Effective Date: June 19, 2026
This Cookie Policy explains how HCP Associates (“HCP,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) uses cookies and similar tracking technologies on our website at www.hcpassociates.com (the “Site”). It describes what these technologies are, why we use them, the specific categories of cookies we rely on, and the choices available to you for managing your preferences. This Cookie Policy should be read together with our Privacy Policy, which provides additional detail about how we collect, use, and protect personal information.
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that a website places on your computer, tablet, or mobile device when you visit. They are widely used to make websites work, to make them work more efficiently, and to provide information to the website owner. Cookies allow a site to recognize your device, remember your preferences, and understand how you interact with the content.
We also use related technologies that function in a similar way, including web beacons (also called pixels or tags), local storage, and software development kits. In this policy, we refer to all of these technologies collectively as “cookies.”
Cookies can be described in a few different ways:
- First-party cookies are set by the website you are visiting — in this case, HCP Associates.
- Third-party cookies are set by a domain other than the one you are visiting, such as Google or a social media platform, often to support analytics or advertising.
- Session cookies are temporary and are deleted automatically when you close your browser.
- Persistent cookies remain on your device for a set period of time or until you delete them, and they allow the Site to remember you across multiple visits.
How and Why We Use Cookies
HCP Associates is a research, strategy, marketing, advisory, and public-affairs firm serving business and institutional clients. We use cookies on our Site for a limited set of purposes that support that work, including:
- Operating the Site reliably and keeping it secure.
- Remembering your settings and preferences so the Site is easier to use.
- Understanding how visitors find and use our Site so we can improve our content and performance.
- Measuring the effectiveness of our marketing and, where applicable, presenting relevant information about our services to people who have shown interest in our work.
We do not use cookies to sell your personal information, and we limit our use of tracking technologies to what supports the purposes described above.
Types of Cookies We Use
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are essential for the Site to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually set in response to actions you take, such as navigating pages, completing a contact form, or maintaining a secure session. Because the Site cannot work properly without them, these cookies do not require your consent, but we document them here for transparency. Many of these are set by the WordPress platform that powers our Site.
Functional and Preference Cookies
These cookies allow the Site to provide enhanced functionality and personalization, such as remembering choices you make or information you provide. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, some or all of these features may not function properly.
Performance and Analytics Cookies
These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with the Site by collecting and reporting information such as which pages are visited most often, how long visitors stay, and whether they encounter errors. We use this information, primarily through Google Analytics 4, to measure and improve the performance of our Site. The data collected is aggregated and used to understand overall usage patterns.
Marketing and Advertising Cookies
These cookies may be set through our Site by us or by our advertising partners, including Google and social media platforms. They may be used to build a profile of your interests, to measure the performance of our campaigns, and to show you content or advertising relevant to HCP Associates on other sites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies, you may experience less relevant advertising.
Representative Cookie Table
The table below describes the categories of cookies most commonly used on our Site and representative examples. The exact cookies present may vary over time as we update our content, tools, and service providers. Durations are approximate and are set by the relevant provider.
| Cookie / Provider | Type / Category | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress session and security cookies (e.g., wordpress_test_cookie, wp-settings) — First party | Strictly Necessary | Maintain core Site functionality, sessions, and security; confirm that cookies can be set | Session to 1 year |
| comment_author, comment_author_email, comment_author_url — First party | Functional / Preference | Remember your details if you leave a comment so you do not have to re-enter them | Up to 1 year |
| _ga (Google Analytics 4) — Third party | Performance / Analytics | Distinguish unique users to measure Site traffic and usage | 2 years |
| _ga_<container-id> (Google Analytics 4) — Third party | Performance / Analytics | Persist session state for analytics reporting | 2 years |
| _gid (Google Analytics) — Third party | Performance / Analytics | Distinguish users over a short period for usage statistics | 24 hours |
| _gat (Google Analytics) — Third party | Performance / Analytics | Throttle the rate of requests to limit data collection on high-traffic pages | 1 minute |
| _gcl_au (Google Ads / Conversion Linker) — Third party | Marketing / Advertising | Measure ad conversions and link interactions to our campaigns | Up to 90 days |
| IDE, test_cookie (Google DoubleClick / Google Ads) — Third party | Marketing / Advertising | Deliver and measure advertising and support remarketing; verify cookie support | test_cookie: 15 minutes; IDE: up to 13 months |
| VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE, YSC, CONSENT (YouTube / Google) — Third party | Functional / Marketing | Enable embedded YouTube videos and estimate bandwidth and viewing preferences | Session to 6 months (CONSENT up to 2 years) |
| _fbp (Meta / Facebook Pixel) — Third party | Marketing / Advertising | Measure and deliver advertising and audience insights via Meta platforms | Up to 90 days |
| li_sugr, bcookie, UserMatchHistory (LinkedIn Insight Tag) — Third party | Marketing / Advertising | Support LinkedIn advertising, conversion tracking, and audience matching | Up to 6 months |
Third-Party Cookies
Some cookies on our Site are placed by trusted third parties whose services we use. These providers may collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites. We do not control these third-party cookies, and their use is governed by the providers’ own privacy and cookie policies. The principal third parties we work with include:
- Google Analytics 4 — helps us understand how visitors use our Site. You can learn more in Google’s Privacy Policy and read about how Google Analytics uses cookies.
- Google Ads and remarketing — allows us to measure campaign performance and present information about our services to people who have visited our Site. You can manage these preferences through Google Ad Settings.
- YouTube — used to display embedded videos on our pages. YouTube is operated by Google and its cookies are governed by Google’s Privacy Policy.
- Social media pixels (Meta and LinkedIn) — where used, these help us measure and deliver relevant marketing. You can review the Meta Privacy Policy and the LinkedIn Privacy Policy for more information.
Managing Your Cookie Preferences
You have several ways to control or limit how cookies are used on your device.
Consent banner. When required, our Site presents a cookie consent banner that allows you to accept or reject non-essential cookies and to adjust your choices by category. You can change your preferences at any time by reopening the banner or cookie settings from our Site. Strictly necessary cookies cannot be disabled because they are required for the Site to operate.
Browser settings. Most web browsers allow you to view, manage, delete, and block cookies. You can usually find these controls in the settings or preferences menu of your browser. Please note that if you block or delete cookies, some parts of our Site may not work as intended. For guidance, see the help pages for Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge.
Analytics opt-out. You can opt out of Google Analytics across all websites by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
Advertising opt-out. You can opt out of personalized advertising from many participating companies through industry tools, including the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), and, for the European market, Your Online Choices. You can also manage Google’s ad personalization through Google Ad Settings.
Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control
Some browsers offer a “Do Not Track” (DNT) feature that lets you signal that you do not wish to be tracked. Because there is still no consistent industry standard for how to interpret DNT signals, our Site does not currently respond to them in a uniform way.
We do, however, recognize the Global Privacy Control (GPC), a browser- or extension-based signal that communicates your privacy preferences automatically. Where required by applicable law — including the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended — we treat a valid GPC signal from a covered consumer as a request to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. You can enable GPC through a supported browser or browser extension; learn more at globalprivacycontrol.org. For more detail about your privacy rights and how to exercise them, please see our Privacy Policy.
Changes to This Cookie Policy
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the technologies we use, in applicable law, or in our business practices. When we make changes, we will revise the “Effective Date” at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or our use of cookies, please contact HCP Associates through our contact page. For broader questions about how we handle personal information, please review our Privacy Policy.