Third-party cookies are dead. Privacy regulations are strict. Here's how to market effectively in a cookieless world.

The Privacy Landscape Shift

What changed:

What Happened

Safari blocked third-party cookies (2020)
Firefox blocked third-party cookies (2022)
Chrome phasing out (2024+)
GDPR, CCPA regulations
Apple ATT (App Tracking Transparency)

First-Party Data Strategy (The New Gold)

First-party data is data you collect directly:

Sources of First-Party Data

Website forms (email, name, company)
Purchase history
Website behavior (pages visited, time on site)
Email engagement (opens, clicks)
Customer service interactions

How to Collect More

Value exchanges (content for email)
Loyalty programs
Surveys and quizzes
Account creation

Contextual Advertising Returns

Contextual ads target content, not people:

How It Works

Show ads on relevant content (not based on user data)
Example: Show marketing tool ads on marketing blogs
Privacy-friendly (no tracking needed)
Effective (relevant context = relevant audience)

Building Your Own Audience (Owned Media)

Own what you can:

Owned Channels

Email list (you own it)
Website visitors (first-party data)
Social media followers (platform owns, but you can engage)
Customer database (CRM)

Zero-Party Data: Asking Customers Directly

Zero-party data = data customers give you directly:

How to Collect

Preferences surveys
Quiz responses
Onboarding forms
Feedback requests

Conclusion

The cookieless future is here. Focus on first-party data (the new gold), use contextual advertising, build owned audiences, and collect zero-party data directly from customers. The result? Privacy-compliant marketing that actually works.