UK brands unprepared for third-party cookie phaseout
With new privacy updates from Apple and Google coming into force, as well as a deluge of data surfacing from new digital sources, UK marketers are facing a challenging 2022.
According to the Customer Engagement Review from Braze, despite plans to phase out third-party cookies in 2023, less than a third (28 per cent) of brands have said they will be reducing their reliance on this data in 2022.
The research revealed that marketing budgets could potentially be on the rise, with 98 per cent of UK brands expecting to increase their spending in 2022 to cope with new privacy updates mandated by Apple and Google.
Many marketers are reacting to the new privacy measures by increasing their marketing budget in two areas: increasing the number of channels used (46 per cent); and boosting the frequency of marketing appeals (38 per cent).
Compliance with new regulations is also a top three investment area for brands and a priority for 43 per cent of respondents, highlighting the anticipated investment needed for companies to respond effectively to the shifting landscape.
Speaking to 140 marketing decision makers from B2C brands in the UK with annual revenue of over $10m (£7.3m), the top challenges UK marketers cite for the next 12 months are: managing compliance and risk (36 per cent); applying data to business decisions (33 per cent); and collecting, integrating and managing marketing data (32 per cent).
New Challenges, New Opportunities
Warrick Godfrey, Vice President of Industry Solutions at Braze, said commented: “Brands are facing their most significant data management challenge since GDPR was introduced three years ago. The ever-changing privacy restrictions from the tech giants—in addition to the vast growth of data being created by digital channels—are making it harder than ever for marketers to optimise the way they communicate with customers.
“It’s never been more critical for brands to take control of first-party data and their customer relationships. Successful customer engagement in 2022 will mean improving the use of first- or zero-party data to personalise communications and bring harmony to cross-channel messaging.”