Is the Death of the Cookie the Death of Digital Marketing?

Webinar Transcript: Is the Death of the Cookie the Death of Digital Marketing?

Speakers:

• Mannie Frances, Sr. Director, Customer Success, Blueshift
• Nick Chappell, Product Owner, 14 West
• Cian Murphy, Head of Content Marketing, International Living

The Changing Marketing Landscape

Mannie Frances: Welcome, everyone. Today we’re diving into a hot topic: is the death of the cookie the death of digital marketing? With cookies and privacy laws changing the landscape, marketers everywhere are being forced to rethink their strategies.

Nick Chappell joins us from 14 West where he advises publishers on digital marketing, and Cian Murphy is with International Living, bringing deep expertise in SEO and content marketing. We’re going to explore the specific challenges and strategies that have emerged from these sweeping changes.

The Impact of iOS 14.5 and Privacy Changes

Cian Murphy: A major shift began with Apple’s iOS 14.5. Most users opted out of tracking—96% in the U.S. That’s a nightmare for marketers. Before, we had full-funnel tracking, 28-day attribution, shared pixels. Now, we’re limited to one pixel per domain, fewer events, and a 7-day attribution window. The result? Data gaps that affect remarketing, targeting, and measurement.

Nick Chappell: It’s true. It used to be the Wild West—we could track everything. Now, that precision is gone. Finding the perfect person for the perfect ad has become much harder.

Cian Murphy: The privacy revolution has led to tools like Google’s FLoC, later replaced by Topics API. But the bottom line is that marketers now have to lean on first-party data.

First-Party Data and Zero-Party Data Are Critical

Nick Chappell: First-party data is data you observe—behavioral signals, content consumption, clicks. Zero-party data is data customers explicitly provide, like preferences or survey answers. When layered together, they create a powerful foundation for personalization.

Cian Murphy: Exactly. It’s not just about tracking people—it’s about knowing what they want. We’re shifting from guessing to actually listening.

The Cost of Reduced Personalization

Cian Murphy: With less data, ad relevance suffers. Users get irrelevant ads. Companies pay for impressions that don’t convert. CPCs rise. And small businesses get squeezed out of the market. This hurts everyone, including the customer.

Mannie Frances: Personalization and privacy are at odds, but consumers expect both. It’s a balancing act marketers must get right.

What Marketers Can Do Now

Nick Chappell: You have three options: do nothing, plan for change, or act now. The first will cost you. The second helps you prepare. But the third—acting now—sets you up for long-term success.

Cian Murphy: We chose to act. We doubled down on content marketing. Not just creating content, but listening to our audience and producing what they truly need. We’re taking an omnichannel approach to reach them everywhere: email, YouTube, Instagram, and beyond.

Content Marketing and Audience Engagement

Cian Murphy: We aim to be the best answer for every search query in our niche—retiring abroad, cost of living, safety, visas. We have writers on the ground giving us real-world insight. That’s how we win in organic.

Nick Chappell: The more relevant your content, the more the platforms reward you. Quality content drives long-term growth.

Email and Omnichannel Distribution

Cian Murphy: We’ve launched an affinity-based weekly newsletter. It recommends personalized content, tracks engagement, and drives users back to our site. If someone’s already read something, Blueshift hides it. We saw a spike in website traffic and even received messages when we skipped an issue.

Mannie Frances: This newsletter is set-it-and-forget-it. Once connected to your content feed and engagement data, it becomes a powerful, low-lift way to keep users engaged.

Nick Chappell: It’s more than just email—it’s true omnichannel delivery. People want content on their terms, whether that’s email, social, or push notifications.

Managing Preferences and Gaining Loyalty

Cian Murphy: By letting people choose their channels and content types, we’re getting higher engagement. Email still drives the most return visits. Organic may be our largest channel, but email brings people back.

Nick Chappell: The more you respect people’s preferences, the more they reward you with loyalty and advocacy.

Challenges in the Competitive Landscape

Cian Murphy: Content marketing is more competitive than ever. Influencers and niche bloggers are climbing rankings. Google’s algorithm updates keep us on our toes. Social media reach has plummeted. To stay relevant, we have to invest in interaction—not just publishing.

Nick Chappell: These are real market threats. But they’re also opportunities for brands who commit to quality, relevance, and authenticity.

Using Blueshift to Drive Results

Cian Murphy: With Blueshift, we’re able to track behavior, automate delivery, and personalize at scale. Our YouTube channel grew 16,000 subscribers last year. It’s not massive—but it’s real engagement.

Mannie Frances: And with that automation, you can tailor experiences without manual effort. That’s the value of intelligent automation.

Final Thoughts

Mannie Frances: The death of the cookie isn’t the death of digital marketing. It’s a new chapter. One where first-party data, customer trust, and great content lead the way.

Cian Murphy: Customers want to feel heard, not just tracked. If you listen and act on what they care about, they’ll keep coming back.

Nick Chappell: And at the end of the day, authenticity wins. Always.