Like it or not no-one – including marketers – can avoid being cookie compliant come late May. The big question for brands is how to ensure cookie compliance, while at the same time encouraging consumers to see the benefits of cookies and ensuring the customer journey is not interrupted to the detriment of both the brand and consumer.
It’s only by reassuring consumers that their information will be secure that marketers can demonstrate the benefits from sharing information, not only from a service delivery perspective, but in building stronger relationships with brands.
This means the first step is the need for an education process among consumers, communicating the advantages that cookies can bring to the web browsing experience.
It’s only once people understand cookies and get used to them, like they did with payment “Verified by Visa”, that they will be more accepting.
Marketers must also act quickly if they are to help consumers look past the scaremongering reputation that cookies are bad. We have been working with clients to ensure that the value exchange between the parties is not damaged and that the change in the law does not mean a change in relationship. Indeed, we want to ensure that the consumer is informed and empowered to make the right decisions about their cookies, although they can only do this if brands are informing them in the right way.
So how can a brand get consumers to accept cookies in a way that works with the interface between the brand and consumer? I believe it is creativity which drives traffic to a website.
You start a story, build up the interest and get the consumer to click through – only for them to have another ‘wait’ moment. Cookie approval now needs to be built into every creative story. At the moment cookie approval is seen as an afterthought.
Weaving cookie compliance into the customer journey is an interesting challenge. Marketers can be as creative as they like – provided the informed consent is obtained and consumers are sent links to more information about privacy.
Don’t put off cookie compliance any longer. It’s possible to be compliant in a way that continues to benefit your brand while also driving your relationship with customers forward. Some may even welcome such an open and responsible approach.
Gordon Weston is director of technology solutions at Indicia
