Not only is Google removing its support for third-party cookies it recently confirmed it will not build or integrate other forms of identifiers to track individuals browsing the web. This will affect the personalisation of ads for consumers as well as the contextual tracking of data. Telum spoke with Julia Clyne, Dow Jones’ Head of Media Sales & The Trust and Edelman's Digital Strategy Director, Andrew Ryder on what it means for publishers and brands.

• The changes have been driven by privacy protection as previously there was no transparency on how consumers' data was utilised.
• This means that if brands want to work with Google products, including Gmail or YouTube, and continue personalisation it will only be possible when they have their own first-party data and this aligns with Google’s data policies.
• The challenge for brands is that they will no longer able to track consumers through different phases of the marketing funnel so there will be gaps from a measurement perspective.
• Brands will need to redefine the segmentation of audiences as they have been relying on social media platforms to define their target audiences.
• Publishers are exploring new ways to engage with audiences, including the use of first-party data and contextual targeting.
• Publishers need to look into their data infrastructure and focus on how to capture and store data and building a data lake.
• It is expected in the future that publishers and brands need to collaborate more to exchange data and identify consumers.