique opportunity to offer their customers a closer, more personalized and more responsive relationship. We call it ‘frictionless loyalty.” Here’s how it helped us revolutionize the customer loyalty experience.

Customer loyalty programs have often relied on third-party data that end up targeting customers with irrelevant offers, bland and impersonal messages, or an awkward process to actually claiming one’s rewards that often makes the whole process counterintuitive.The result of all this is that customers can end up feeling friction from a company’s customer loyalty program, rather than the feeling of being effortlessly rewarded. 

Think about how many reward programs are still being built around outmoded models, such as overcomplicated points schemes, loyalty cards that you can never find when you need them, or bulky, clunky apps that require a lengthy sign-up process, hoover up and sell on your data and never seem to give you the right offers when you need them. 

However, at REWORTH, we’ve bypassed all third-party tactics to offer a cashback program that enables companies to reward their customers with the best of all prizes: money deposited directly onto their debit and credit cards. Through the power of first-party data, banks can share anonymized information about cardholders’ transactions in order to offer highly personalized rewards that are in the best interests of each individual customer, both respecting the privacy of the users and giving them added value. 

While this is just one example of how first-party data can be used to create a better end-user experience than what we’d settled for in the world of third-party cookies, we think it shows how by adapting to a cookie-less world now, companies can effectively bring themselves and their customers much closer together, creating a frictionless loyalty that is both transparent, efficient and a win-win for both parties.

About REWORTH

REWORTH is a platform that offers solutions based on data analysis to attract and retain more customers, through cashback rewards. REWORTH is capable of generating more exposure for a company, attracting more clients, and encouraging recurring purchases and loyalty. In addition, it uses the analysis of consumption data for potential clients and current clients and offers the business relevant insights for growth. The programs that REWORTH offers do not require the payment of commissions, in addition to the fact that they do not force the user to download applications, make unnecessary registrations, or require a special card in addition to their credit or debit card; this generates greater satisfaction during the purchase experience, and increases loyalty.