Unprepared executives face challenges with Google's cookie phase-out

At a critical juncture for digital marketing, a significant 97% of executives feel unprepared for Google’s plan to phase out third-party cookies.

Additionally, 86% believe their current personalisation capabilities are inadequate, according to recent research conducted by Optimizely. The survey included responses from over 1,000 marketing, eCommerce, and IT executives across six global markets.

The study indicates that, despite the growing importance of personalisation in marketing strategies, many companies feel unequipped to navigate upcoming changes.

"This report makes clear that brands are ill-prepared to navigate the emerging, generational shifts in the ways they can reach customers," said Shafqat Islam, Chief Marketing Officer at Optimizely.

He pointed out that while executives recognize the importance of investing in personalisation and experimentation, there is a lack of streamlined tools to implement effective campaigns at scale.

The study reveals that 62% of respondents have increased their personalisation budgets since last year, signifying a commitment to improving these capabilities.

However, just 9% of executives have achieved full implementation of real-time personalisation strategies, with many citing significant challenges such as lack of focused analytics (43%), difficulty in scaling programmes (40%), and problems activating experiences in real-time (39%).

Furthermore, the survey found that only 26% of executives have a unified definition of personalisation within their organisation, reflecting a broader issue of disjointed workflows.

The lack of consensus hinders effective strategy implementation and underscores the need for unified frameworks. This disunity is compounded by concerns over measurement, as no single metric for measuring Return on Investment (ROI) in personalisation efforts is used by even half of the respondents.

Despite these challenges, there is consensus on the benefits of effective personalisation and experimentation. Benefits highlighted include the ability to identify mistakes (40%), make data-driven decisions (40%), test strategies before deployment (39%), personalise customer experiences (39%), and discover effective personalisation strategies (39%).

The research also underscores the high stakes associated with effective personalisation. A substantial 43% of executives fear that ineffective campaigns may lead to reduced future marketing budgets. This caution dovetails with consumer behaviour; more than 75% of consumers are more likely to consider purchasing products from brands that offer personalised experiences.

As Google phases out third-party cookies, companies will face increasing pressure to obtain consumer data through other means. Shafqat Islam emphasises the necessity for innovative approaches, stating, "Accessing marketing solutions that create personalised digital platforms without third-party data will be key to thriving in the coming decades." The shift to relying on directly discerned consumer data is seen as essential for future success in digital marketing.

Executives broadly agree on the critical role of personalisation in marketing strategies, but the journey from recognising its importance to effective implementation remains fraught with challenges. The findings suggest that as the digital marketing environment continues to evolve, companies must develop more cohesive and data-driven approaches to personalisation.