Der Wegfall von Third-Party-Cookies im Programmatic Advertising: Auswirkungen und Lösungsansätze

Abstract

The imminent elimination of third-party cookies represents a fundamental change in programmatic advertising. This change comes against the backdrop of stricter data protection laws and increasing pressure from users and companies to improve data protection. As third-party cookies have previously played a central role in data-driven and automated ad placement, there is now a great deal of uncertainty about how the industry will respond to these changes and what new technologies and methods can fill the gap that has been created. This master's thesis aims to investigate the impact of the removal of third-party cookies on programmatic advertising campaigns and identify potential solutions. The thesis is based on a comprehensive literature analysis and qualitative expert interviews with leading experts in programmatic advertising in Austria. Mayring's qualitative content analysis was used to systematically evaluate the data obtained. The work is divided into eight chapters: an introduction to the topic, a presentation of the theoretical foundations and technological background, an analysis of the challenges arising from the discontinuation, a presentation of the methodology of the expert interviews, a presentation of the empirical results and a final conclusion of the research results. The research shows that the elimination of third-party cookies brings with it considerable technical and operational challenges that require a rethink and a strategic realignment within the entire programmatic advertising industry. The empirical results make it clear that alternative technologies such as contextual targeting, the privacy sandbox, ID-solutions and first-party data management are necessary to close the resulting gap. The experts emphasize the need for greater collaboration and standardization within the industry. The work also shows that large companies could expand their dominance, while smaller players would have to pursue innovative approaches to remain competitive. Finally, it highlights that the industry as a whole could benefit from a stronger focus on data protection and transparent data processing.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	German (Austria)
Awarding Institution	Johannes Kepler University Linz
Supervisor	Dietmar Nedbal (Supervisor)