Predicting the future feels particularly daunting after the year we just had. However, there are trends and themes underway that I anticipate will color marketing in 2021. The following are five important ones:
The cookie-less future
A sea change for online advertising is coming. Google’s industry-leading browser Chrome will stop supporting third-party cookies by early 2022, significantly altering how digital ads are targeted and tracked. Yet, even among knowledgeable digital marketers, there’s considerable confusion about how campaigns will be affected.
The coming year will provide a final chance for marketers to educate themselves about the impact of the cookie-less future and to prepare for it. The most important action involves improving access to, and effective use of, their valuable first-party data—and ensure agencies have a clear plan for placing and measuring campaigns after the change.
