Is Google’s new set of controls the final nail in the coffin for retargeting?

Google recently announced new privacy tools to limit cookies and limit how much tracking advertisers can do. This, added to earlier announcements from Firefox Apple’s Safari, whose blockers automatically work on third-party trackers, means a massive rethink from those advertisers who rely on retargeting.

The company describes it as a new page on how Chrome will protect users’ privacy.

It could mean that third-party cookies will fast become the black sheep of digital advertising. It is ever more comfortable to avoid  them, if not block them altogether.

Moreover, Google is not stopping here; it will now be pushing back other techniques such as browser fingerprinting, reducing the amount of passive information its browser provides. It has also released some other tools that have been designed to work in tandem with known features like Ad Settings and Mute This Ad. Another extension will let users know of each intermediary involved in targeting and serving any ad.

These other additions may be more important than they seem. That cookies don’t work as well on mobile as they do on desktop, and with mobile increasing its role as the dominant environment, means that the more significant issue here may be the limitations on non-cookie tracking techniques like browser fingerprinting.

Google’s engineering VP told us that experience has shown that people prefer ads tailored to needs and interests, but only when those ads offer transparency, choice, and control.

Google’s integrated login cookie means that the measures are not necessarily going to limit Google’s own ability to watch you online; however, Google Analytics and other analytics services utilize tracking cookies. The rules do seem a little unclear still, but the browser’s pure popularity means that the measures have the power to change the entire ad ecosystem. An ecosystem in which they themselves, along with Facebook, already reign.

A decade ago, the most obvious consequence of the European Union amending its 2002 ePrivacy Directive to require that companies obtain consent for storage or access of data on electronic devices was the barrage of cookie consent forms found on websites in the EU. It was often criticized as an ineffective burden for those who attempt to adhere to it. It was seen as often almost impossible to enforce. Ten years later, we have another change that has the potential to reevaluate and perhaps even reset how digital advertising works, and it must be handled better.

It’s heralding an era of going back to basics in our targeting and media buying, but it doesn’t have to mean that we forget about creative optimization and innovation.  This byline will allay concerns driven by the fact that cookies are on the path of extinction and are already entirely blocked by two browsers. DCO, creative analytics, real-time creative change, and innovative formats can drive active engagement for brands - without the need for cookies.

There is more than a case to be made that marketers, agencies, publishers, and especially technology companies have allowed themselves to be charmed by technology and data’s potential to optimize delivery. The fundamental truth is that the ad creative has to be good. Otherwise, you are wonderfully maximizing the delivery of something as useless as a screen door on a submarine. It’s a dirty little secret that quality creative, with fuzzy targeting, has always worked better than mediocre creative with brilliant targeting. A great strategy without great creative is like clapping with one hand.

The demise of cookies means it’s time to be smarter with our creative, and savvy advertisers should be rubbing their hands in anticipation. And here’s why.

ComScore ARS, a leader in measuring the digital world, some time ago released findings from extensive research indicating the importance of sound strategy and active, creative elements in driving effective campaign execution for TV and digital advertising campaigns. The results, based on extensive research conducted by Comscore ARS, showed that creative quality drives more than half of the sales changes for brands analyzed, four times higher than the impact of the specific media plan involved.

They remarked:

“Based on our years of research in this space, we’ve determined that the quality of the creative is four times more important than the characteristics of the media plan in generating sales. In fact, creative is the single most important factor and accounts for over half the changes in a brand’s sales over time.”

Before going on to say:

“Getting the creative right is absolutely essential, and yet its importance so often gets minimized in the process of developing an ad campaign. Now is the time for advertisers using digital, as well as more traditional media, to get serious about optimizing their creative on the front end, so they don’t get a rude awakening when the ads don’t work, and they are left wondering what went wrong.”

The report went on to say that findings showed that among campaigns with an above-average creative strategy, 70 percent resulted in an above-average execution. Similarly, among campaigns with a below-average creative approach, 65 percent resulted in a below-average creative performance. Zero campaigns with a below-average creative strategy score performed above-average on creative execution.

Since the research was done, there has been very little else. What we are all hoping for is a post-cookie rerun. For now, what it shows is that in terms of driving sales, the quality of the creative is four times more important than the media plan.

When we look at ad awareness, things only get better for the creatives among us:
Published in 2013, “The Power of Creation,” is the largest and most comprehensive study of perception and impact of online display creative in the German market. It included an analysis of almost 300 reviews and 40,000 participants. What it showed was that the very creative is the most significant factor in getting the ad looked at. Of course, targeting has its merits and indeed accounts for ten percent of the probability that an ad will be looked at, but compare this to the almost 50% dependant on the creative, and you can see where priorities should lie.

The study also found that quality within creative is a huge factor in awareness and impact of an ad, where high quality creative can increase viewing time by 600% and can almost double purchase intent when compared with low quality creative.

In a competitive market, it is far too easy to try and find the most efficient fashion to reach as much of their target audience as possible. It is too easy to show methods using figures and not selling creative ideas. Using the latest tools and data is secondary now, the smart advertisers know that the key to great marketing is the same is it always has been… great creative.

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