In early 2020, Google shook up the digital ecosystem by scheduling the death of third-party
cookies. And now, just over 2 years since their initial announcement, and just under 2 years
before the change comes into effect, much has been written and said about the topic, and as
D-Day approaches much more remains to be said. But the overarching opinion is currently that
this change should be considered as an opportunity, as the beginning of a new era, rather than
seeing it as a disaster.
Combined with the recent pandemic and the consequences it has had on our lives and on
companies who have had to adapt to drastically and suddenly changing consumer habits, the
death of cookies has had an irreversible effect on many companies and precipitated them
embarking on their digitalisation journey, and in a lot of cases earlier and faster than planned.

When looking back at the numbers generated in 2021 by their data collection platform, Qualifio
Engage, the team at Qualifio, the leading European SaaS for interactive marketing, loyalty and
data collection, notes that both these milestones in the digital landscape are continuing to have
a significant impact on how brands are preparing for the cookieless future.
Brands who are harnessing their first- and zero-party data collection strategies are looking like
the winners so far. They are able to put the focus on the privacy of their consumers, and are
collecting the data they actually need themselves, and can thus deliver personalised brand
experiences for their audience. First- and zero-party data collection strategies are no longer nice
to have, they’re an imperative. And interactive marketing and audience engagement are looking
like one of the best ways of implementing them.
Qualifio saw record numbers across the board in 2021 on their platform:
- The total number of overall participations in Qualifio Engage campaigns rose by 26%
from 2020, with over 170 million participations in 2021, showcasing the fact that
consumers are increasingly engaging with interactive campaigns and willing to share
their personal data consequently. December 2021 was a record month with just under
24 million campaign participations, largely thanks to the highly popular and engaging
Advent calendar format.
- The total number of participants in Qualifio Engage campaigns was 55.6% higher in 2021
than in 2020, with another record month in December, with over 4.7 million participants.
- The total number of new participants was 44.5% higher in 2021 than in 2020, peaking at
over 2.6 million in December, meaning that brands are growing their knowledge of their
audience and the size of their databases significantly thanks to interactive marketing
campaigns.
- The total number of active campaigns increased by 14.6% from 2020 to over 175,000 in
2021.
Moving into 2022, Qualifio expects this trend of brands using interactive marketing to feed their
first- and zero-party data strategies to continue and to grow, as consumers are increasingly
privacy-aware and demanding of their relationships with brands. As one B2B journalist puts it: “[
…] in order to build trust, appreciation and loyalty, brands must move away from ‘spamming’ and use
more proactive communication to add value.”