Cookies…Not the Ones We Like With Warm Milk.
It seems like anything and everything we do nowadays is being tracked one way or another, especially in the digital space. Casual brand mentions in our conversations with friends become freakish when we stumble upon ads while scrolling through Instagram posts, learning that our smartphones are listening to us every minute of the day. But I guess this isn’t even the worse that can happen because sometimes, out of curiosity, we look up something via the Internet and are bombarded with ads of the same thing.
However, a handful of big tech companies have taken the lead to listen to the concerns of their consumers in regard to data privacy. Including Google, which has plans to get rid of third-party tracking cookies in 2023, and Apple, whose newest iOS 15 update gives users more control over how apps use their data. While this is great for users who are worried about data tracking and cookies, it poses a threat to companies who rely on these methods to market their products or services.
Cookies, with a glass of half-full milk, please!
“We designed cookies to exchange information only between users and the website they visited.” — Lou Montulli; inventor of cookies in 1994.
The digital world has given most of us, if not all, a space to innovate, create, and learn all kinds of things in all kinds of ways — for users and marketers. And it seems that it’s always the minute details that we tend to overlook. For example, when users are browsing through their social feeds and come across an advertisement, it's rare that they stop to think about how that advertisement came to be. Unless, you are a marketer, UI/UX designer, digital analyst, or have familiarity in advertising to comprehend this side of marketing. ORRRR the advertisement was so outstanding and relevant that you start freaking out and think an FBI agent is sitting on the other side of the screen, tracking your every move.
Here is a quick summary of the main positive attributes to cookies and data tracking from a user’s end:
- The convenience of accessing data information
- Personalization of advertisements
- Relevance of related advertisements
In essence, besides just pop-up ads that we see every day, we also never think twice about the information that is stored on our devices. Whether they be credit card information, home addresses, full name, email addresses, phone numbers, usernames, or passwords. Such a small step in our form-filling process, but can we take a moment to mentally accumulate all the times this has happened and appreciate how much time was saved? (Currently practicing mindfulness with daily gratitudes 😌). Not to mention, the ads we do see most of the time are highly relevant and personalized — catered to our specific wants and tempting us to use “treat myself” as an excuse yet again when we cave into those purchases.
Meanwhile, from a marketer’s perspective, it gives their brands:
- More Visibility
- Cross Channel Tracking
- Data, data, data!
How else would companies figure out the needs, wants, and buying behaviors of their audience members if it wasn’t for data tracking? Plus, traditional marketing methods no longer hold as much power as they used to in today’s digital universe. With the growing competition that almost every industry has, brand visibility and exposure are so crucial to score big numbers on their annual reports. Then, we have the concept of data. It’s a no-brainer that the more data a company has, the merrier. In this case, more is not less. More is more!
Cookies, with a glass of half-empty milk.
I hate to be a pessimist but…
While cookies and data collection were invented for a productive and favorable reason, I think we all learned by now that leprechauns, Santa Claus, and unicorns don’t really exist (sorry, 9 year-old me 😞).
In most recent times, the negative sides of cookies have been more prominent than ever, especially on the consumer’s end:
- High security risks
- Irrelevancy to consumer
- Hassle of manual disabling
All in all, there currently seems to be a heavier emphasis on why cookies and data tracking poses more threats than opportunities. The most obvious one is privacy concerns and security risks because our most personal information is stored on a device that can be easily accessed. Manual disabling of these settings makes it hard for users who lack technical expertise in navigating through that process. Sometimes, only after going through 3 pages of gibberish, can you find the privacy preference toggle at the bottom of the page in the fine print. Making it such a hassle. Moreover, some advertisements that we come across may not even be relevant to us, to begin with! An annoyance after seeing it for the 100th time.
From a marketer’s perspective, cookies can also pose a similar threat:
- Inaccuracy of data
- Lack of Transparency
- Not using data to full advantage
An elementary reason is that marketers are not fully using the collected data in ways that can benefit their brand through bettering their consumer’s digital experiences. This might just be because of the lack of experience or knowledge in data analytics, digital marketing, and other related subjects. Which leads to inaccurate use of data, marketing ads to the wrong people at the wrong time. However, more importantly, it’s also often unclear what exactly is being collected when companies say they are accessing our data in their privacy policies. They say ignorance is bliss, but in this case, it definitely isn’t. Even the inventor of internet cookies has regrets.
The Social Dilemma (Yes, like the Netflix show)
The Netflix show “The Social Dilemma”, frightens us as they unveil the truths behind data and cyberspace. This issue is and always will be a highly debated topic of conversation for as long as the internet exists. In my last blog post, I talked about section 230’s controversy with the data privacy of tech giants. Correlatively, this blog goes in tangent to the topic from a consumer’s and marketer’s perspective.
As an optimist at heart, I strongly believe that the pros of cookies can outweigh the cons. But I think the moral of the story here is for brands to do 3 things — be more transparent with data collection, be more relevant in the distribution of marketing, and be more proactive in their initiatives on data protection.
