Adobe has released new research that shows brands aren’t taking the necessary steps to evolve their data strategies, despite serious near and long-term impacts on their businesses.
In the ANZ region, Adobe found that more than half (58 percent) of brands in ANZ aren’t taking the necessary steps to evolve their data strategies, despite serious near and long-term impacts on their business.
The majority (76 percent) of ANZ brands still rely heavily on third-party cookies and many (58 percent) of cookie-using leaders say they view cookies as a “necessary evil,” even though they realise continued overreliance is a losing strategy for the long-term.
Over half (49 percent) of ANZ leaders who use CDPs say they’ve already gained more direct. relationships with customers, seen a rise in customer loyalty (36 percent), and an increase in the number and value of completed transactions (37 percent).
The global survey of more than 2,600 marketing and consumer experience leaders (including 656 APAC respondents) explored the marketing investments and strategies that set industry leaders apart from the competition.
Across APAC, the majority (79 percent) of brands still rely heavily on third-party cookies, with over half (56 percent) of leaders expecting the end of third-party cookies will hurt their businesses. The research shows that ambiguity over cookie deprecation is causing confusion and, in some cases, inaction, with one in three (38 percent) APAC leaders stating they are not changing their marketing strategy out of a perceived lack of urgency, while others plan to change but are delaying cookieless preparation.
“Companies that aren’t diversifying their strategies are leaving money on the table today, and hurting their chances of gaining competitive advantages in the future,” said Gabbi Stubbs, APAC Product Marketing and Strategy, Adobe. “While a wholesale change in strategy takes commitment and long-term investment, the benefits are undeniable across all currencies that matter—from customer loyalty and satisfaction to a better bottom line.”
Brands rely heavily on third-party cookies
Although deprecation is on the horizon, 52 percent of APAC leaders still spend at least half of their marketing budgets on cookie-based activations – and 79 percent actually plan to increase spending on cookie-dependent activations this year. Most (81 percent) leaders in APAC still rely heavily on third-party cookies because they feel they’re very effective, while a quarter (23 percent) of respondents surveyed in Australia believe that third-party cookies aren’t going anywhere.
The majority (86 percent) of APAC leaders at cookie-dependent companies say that at least 30 percent of their total potential market is in environments where third-party cookies don’t work, such as social media platforms and on Apple devices, and 59 percent say that half or more of their potential market is in cookieless environments. Beyond the immediate consequences of being unable to reach 30-50 percent of potential customers, the impacts of this mistake will only compound with every passing quarter as the cookieless frontier continues to expand.
An overdependence on third-party cookies is about to backfire on brands
Many APAC leaders expect the end of third-party cookies will hurt their businesses, in some cases profoundly: 34% said it would “devastate” their businesses, 21 percent anticipate significant harm, and 25 percent predict a moderate negative impact. In some countries, the numbers are more concerning; 54 percent of leaders surveyed in Australia expect either devastating (31 percent) or significant (23 percent) impacts from cookie deprecation. Many heavy third-party cookie users believe they don’t have a choice, with over half (60 percent) of cookie-using leaders saying they view cookies as a “necessary evil,” even though many realise that continued overreliance is a losing strategy for the long-term. One in three respondents (37 percent) say they can’t get the resources to evolve their strategies, a number that rises to over half of leaders (56 percent) in Australia.
While many companies are now on the path to abandoning cookies, a third (38 percent) are not. Some say they’re not changing out of a perceived lack of urgency. Others plan to change but are delaying preparations.
Customer data platforms (CDPs) are helping brands prepare for a cookieless future, and a cookieless now The research found that over half (54 percent) of APAC leaders who use CDPs say they’ve already gained more direct relationships with customers, a rise in customer loyalty (42 percent), and an increase in the number and value of completed transactions (41 percent). CDPs also improve internal workflows, with 46 percent saying it enabled better and faster work across marketing and IT and more efficient ROI production (35 percent).
Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform (Real-Time CDP) now delivers billions of predictive insights a year based on real-time customer profiles. These insights empower teams to engage customers who are likely to buy – or who may be considering switching to a competitor. The platform has become the customer experience engine of choice for leading brands across numerous industries, including Coles, SBS and Suncorp.
Michael Tutek, Co-Founder and CEO, preezie:
“Adobe has released new research revealing most APAC brands are still relying heavily on third-party cookies for marketing purposes, despite the fact that these cookies are currently being phased out of use by all major web browsers.
“Brands that continue to spend large amounts of their marketing budgets on cookie-reliant activations are wasting valuable marketing dollars. While utilising cookies to target audiences may seem like an easy way of acquiring new customers quickly, it simply isn’t a viable long-term strategy and marketers that are not actively seeking out new strategies will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage in the coming months.
“Instead, the migration away from third-party cookies is the perfect opportunity to develop innovative strategies to enhance the customer experience and foster brand loyalty. As an example, brands can collaborate with each other to leverage their owned channels for cross-promoting their products. By doing so, they can reach new customers who are already inclined to make a purchase with minimal effort, and without the need for tracking.
“This is an approach that preezie has assisted many APAC brands with and it’s one that ensures great results and a much more pleasant online shopping experience. This is especially true for consumers who are increasingly tired of feeling like they’re being ‘tracked’ on the internet.
“Many marketers lamented the death of cookies but for those that are willing to step away from traditional advertising formulas, there is a wealth of opportunity out there.”
