CHICAGO — New European laws, consumer revolts and unsupportive devices… these are testing times for cookies, the client-side files that transport user data to advertising networks. But 2013 may not mean the end of the cookie is nigh.

“The rate of which cookies are going away is greatly exaggerated,” advertising data group eXelate‘s chief marketer Khurrum Malik told this panel discussion during Beet.TV’s recent Chicago programmatic video ad summit. “Deletion rates are there – but cookies are still in bountiful abundance.

“Facts are facts – people are deleting cookies at a great rate … but there is the trend of utilizing first-party data mixed with third-party data … that’s driving accuracy in a better direction for cookies.”

In the discussion about data management platforms and programmatic ad buying, Vivaki’s Audience On Demand GM Chris Paul added: “So much of what we’re doing right now is a new way to get at an old problem … (but) I don’t think this shift would be happening if it wasn’t working.”

SpotXchange business development SVP Jeremy Straight added: “Publishers think of themselves as brands as well, they have to segment inventory in a way that makes it valuable to potential buyers.”

Watch the interview by Furious Minds CEO Ashley J. Swartz for more insights.