A Cookiless Future and the Impact on Branded Content

Last year we discussed how the internet was moving towards a cookieless future, driven by increasing concerns about user privacy and regulations like the GDPR and CCPA. As third-party cookies, which have long been the backbone of targeted advertising, are being phased out by major browsers like Chrome, marketing teams are being forced to rethink their strategies, particularly in how they approach branded content and customer engagement.

Third-party cookies have historically allowed brands to track users across websites, enabling highly personalized marketing communications based on browsing behavior. With their removal, marketing teams lose a key tool for understanding user preferences and behaviors on external sites, which could result in less effective targeting and reduced return on investment (ROI) and gravely impact the marketing funnel and MQLs/SQLs.

As a result, companies are turning to first-party data—information collected directly from users through interactions on their own platforms. Brands are focusing on building deeper relationships with customers by encouraging them to share data willingly, through sign-ups, surveys, and loyalty programs. In this environment, collecting meaningful first-party data becomes essential for delivering relevant content and maintaining personalization. We discussed the need for personalization in enterprise marketing based on insight from our Global and Regional Trends Report.

Shift Toward Contextual Advertising

Without cookies to track users across the web, contextual advertising is making a comeback. Instead of relying on individual user data, ads are now being placed based on the content of the webpage a user is viewing. For example, an ad for data center capacity might appear on a cloud blog. Contextual ads allow marketers to target relevant audiences while respecting their privacy, and as AI continues to improve, the effectiveness of this approach is likely to increase.

Content is Still King 

In a cookieless world, branded content will play a more central role in marketing strategies. While it may surprise some, we spoke with Jim Brown an SEO expert to better understand the intersection between SEO and PR, and he confirmed that content is still the number one pillar for a good SEO program and strategy. Quality content that aligns with the brand’s identity and provides value to consumers becomes a crucial tool for engagement. Content marketing, including blogs, videos, and social media, will help brands build trust and maintain visibility without relying on tracking technologies.

Engaging content formats such as quizzes, polls, and augmented reality experiences can provide users with compelling reasons to engage directly with brands, creating opportunities to collect first-party data. Marketing teams need to focus on crafting content that not only attracts attention but also fosters meaningful engagement, making data sharing feel like a fair exchange for value. You remove “the ick” of gated content, and focus on the free exchange of information. These experiences can easily be done during organization-owned events or at conference booths.

Privacy-Centric Identity Solutions in a Cookieless World

To adapt, many marketing teams are exploring identity solutions such as unified IDs and hashed emails. These technologies aim to create privacy-compliant ways to track users across platforms without relying on cookies. 

The cookieless future is reshaping digital marketing, pushing brands to pivot away from cookie-based tracking and focus on more ethical, privacy-centric methods. Marketing teams will need to double down on first-party data, improve their contextual advertising capabilities, and prioritize high-quality branded content. Success will depend on how well they can build authentic, direct relationships with customers while respecting their privacy.

How are you tackling the cooklieless future? Share your insights with hello@sourcecodecomms.com.