Use of the third-party cookie, as a way of observing activity and monetizing web users, is crumbling.

With the continued push for data privacy, we’ve seen widespread anti-tracking policies put into place by browsers including Apple’s Safari, Firefox, and Google Chrome. In fact, roughly 40% of US web traffic now comes from users who block third-party cookies, reducing cookies’ utility for advertisers.

Google has stated that it plans to officially stop supporting third-party cookies on its Chrome browser at the end of 2023, signaling the end of using third-party cookies as a vehicle for targeted advertising. Ultimately, the sweeping changes to cookie policies and implementation mean that businesses will need to rely more on the use of first-party data.

Publishers should seize the opportunity to take back control

Let’s take a look at these ecosystem drivers in a positive light. First, the loss of third-party cookies creates a unique opportunity for publishers to focus on the value of both their first-party data and contextual signals. 

Quantcast Cookieless Advertising Opportunity

Publishers are heavily investing in their first-party assets and many are launching new platforms that offer specialized segmentation and a variety of tools to make it easy for buyers to buy their first-party audiences

On the marketing side, brands want to be able to trust that a publisher’s first-party data is validated. We also know that advertisers are building out their own first-party assets and are ultimately looking to reach new audiences. Buyers now need to understand which publisher first-party data they can trust, and how they can be assured that the audiences they are buying are truly the right audience to engage. 

Quantcast creates a bridge between publishers and marketers

That’s where Quantcast comes in. By verifying publishers’ first-party data, adding additional data insights, and helping publishers measure their audiences, Quantcast creates a bridge between publishers and marketers. 

Simply put, we help publishers validate their data and measure their audiences, and we help marketers find new customers by leveraging the data from Quantcast Measure, our audience intelligence solution which is deployed across 100M+ web and mobile destinations. Unlike other platforms fully built on stale, third-party data sources and third-party data, the Quantcast Platform is built on real-time, first-party data that enables superior granularity and accuracy to understand and validate publisher audiences.

Advertisers Are Looking For First Party Data

Forbes uses Quantcast to drive performance in new areas

Let’s look at how Forbes, one of our publisher partners, benefits from this technology. Through Quantcast’s insights, Forbes was able to drive real value and performance in new areas and influence their clients’ overall media strategies. This approach ultimately drove new revenue and deeper partnerships for Forbes.

Alyson Williams Quantcast Cookieless Advertising Quote

Validated audiences are a game changer

Validated audiences can play a big role in today’s shifting advertising landscape. Winning in a cookieless world driven by first-party data will come down to publishers that can build trusted relationships with advertisers to tell deeper stories about their audiences, and can work with a partner like Quantcast to validate the audiences they are building. 

Quantcast Platform For The Open Internet

With a massive real-time, first-party data set built into the foundation of the Quantcast Platform, we are well-positioned to support our customers as they navigate changes in the industry, and we will continue providing effective audience intelligence and advertising solutions, now and well into the future.

The good news is that there is life after cookies. And as cookies go away, our goal is to bridge the buy and sell sides of the market closer together to drive revenue for publishers while sustaining a free and open internet. And we have started that journey with our recent launch of Connect—our integrated solution that seamlessly matches marketer demand to publisher supply. We’re one big ecosystem after all—consumers, advertisers, and publishers.

To learn how cookieless activations and measurement are possible today, watch our recent webinar, or sign up to get a demo.