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| Did Publishers Waste Time Playing in the Sandbox? |
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| Now that Google hit pause on its grand plan to kill third-party cookies in Chrome, publishers can breathe a sigh of relief (for now). Instead of tossing everyone into the deep end of Privacy Sandbox experiments, Google’s keeping the cookie jar open—so publishers can keep their ad targeting and revenue streams humming along without scrambling for new solutions. There will be no new pop-ups or prompts for Chrome users, Chavez wrote in the announcement, just business as usual while Google rethinks its privacy road map. For publishers, it’s a stay of execution: Keep calm, carry on monetizing and watch this space for whatever Google cooks up next. But was the time spent testing the Privacy Sandbox worth it? Paul Bannister, chief strategy officer at Raptive, believes so, stating that investing in post-cookie tech is good for publishers. “I don’t think publishers wasted their time for a few reasons. First, while Chrome cookies are going away, most browser cookies are already gone, and regulation and legislation will keep pushing that number down,” said Bannister. He added, “Plus, Google is still saying that they are investing in the Sandbox, so if the Google Ads team keeps investing, money will come through those pathways that savvy publishers will want access to. It’s disappointing that it took so long to reach this point, but I think most of the investments were worthwhile.” Chrome’s Decision Shouldn’t Stall Progress, Says IAB Tech Lab CEO Anthony Katsur, chief executive officer at IAB Tech Lab, told AdMonsters that he agreed with this sentiment in a conversation at the privacy summit. “For over 25 years, publishers have relied on interoperability across the open web,” Katsur said. “That’s why I see Chrome’s decision as a positive step—not just for publishers but for the entire digital media ecosystem.” Katsur added that his biggest cookie deprecation concern has been the potential impact on midsize and long-tail publishers. Katsur took AdMonsters down memory lane, back to when Safari deprecated third-party cookies in 2020. The move caused Safari CPMs to drop by 40% to 50%, and demand within Safari browsers declined by 30% to 40%. It was a significant revenue hit, particularly for smaller, long-tail publishers. Third-party cookies also power interoperability, enabling measurement, anti-fraud efforts and cross-browser visibility, Katsur said. Without them, the ecosystem loses critical functionality. But that doesn’t mean more privacy-forward solutions should take a backseat to cookies. Besides, cookies are kaput on plenty of non-Chrome platforms, with Safari being just one example. “My concern is that 35% of the web—browsers like Firefox and Brave—is already not properly addressable through third-party cookies,” Katsur said. “We need to keep investing in privacy-first alternatives like synthetic IDs, clean rooms, server-to-server connections and first-party matching.” But Google’s latest cookie reversal could lead to complacency and stall innovation of cookieless solutions. “I worry the industry won’t keep up the momentum,” Katsur said. Regulatory scrutiny into data privacy isn’t going away either. The regulators at the IAB summit are still laser-focused on the digital ecosystem. The current administration seems more business-friendly and perhaps more sympathetic to how digital advertising drives consumer activity, which in turn drives the economy. But we’re still waiting to see what direction regulators will take, especially with uncertainty swirling around policy priorities and budget decisions. “The last administration painted targeted advertising with too broad a brush,” said Katsur, agreeing with Mufarrige’s comments. “Every industry has good and bad actors. We should absolutely penalize the bad ones, but reward the good.” Did you like this newsletter? Is there a topic you want me to tackle next time? Feel free to hit me up with your feedback at abyrd@admonsters.com. |
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| Monster Mashup |
| After the Ruling: Can Publishers Thrive Through Google’s Ad Tech Breakup? U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema found that Google "willfully acquired and maintained monopoly power" in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets. What does it mean for publishers and independent ad tech? Read more. When Rome Fell: Reflections on the DOJ Ruling and the Fall of Our Digital Rome In this analogy, Google is Rome. The whole empire: GAM, AdX, DV360, Open Bidding, Search, AdSense, Analytics, you name it. These tools allowed publishers of all sizes to build, monetize and scale. Read more. Multicurrency Is Messy. Mediaocean’s Building the Highway That Could Be the Fix. While the industry debates which currency wins, Mediaocean is busy powering the infrastructure that makes them all work. In this fireside chat at CIMM East, Ramsey McGrory chatted about why being the system of record—and staying neutral—might be the most powerful position of all. Read more. What CIMM East Told Us About the Future of Media Measurement (and Why the Sell Side Needs to Pay Attention) CIMM East was full of insights highlighting the complexities of media measurement’s future. From currency fragmentation to AI workflows and data transparency, here are six takeaways for the sell side to keep top of mind as the ground keeps shifting. Read more. |
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