Amazon’s data-driven boost, and Google postpones the cookie’s death (for now): Datacenter Weekly

The cookie moves off of death row (for now)

“Google’s not-so-shocking move to postpone killing cookies in Chrome has divided the ad industry, yet again,” writes Ad Age’s Garett Sloane, “with advocates of a post-cookie web saying, ‘let the cookie go already.’ Other stakeholders in the complex ad tech landscape are giving Google a pass, asserting that the industry is not ready for such drastic changes without longer preparation, and especially during an economic downturn.”

The details: “On Wednesday, Google changed its post-cookie timeline,” Sloane notes, “marking the second time the company pushed back the date to shutter third-party cookies in Chrome. Google now says third-party cookies will go away in the second half of 2024.”

Essential context: “Google’s plan to replace cookies is clearly facing more difficulties than the company initially expected, and this new delay is just the latest sign that its privacy-enhanced roadmap is a bit of a mess, according to ad tech industry insiders,” Sloane adds. “Google has to walk a fine line because it is such a dominant player in browsers and ad tech, raising complicated competitive questions any time it makes a change.”

Keep reading here.

See also: “Meta, Google and others reveal the messy state of digital advertising,” also from Ad Age’s Sloane.

Amazon’s data-driven boost

On Thursday, Amazon reported revenue that topped estimates, prompting shares to jump more than 12% in extended trading. As Bloomberg News and Ad Age’s Garett Sloane report, a key part of Amazon’s story to investors right now is data-driven:

The company highlighted updates to its ads platform from the second quarter, including the launch of Amazon Marketing Stream in June. Amazon is developing data and marketing services, competing with internet ad giants like Google. The “marketing stream” sends real-time analytics to advertisers about how “sponsored products” ads are performing. Sponsored products mainly show up when consumers browse Amazon, and they have become an essential way for brands to get discovered.

Keep reading here.

Just briefly

• “TikTok Will Provide More Insight into Content Trends and Moderation via New Research Initiative,” Social Media Today reports.

• “US has one of the highest levels of monkeypox in the world: CDC,” per ABC News.

• “Google’s Nest Will Provide Data to Police Without a Warrant,” from PetaPixel.

• “Uber confesses it covered up a huge data breach,” per TechRadar.

• “Twitter hacker touting the data of over 5.4 million users, including celebrities and companies, for $30,000,” from Fortune.

• “Average Data Breach Costs Hit a Record $4.4 Million, Report Says,” per CNET, citing  research by Ponemon Institute via IBM Security.

The newsletter is brought to you by Ad Age Datacenter, the industry’s most authoritative source of competitive intel and home to the Ad Age Leading National Advertisers, the Ad Age Agency Report: World’s Biggest Agency Companies and other exclusive data-driven reports. Access or subscribe to Ad Age Datacenter at AdAge.com/Datacenter.

Ad Age Datacenter is Kevin Brown, Bradley Johnson and Joy R. Lee.

This week’s newsletter was compiled and written by Simon Dumenco.