Molson Coors is partnering with data connectivity platform LiveRamp and advertising platform Amobee to develop an alternative to the third-party cookie.

LiveRamp says its Authenticated Traffic Solution (ATS) helps clients like Molson Coors run and measure campaigns without relying on third-party cookies. The ATS starts with publishers who already collect user information, including news sites that require readers to log in or otherwise identify themselves. LiveRamp pulls that information together across multiple publishers to help create a unique identifier. Amobee then accesses ATS-enabled inventory to measure, track and provide to clients for further action.

LiveRamp is working with more than 215 global publishers, including 60% of the U.S. Comscore top 50, representing more than 14,000 distinct web properties and reaching more than 90% of the U.S. addressable population

For a brand like Molson Coors, the ability to identify audiences is critical to dealing with what the brewer says is an inherent disconnect in its industry. “Beer is an interesting question, we operate in a three-tier system,” says Megan Sullivan, senior manager of marketing data strategy at Molson Coors. “We’re removed from the consumer at the point of purchase because of suppliers and distributers—but we can market to consumers directly.”

“Because we don’t have the ability to manage directly, we rely on marketing analytics solutions,” says Sullivan.

Amobee says ATS will be one of many identity solutions being developed by the ad tech industry and is meant to be used in tandem with other solutions. “The future will be defined by using multiple identity solutions as opposed to picking one,” says Philip Smolin, chief strategy officer for Amobee. “The future is defined by ‘and’ rather than ‘or’.”

New solutions on tap

Molson Coors’ search for a new alternative began with the demise of the cookie. The third-party tracking cookie is quickly losing relevance as large tech companies like Google lay out plans to move away from the technology. That shift is triggering an intense industrywide scramble for new ways to track and measure audiences. 

“In January, six weeks from now, we’re going to be one year from the deprecation of third-party cookies,” says Travis Clinger, senior vice president and head of addressability and ecosystem at LiveRamp.

Smolin says the demise of cookies marks a sea change in how the world of advertising does business. “The entire advertising industry is on the cusp of a major, major change,” says Smolin. “All of the cookie and identity measurements that the industry has been using for decades—it’s going away.”

But the cookie’s crumble does not leave a bitter taste in the mouths of brewers. “Cookies have been around for a really long time,” says Sullivan. “They’re doing things that they were not designed to do. They weren’t designed to be the backbone of programmatic digital targeting.”

She says ATS will allow Molson Coors to maintain the sophisticated insight it developed through digital media—without taking a step backward. This means the ability to create richer relationships, increase the effectiveness of marketing and eliminate costs. “It’s allowing us to have deeper and more transparent conversations with supply side partners,” says Sullivan.

Smolin also says he’s optimistic on life after the cookie. “While it’s going to be stressful, it’s ultimately good because we can move to solutions that are purpose-built.”

Sullivan says the solution will not replace cookies overnight, however. “It’s a new product with new integrations. We want to make sure we’re managing and not too far ahead of the curve.”