You could argue third-party cookies are already stale – but they just won’t go away. Google just extended their expiration date for another year to the end of 2024.
The optimist’s take (glass of milk half full): Privacy Sandbox proposals will have more time to develop. Trials with millions of browser users will start this year, and workable solutions will, or rather are expected to, be ready 10 fiscal quarters from now.
The pessimist’s take (glass of milk half empty): Google will delay the third-party cookie deadline yet again, right around this time next year – just like it did last year.
This week on The Big Story, we play out the different scenarios that could unfold now that Google has delayed its third-party cookie removal in Chrome once again. Even if Google sticks to its new deadline, the ad tech industry will have been in flux for five years.
Also, what does the extension mean for Unified ID 2.0, startups and established ad tech companies that built new products in expectation of massive change?
Tremor, Amobee … and everything in between
Then, if you’re looking for a classic example of ad tech consolidation, look no further than Tremor’s acquisition of Amobee.
Tremor purchased the company for a steal after the telco Singtel, which originally bought Amobee in 2012 as a strategic acquisition, decided it wanted to part ways with ad tech. The combined company now includes Unruly (another discard from a strategic acquirer), RhythmOne, Taptica, Videology, Aconion, AdJitsu, Spearad, Kontera … and that’s not even a complete list.
Although Amobee started life focused on apps, it’s since moved into advanced TV, which is an area Tremor has been eyeing, Ofer Druker, Tremor International’s CEO, told AdExchanger the day after the acquisition was announced.
Let’s just hope the integration process for all these assets doesn’t drag on for as long as the phaseout for third-party cookies.
