The digital world is moving away from cookies as tech companies have announced plans to transition away from tracking their users’ data. The marketing industry is quickly adjusting to a future cookieless world, looking for new ways to find their target audiences and how to connect with them.

On March 15th, 2022, Bloomreach hosted a hybrid event entitled No Cookies, No Problem: Future-proof Marketing Strategies for Growth, where marketing leaders met in person to discuss the strategies they are using to succeed in a cookieless world.

Here are a few important takeaways from the conversation:

1. Build a direct relationship with your consumers

Kristen Fassler of Penguin Random House discussed the way her company builds its relationship with consumers despite not selling directly. “We’re never going to sell directly, so we’re never going to have that connection,” she said, “but we need to think about other ways to engage and how we get our customers to share their information with us willingly.”

Kristen spoke on the brand-awareness consumers gained during the pandemic, and how she believes her future marketing strategy will involve furthering that brand-awareness for Penguin Random House.

2. Digital advertising is not dead

When browsers and big tech companies first announced plans to phase out cookies, Allyssa Kaiser, of Nest New York saw a lot of panic in the marketing world, but she has taken a more simple approach. “Who is our customer and what kind of information do we need to find those people?” she said.

Allysa thinks marketers need to spend more time focusing on the data that they have and figure out how to more efficiently use it to find new customers, while also being aware of the data they’re losing.

3. Simplicity is key

“What do people need and what do they want access to?” asked Gabrielle D’Arrigo of D’Arrigo New York. Her strategy for D’Arrigo, a produce distributor, relies on developing good communication with their retailers in order to have better awareness of what the customers want. Their hands-on approach has given them a marketing strategy that doesn’t rely on cookies and remains effective in the cookieless world.

4. Use data creatively

While cookies have provided a mass of detailed information on consumers and their habits, it is not the only form of digital data available. Kristen Fassler of Penguin Random House spoke about the new ways they are trying to mine the data they have in order to discover interesting marketing solutions.

“We don’t necessarily have information about who our customers are or even where they’re coming from to make that purchase, but we know what they’re saying,” she said. “We have invested a lot in the more creative side of data. How do we mine customer feedback to find out how they’re discovering books and why they’re discovering books?”

5. There is no one solution

Tech companies have not yet figured out for themselves what will replace cookies. Allyssa Kaiser spoke about the uncertainty around the cookieless future, and while many speculate about what future technologies will be used, no one has the answer.

“It’s our responsibility as educated, smart marketers ... to try to help navigate through this in lieu of having a playbook or a roadmap,” she said. “And by testing into new channels, that’s one way we are finding some comfort in the future of the cookieless world”

Interested in learning more about the future of automation? Access the full event content by filling out the form at the top of this page.