“Our 15-year relationship with the humble third-party cookie is finally showing signs of strain in an increasingly mobile — and privacy-aware — world, throwing the door wide open for alternative solutions,” writes Forrester Principal Analyst Joanna O’Connell in a new report. “But in the current state of limited market adoption and with new technologies still in early stages of development, there remains no clear winner in the multiplatform targeting game.”

Cookies, typically belonging to third parties such as DSPs, ad networks, or targeting vendors, are a powerful tool for desktop-based targeting — but they fall significantly short when asked to bridge the gap across a consumer’s desktop and mobile devices. In fact, by the end of 2012, 42% of online US adults met Forrester’s definition of a perpetually connected consumer — owning and using at least three connected devices and accessing the Internet multiple times a day from multiple physical locations, at least one of which is “on the go.” Add to this the notion that Internet users are becoming more concerned about privacy in the wake of recent NSA leaks, and it’s no surprise that marketers who continue to use the same tried-and-true methods of targeting risk driving consumers into the arms of savvier competitors.

In the report, O’Connell outlines the current state of cross-platform targeting options, provides the pros and cons of each targeting type, and details why marketers must embrace the idea of relationship management.

Learn more about “Solving The Cross-Platform Targeting Riddle” here.