According to Ricardo Diaz, chief digital officer at ad agency Omelet, the reason brands used cookies was that they enabled brands to “get a pretty good idea of consumers without really having to have a relationship with them.” The technology, however, hasn’t massively advanced in recent years and many brands are looking for creative ways—both new and old—to develop those relationships and collect first- and zero-party data.

Web3 may well be a form of new technology enabling brands to acquire first-party data. By using new platforms, brands could have the opportunity to collect registration information from customers looking to explore on their way in. The metaverse’s extremely immersive ability to interact with customers could also be seen as a value proposition even if it ends up failing.

Why? “Experience is the currency,” Krystal Olivieri, chief innovation officer at GroupM, told Marketing Brew. “It’s no longer just the transactional component. [People] want something they can post on social media. They want something that they can talk about with their friends.”

Olivieri said the end of the cookie is just another reason why brands need to think about how they engage with consumers in an experiential way. And, presumptively, get the data they need in those RSVPs.

Naturally, once the cookie is dissolved and out of the picture, ads should expect traffic to decrease. To succeed post-cookie, websites should get “a lot more personal,” offering things like log-ins and shopping wish lists where consumers opt in to sharing their information and preferences.

On social media, polls, surveys, and webforms (as seen on many YouTube ads pre-video) are other data-collection methods brands can use for engagement, but timing is key here. Pre-video, sure I’ll fill it out. Mid-video, get out of my binge watch thanks. 

For successful collection of data in a post cookie era, trust is key. It’s important that brands create a comfortable and transparent environment so customers know sharing information is a choice.