Why now is better than later.

This month’s debunked blog explores why businesses need to act now to stay ahead of the post-cookie curve.

“Google tracking cookies ban delayed until 2023,”. With a big heavy sigh, marketers and tech players were halted to a standstill. The industry is no stranger to the temperamental nature of these announcements, and so when Google delayed the ban for the third time, well, it was no surprise. While many think that Google may delay once more, it has never been more important to think about consumers and the strategies necessary to test to ensure data safety for millions of folks across the globe. With less than six months until we welcome the year 2023, a big part of the re-thinking strategy is centred around contextual targeting.

It really is time to look forward, embrace change, and explore new ways of working. While unsolicited advice is endless, here are a few key points what we know to be of importance for all marketers in the next year:

1. Context targeting is here to stay. 
   1. Google can delay the deprecation of cookies yet again, BUT there is no loss in testing contextual strategies for your brands. Contextual targeting provides amazing opportunities for marketers because it allows them to get their ads and brand message in front of the consumers who are actively interested in the product or service. By nature, it connects consumers and brands through genuine interest and relevancy. 
2. Consumer and Privacy first.
   1. With the rise of consumer backlash, the industry is in need of privacy and data-compliant solutions. Marketers need to be thinking about how they can strengthen their brand association with privacy and PII compliance strategies and campaigns. And guess what, contextual targeting helps solve this too.  
3. Powerful Performance. 
   1. Can we shout about the performance? We think so. We have seen better performance across many verticals. Advanced contextual technologies are empowering the advertising industry to generate better performance, and much of this is down to improving performance metrics and how we measure success
4. Video, Video, Video. 
   1. Lastly, contextual strategies do not  only apply to display campaigns. Video Contextual is growing rapidly, and for good reason. Video Context targeting offers consumers an enhanced user experience and brands are seeing higher engagement.
      1. “By activating with 4D Context Outcomes Engine we were able to drive performance, brand awareness and engage consumers interested in purchasing insurance across 4 different contextual strategies. The results spoke for themselves, in just a month we saw a 25% increase in Video completion rate (VCR) across skippable videos.”- Megan Anderson 
      2. Brand Marketing Manager

As the privacy-first, cookie-less era is fast approaching, marketers need to face the challenge head on, and start to put the building blocks in place to prepare for the future.

Want to know how 4D can help your brand? Chat with one of our experts today.