Cookie-Less Alternatives Boost Retargeting Revenue: A Case Study

The last two years have marked a sharp turning point for the e-commerce industry, with sales rising by 14.2 percent in 2021. Yet, online brands continue to face pressure to serve consumers relevant product recommendations and seamless experiences while retaining customer loyalty amid the demise of third-party cookies. Due to global data privacy regulations like CCPA and GDPR and modifications from Safari, Firefox and Chrome, the tried-and-true retargeting method is getting a makeover.

Now brands across verticals are rewriting their ad targeting strategies to preserve consumers’ digital privacy. In fact, a recent survey found that 84 percent of consumers are more likely to trust brands that prioritize using personal information with a privacy-safe approach. Additionally, 74 percent reported a willingness to share preferences, interests and demographic information directly with brands if that would improve their online shopping experience. Customers want to shop with brands who provide good user experience while valuing and protecting their privacy and personal data.

As was the case with one global direct-to-consumer spice brand, which overhauled its targeting approach and explored innovative ways to reach consumers without relying on third-party cookies.

Spiceology Drives Addressability Through Anonymized Data

Spiceology was founded in 2013 with the intent to revitalize a deeply entrenched spice industry and had relied on third-party cookies for a decade. With Apple, Mozilla and Google enacting privacy changes, Spiceology had to find a new technique to drive addressability in a privacy-compliant way.

Spiceology searched for partners that could reconfigure how it collected, tracked and targeted consumers without putting its expansion efforts at risk or negatively impact sales and brand loyalty. The brand enlisted MediaMath, a future-proof demand-side platform (DSP), and Parrable, a privacy-friendly ID platform, intending to get in front of its target audience without relying on third-party identifiers.

Parrable and MediaMath quickly got to work. Parrable implemented its Javascript/onboarding pixel into Spiceology’s landing pages, then used its consent-based identity solution — compliant with the GDPR, CCPA, and NAI — to build a pool of anonymized devices coming from Safari, Firefox, and Chrome browser sessions. The adtech companies used Spiceology's audience file to identify available ad impressions and bid for them across all browsers. Parrable’s integration with MediaMath’s DSP, which has future-proofed its platform in anticipation of third-party cookie deprecation, allowed Spiceology to retarget devices across all browsers. As a result, Spiceology had the ability to start serving relevant ads that were just as effective — and, in fact, more so — without using third-party cookies. The D-to-C brand increased its retargeting addressability by 60 percent across all browsers and increased its retargeting revenue.

Together the adtech companies generated positive return on ad spend (ROAS) and Spiceology observed an immediate benefit in sales and increased visibility. The adtech companies are future-proofing Spiceology’s audiences, preserving its ability to reach, convert and measure shoppers on the web well after third-party cookies are no longer an option for advertisers.

Today, consumers expect sophisticated and intuitive communication from their favorite brands as well as for those brands to protect their valuable information. As such, Spiceology continues to invest in customer satisfaction and implement new strategies to uphold its commitment to relying on first-party data while navigating the complexities of the digital world. Spiceology was one out of hundreds, if not thousands of brands to rely on third-party cookies, but now the D-to-C brand is slated for success now and in the future.

Carla Holtze is the CEO and co-founder of Parrable. Mary Matyas is senior vice president and general manager of North America at MediaMath.