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The holiday season is just around the corner, and retailers and marketers are gearing up for the busiest shopping period of the year. It's crucial to understand how consumer behavior is evolving and what emerging trends to expect. Experian's 2023 Holiday spending trends and insights report analyzes recent trends, consumer spending habits, and anticipates what's to come in 2023 to help you deliver a top-notch shopping experience this holiday season. In this blog post, we'll cover three key insights from our report. 1. Consumers are shopping earlier It's no secret that December has always been the go-to month for consumers when it comes to holiday spending. However, holiday shopping now starts earlier, particularly with online sales. This can be attributed to a surge in promotions and deals, enticing shoppers to open their wallets ahead of time, giving a significant boost to holiday sales. Notably, Cyber Week sales have proven to be an influential factor, accounting for 8% of total consumer holiday spending. Experian tip Reach the right shoppers with your promotions with sell-side targeting. This powerful approach gives you control over where your ads are placed while ensuring maximum visibility through direct connections with publishers. Whether on mobile, web, or CTV, this seamless ad experience will engage your audience effectively. 2. Online sales are on the rise The popularity of online holiday sales is continuously growing, surpassing in-store shopping. There has been a consistent 1% year-over-year increase in online sales, while in-store sales have seen a 1% decrease. "It’s easier for consumers to comparison shop for large ticket items online that they might find at a mass retailer or office supply store. Consumers prefer to have larger, bulkier items shipped directly to their home for minimal cost. By shopping online, consumers can save time since they don’t need to wait in checkout lines." Anna Liparoto, Sr. Account Executive, Retail & CPG Although online sales currently make up only one-third of all holiday shopping, there is immense potential for further expansion. Mass retailers and office, electronics, and games industries particularly excel in online holiday sales. While in-store purchases remain the primary choice for holiday shoppers, consumer online and offline activities intersect before the final purchase. Experian tip Take advantage of the surge in online shopping by diversifying your marketing channels. An agnostic identity graph can bring together device and media data, capturing valuable user insights. By gaining a holistic view of your target audience, you'll be able to optimize your ad spend and allocate resources effectively, ultimately boosting your return on investment. "Omnichannel targeting during the upcoming holiday season will continue to prove to be the best way to reach scale and maximize ROI across all marketing channels."Joe LigÉ, Head of Enterprise Demand Partnerships 3. 2023 holiday spending will be on par with 2022 During the holiday season in 2022, consumer spending showed an anticipated increase, although the growth rate was slightly lower compared to previous years. October saw a surge in average consumer spending, indicating a swift response to early discounts and promotions offered by retailers. As the holiday season progressed, holiday spending gradually slowed down and reached a level similar to that of the previous year. Overall, there was a modest 2% growth. Looking into the future, if economic conditions remain stable in the second half of 2023, we can expect holiday spending to align with the figures from last year. Experian tip To truly maximize impact, consider data enrichment. By diving deeper into your target audience's preferences and behaviors, you can better tailor your strategies and seamlessly integrate the enriched data across various channels. This allows you to unlock the true potential of your ad inventory, creating more meaningful connections with your audience. Download our 2024 report Get ready for the holiday shopping season with Experian's 2024 Holiday spending trends and insights report. Inside you'll find: Analysis of past trends and what they mean for 2024 Exclusive predictions for the upcoming holiday season The top audiences to activate this holiday season To access to all of our predictions for this year's holiday shopping season, download our 2024 Holiday spending trends and insights report today. Download now Latest posts

As technology reshapes our media experience, TV remains a powerful channel for content consumption. In our next Ask the Expert series, we dive into a pivotal subject – the convergence of TV, linear (conventional broadcast and cable TV), and digital marketplaces. In this Q&A segment, we’re joined by two industry experts, Dan Hickox, VP of Development & Partnerships at 605, an iSpot.tv Company, and Chris Feo, Experian’s SVP of Sales & Partnerships, who guide us through an engaging discussion on convergent TV, attribution, measurement, and safeguarding personal data in the evolving landscape of TV advertising. How convergent TV is changing the future of advertising The convergence of traditional TV and digital streaming platforms presents an innovative opportunity for advertisers to engage their target audience. With convergent TV, you can create campaigns that bridge the gap between linear and streaming, ensuring your message reaches your target audience while avoiding ad fatigue. Along with high-quality content, extensive inventory, and targeting capabilities, convergent TV offers advanced measurement and attribution tools that will empower you to optimize advertising campaigns for maximum impact. You can make better decisions regarding when and where to strategically allocate your advertising budgets with effective TV measurement and attribution. Attribution in converged TV TV attribution involves tracing consumer actions and uncovering valuable insights into their behavior. With these insights, you can gain a clear understanding of the audience exposed to your ads and their actions in response. Lean into data attribution tools to track your target audience throughout the customer buying journey. Measurement in converged TV In contrast, TV measurement enables the tracking of performance TV advertising campaigns to assess campaign effectiveness. Through converged TV measurement solutions, you can rely on a singular data source, unifying different channels, devices, and metrics for actionable insights. This analysis will give you insights into the audience reached, their location, and the resulting actions taken. TV attribution’s impact on cross-channel media Embracing an omnichannel advertising approach is vital. Evaluating advertising campaigns across various platforms and devices – including linear, TV, and digital channels – is essential for identifying the channels that drive revenue for your businesses. Converged TV and digital streaming enable you to control ad frequency across all channels, enhancing the cross-screen experience. This convergence paves the way for a more comprehensive and holistic future in advertising. Here are three ways TV attribution impacts cross-channel media. Identify the most effective channels TV attribution offers a significant advantage in determining the channels that generate the most conversions. By using this data, you can make informed choices about budget allocation to achieve maximum impact. Deliver a seamless customer experience Consumers demand consistency in their brand interactions. TV attribution can help you by guiding the optimal timing and placement of ads, resulting in a more seamless viewing experience. This synchronization can significantly enhance customer loyalty and retention. Enhance marketing effectiveness By identifying the most effective channels and refining campaign strategies, TV attribution can significantly improve the success of marketing campaigns. The outcome is a measurable increase in sales and revenue, demonstrating the impact of informed and data-driven advertising. Audience-based targeting across linear and digital ecosystems It's crucial to comprehend and connect with the appropriate audience. The emergence of linear and digital platforms has required the development of audience targeting. Across these two ecosystems, audience-based targeting aims to enhance this process by concentrating on specific audience segments rather than general demographics or programming. Benefits of audience-based targeting There are four key benefits of audience-based targeting across the TV ecosystem. Personalization at scale Digital platforms have conditioned users to expect tailored experiences. Audience-based targeting ensures ads resonate with individual preferences and behaviors, even within the vastness of linear TV. Combining data from both linear and digital sources makes it possible to segment audiences more precisely. This results in advertising content tailored to each individual, making it more relevant and personalized. Optimized ad spend Improve your return on investment by targeting specific audience segments more likely to convert, ensuring your messages reach suitable viewers. In contrast to traditional TV purchasing, where advertisement slots are bought based on a show's overall demographic, audience-based targeting focuses on the viewers' behavior and interests, regardless of the program they are watching. Unified measurement and analytics When combining traditional and digital methods of reaching target audiences, it is essential to have a consistent approach to measuring success. By doing this, you can gain insight into how well your ad campaigns perform across different platforms and the frequency with which they are being seen. By comprehensively understanding audiences within different ecosystems, you can adjust your strategies in real time, guaranteeing that your campaigns remain flexible and successful. Enhancing the viewer experience Audience-based targeting benefits viewers by reducing the number of irrelevant ads they see. As a result, viewers can have a more pleasant experience while watching content, which may discourage them from skipping ads and increase their engagement with the content. Future-proofing and safeguarding data Businesses are focusing on future-proofing for data privacy, and safeguarding individual data is becoming more significant than ever before. Now’s the time to embrace new methods that protect your data privacy while ensuring that measurement remains accurate. Experian offers privacy-safe solutions to help businesses preserve precise measurement, even with fewer cookies. "What we're working toward is future-proofing ourselves. To do that, we work with partners like Experian who are already thinking forward, and with your pixel technology, we can capture and resolve the identifiers that we know will be around for a while."Dan Hickox, VP, Solutions Consulting, Development & Partnerships, 605 How Experian and 605 work together 605 is an independent TV measurement and analytics company providing solutions for advertising, content measurement, attribution, planning, optimization, and media transactions. “We partner with great identity partners, such as Experian, that really help us act as the connecting glue across different data touch points. So what it really is, is the ability to have holistic measurement across the different channels, across the different audiences and it starts out with the ability to be able to take disparate data sources and match them together.”Dan Hickox, VP, Solutions Consulting, Development & Partnerships, 605 605 and Experian have a strong partnership that enables 605 to enhance its data through Experian’s Consumer Sync and Pixel solutions. Consumer Sync – 605 utilizes Experian’s Consumer Sync to ensure their data is privacy-compliant and deterministic across all sources. Experian identity organizes people into households, links their digital devices and IDs to them, enriches their identity with behavioral attributes, and then makes this data actionable in any environment, all while maintaining consumer privacy and data regulations. Web Pixel Attribution – 605 utilizes Experian’s pixel solutions to generate web pixel attribution reports on a client-by-client basis – for linear, TV, and cross-platform reporting. 605’s reporting capabilities allow customers to understand their marketing campaigns' true impact and precisely identify high-performing strategies. With the Experian pixel, partners like 605 can learn more about anonymous website visitors by linking associated demographics and behavior attributes, build audience segments based on the highest cart value customers, and more. The 605 and Experian partnership work hand in hand to make linear TV as actionable as digital media for you. Customers can prove the effectiveness of their marketing tactics and gain actionable insights to deliver highly impactful campaigns. Watch the full Q&A Visit our Ask the Expert content hub to watch Dan and Chris's full conversation about TV measurement, data analytics, privacy regulations, and the evolving landscape of TV advertising in the digital age. Watch now About our experts Dan Hickox, VP, Solutions Consulting, Development & Partnerships, 605 As the Vice President of the Solutions Consulting team, Dan collaborates with sellers to turn prospective opportunities into long-term client relationships. He leads new initiatives and drives partnerships that expand 605 capabilities and improve marketplace positioning. Dan brings over a decade of cross-channel media experience in advanced analytics, media optimization, data integration and statistical analysis to 605. Chris Feo, SVP, Sales & Partnerships, Experian As SVP of Sales & Partnerships, Chris has over a decade of experience across identity, data, and programmatic. Chris joined Experian during the Tapad acquisition in November 2020. He joined Tapad with less than 10 employees and has been part of the executive team through both the Telenor and Experian acquisitions. He’s an active advisor, board member, and investor within the AdTech ecosystem. Outside of work, he’s a die-hard golfer, frequent traveler, and husband to his wife, two dogs, and two goats! Latest posts

Over the last few months, Experian has released new syndicated audiences to most major platforms supporting retail and travel. In this blog post, we’ll highlight some of these new audiences and how they can be used with other data from Experian to build the perfect audience to reach your customers and prospects. Household Expenditure audiences We’ve created new predictive audiences to help retailers reach consumers across 35 categories likely to spend within that category. A few categories include Apparel, DIY, Health, and more.  With the launch of these new audiences, we will retire our existing Household Consumer Expenditure, Online and Retail category audiences in the November Digital Master update. Who these audiences are for Our Household Expenditure audiences use data from multiple sources, providing brands with highly accurate purchase predictions and data that scales for digital execution. Household Expenditure audiences are an excellent solution for brands with new product lines or where targeting based on historical purchases lack signal brands seek. Building data from multiple data sources helps ensure high performance and accuracy and can illuminate trends in consumer shopping patterns. These trends can be used to help predict future shopping behaviors. How to refine our Household Expenditure audiences To refine your audience, you can combine this data with Experian’s demographic and household expenditure audiences to ensure you are reaching consumers. For example, suppose you’re an apparel brand launching a new line aimed toward women over the age of 40. In that case, you can use Experian’s demographic data to reach those women and layer in our household expenditure purchase predictor segment for women's apparel to reach their new target audience. Mobile Location audiences We’ve expanded our location database to include more locations and points of interest. With this new data, we could strengthen our existing mobile location audiences to broaden the reach, improve accuracy, and increase performance. We’ve created 11 new mobile location audiences with our new dataset that supports the retail and travel verticals. These new audiences include new shopping behaviors, including high-income and high-end shoppers and travel and entertainment behaviors, including visiting sporting arenas like MLB, NBA, NFL, and university stadiums. Who these audiences are for These audiences are for brands that want to reach consumers based on their location behaviors. Often valid for retail, travel, and entertainment brands, Mobile Location audiences provide brands with highly accurate data that shows previous intent and interest in critical locations. How to refine our Mobile Location audiences To refine your audience, you can combine your Mobile Location audience with Lifestyle and Interest data. For example, if you are creating an advertising campaign for a hotel near a university stadium for the largest game in the season, you could combine university stadium visitors with sports enthusiasts and in-market for travel to find consumers most likely to be interested in your campaign and staying at the hotel. Purchase-Based Transaction audiences For use cases where predictive audiences aren’t the best fit to reach the right consumer, such as targeting consumer’s historical purchases, we’ve created new purchase-based transaction audiences that utilize opt-in consumer transaction data across 29 retail categories, including apparel, home, lifestyle, health, food and beverage, and more. Who these audiences are for These audiences are a perfect fit for brands trying to reach consumers based on previous purchases. These audiences can be broken out by their spending patterns –   frequency of purchase and high spenders – and their response to advertising, including direct mail, email, inserts, and digital. How to refine our Purchase-Based Transaction audiences Combine these new audiences with Mosaic to fine-tune your audience based on their purchasing and lifestyle patterns.  Suppose you are a brand with a new line of home décor products launching and will utilize influencers to endorse your product line. In that case, you can use Experian’s purchase-based transaction audiences for high spenders in home décor and layer our Mosaic audience Influenced by Influencers to find consumers who are most likely to purchase and trust an influencer. We can help you discover and activate your perfect audience Our audiences are available in most major data and execution platforms. Visit our partner page for more information. Don’t see our audiences on your platform of choice? We can help you build and activate an Experian audience on the platform of your choice. Contact us Latest posts

The AdTech industry is buzzing with discussions about cookie deprecation and effective strategies to tackle it. One of the commonly suggested solutions is the utilization of clean rooms alongside responsibly sourced first-party data. Above all else, the industry recognizes the importance of respecting consumer data and complying with all privacy laws. Additionally, the industry acknowledges the need for a change in our historical practices. This shift benefits everyone involved, as consumer data is more secure than ever. Tremendous investments have been made to ensure the utmost security of consumer information. Clean rooms are one of the tools that enable companies to use data securely, ensuring the content that you see is as relevant as possible. Two ways the AdTech industry is addressing cookie deprecation The days of sending data directly to partners for usage or for using only third-party data for marketing efforts are gone. Now, the emphasis is on responsibly collecting first-party data and using clean rooms to enrich first-party data to enhance marketing efforts. First-party data The industry is starting to lean into first-party data gained through transparent means. This valuable information provides organizations with deeper insights into their customers, allowing for more personalized and effective interactions. By embracing the power of first-party data, either on its own or enriched via partner collaboration, you can cultivate stronger relationships, build trust, and deliver tailored experiences that resonate with your customers on a deeper level. Clean rooms Many data lakes and warehouses offer this service, ensuring their clients can not only store their data with them but can connect it with other partners in a secure environment and extract more information through the combined data sets versus their data on its own. Brands and their partners recognize that they need to work together, and a clean room provides a secure environment to share their first-party data without exposing their sensitive data to their partner. So, while we're losing third-party cookies, brands and partners can still get value from first-party data by using a clean room to generate audience insights, segmentation strategies, personalized experiences and offers, media plans, and measurement and attribution. Three ways data clean rooms can improve Data clean rooms are a great way to facilitate data collaboration while ensuring sensitive data is not exposed. Data clean rooms are not yet easy to use nor are they inexpensive. They require investment, both financially and resource allocation-wise, and you are not guaranteed to yield great match results. Let’s dive into three areas for data clean room improvement. High cost According to the IAB's State of Data 2023, nearly two-thirds of data clean room users spent at least $200K on the technology in 2022. In addition, one-third of data clean room users expect the price of data clean rooms to rise in 2023. The high cost of this solution can make it inaccessible to smaller companies in the advertising space. Resource intensive Nearly half of the companies using data clean rooms have a team of six or more dedicated to the technology, according to the IAB’s State of Data 2023, while nearly a third of companies using data clean rooms have 11 or more employees focused on the technology. Data clean rooms are not turnkey solutions. Inefficient matching Even if companies are using clean rooms does not mean that they are automatically going to achieve great success. Identity fragmentation, data hygiene, and differing identifiers can suppress client match rates in clean rooms, leading to significant investment and a lackluster output. How to get the most return on your clean room investment The finish line for data collaboration in clean rooms is not just having a relationship with a clean room. Instead, you should incorporate an identity resolution solution in your clean room. By adding an identity solution to your clean room, you can: Resolve and match all your identity data, regardless of the identity data that you or your partner have, giving you a larger data foundation to analyze. Generate more valuable insights and information, leading to a better experience for your customers. Join data sets to create smarter activation and targeting strategies and produce more holistic measurement. Experian can help you get started with identity resolution and data clean rooms If you are investing in data clean rooms, that means you are committed to the best in data practices. Experian recommends going the extra step and that you also invest in finding an identity resolution solution. By doing this, you can see better match rates. Experian offers this capability and has existing relationships with three clean room partners, Amazon Web Services, InfoSum, and Snowflake. In addition to collaborating in clean rooms, we offer collaboration in two other secure environments. Contact us today to discuss how we enable identity resolution in clean rooms or to chat about our other collaboration capabilities. Get in touch Latest posts

Ongoing signal loss is driving marketers, agencies, and platforms to turn to supply-side advertising. By using first-party data from publishers and platforms, supply-side advertising has the potential to deliver high-quality audience and context for more effective ad targeting. The supply-side refers to the publishers and platforms that sell advertising inventory. These companies have access to first-party data about their users, which can be used to target ads more effectively. By tapping into supply-side advertising, you can overcome the challenges of signal loss and target ads more effectively. To shed light on this topic, we hosted a panel discussion at Cannes, featuring industry leaders from Audigent, Captify, Newsweek, Pubmatic, Truthset, and Experian. In this blog post, we'll explore how partnerships between supply-side channels and publishers are working to enhance advertising opportunities while balancing the need for transparency and control in programmatic ad buying. Shift toward supply-side advertising Traditionally, the demand-side dominated the programmatic media buying chain due to an abundance of supply. However, with the emergence of finite data and its interpretation, collaboration between supply-side technology companies and publishers is required to redefine these economics. It's no longer sufficient for the demand-side to blindly negotiate prices based on limited knowledge. Marketers can still define their target audience, but effective communication is key. This presents an opportunity for premium journalistic outlets to guide the industry's understanding of how data from the supply-side impacts media buying economics in the future. "Supply-side technology partnerships with publishers are now in a position to shape the economics of programmatic media buying as there is a finite amount of data. It’s crucial for supply-side technology companies to collaborate with publishers to shape these new economics. This presents an opportunity for premium journalistic outlets to provide guidance on how data from the supply-side can affect the future of media buying." matthew papa, svp, business & corporate development, captify Democratizing data from the supply-side Cookies haven't brought significant benefits to premium publishers. They mainly serve to retarget users from sites like The Wall Street Journal to advertising sites. This approach primarily serves the purpose of generating revenue. The elimination of third-party cookies presents an opportunity for premium publishers to shift this dynamic. By using their knowledge of first-party audiences, and using identifiers like Experian's LUID, publishers can own and understand their audience data, which can then be modeled. Here’s how publishers can win Establishing a connection with consumers and emphasizing the value exchange is essential to building trust. Determining what incentives and benefits consumers find meaningful will be crucial in gaining their opt-in. With consumers The Apple tracking transparency initiative, specifically the deprecation of IDFA signals, had significant implications for mobile app developers. Overnight, opt-in rates plummeted, causing a drastic decline in iOS ad monetization. To combat this, developers focused on demonstrating the value exchange to consumers—better ad experiences and personalized content. By articulating the benefits over a couple of years, opt-in rates increased from 10-15% to 30-40%. The key takeaway is the need to effectively communicate the value exchange to consumers. With partners Trust plays a crucial role in planning your first-party data strategy. Publishers, advertisers, and data partners highly value their proprietary data. However, there are concerns about how it's used, mishandled, or leaked in the ecosystem. Building trust between partners is essential. It's important to work with trustworthy partners who are agnostic, committed to innovative solutions, and globally oriented. These partners can help navigate the complexities of laws and regulations. Choosing the right partners is crucial in a world where first-party data is a key asset. "Power is shifting toward brands that have strong relationships with customers and possess first-party data. As the ownership of customer data becomes more important, it is crucial to establish a first-party data strategy to better serve customers and adapt to changing market dynamics."chip russo, president, truthset Balance probabilistic and deterministic data Focus on building trust with consumers and collaborating with reliable companies to share data. However, it's important to remember that achieving a 100% opt-in rate is unlikely. The cookie, which has become omnipresent, requires us to shift our strategic thinking. We need to consider both deterministic and probabilistic approaches instead of viewing them as mutually exclusive. The landscape will be fragmented, with some consumers opting in and others not. "Probabilistic and predictive audience data holds immense potential. With the power of AI, we can expect enhanced performance and efficacy in media campaigns. At Audigent, we firmly believe that this data will outperform deterministic data, making it an integral part of our strategy." drew stein, ceo, audigent Premium content Trust plays a crucial role in leading to premium content. By placing trust in the best media brands, data, and technology partners, we can expect to see improvements in media, journalism, and advertising. This shift may have a direct impact on the long tail of free natural resources, making it more challenging for them to thrive. However, this change is ultimately beneficial since it promotes higher-quality media experiences overall. "The homepage surface is making a comeback in the publishing industry, proving its value in establishing a direct connection with readers. While we acknowledge the importance of technology partnerships for addressability and identity, our core competency as a publisher remains outstanding journalism that captures and engages great audiences." kevin gentzel, cco, newsweek Watch our Cannes panel for more on supply-side advertising We hosted a panel in Cannes that covered supply-side advertising. Check out the full recording below to hear what leaders from Audigent, Captify, Newsweek, Pubmatic, Truthset, and Experian had to say. Watch now Check out more Cannes content: Our key takeaways from Cannes Lions 2023 Insights from a first-time attendee Four new marketing strategies for 2023 Exploring the opportunities in streaming TV advertising The future of identity in cookieless advertising Follow us on LinkedIn or sign up for our email newsletter for more informative content on the latest industry insights and data-driven marketing. Latest posts

The digital advertising landscape has undergone a seismic shift in recent years. Privacy-conscious consumers, transformative regulations, and emerging technologies are converging to redefine how addressability — the ability to accurately reach a specific audience — functions in this new era. Addressability is a cornerstone of digital advertising, and its evolution presents both challenges and opportunities for publishers and advertisers alike. The need for enhancing addressability is driven by a complex set of factors. More consumers are opting out of data sharing or disabling cookie-tracking, leading to a drastic reduction in the reach of traditional programmatic advertising. Nearly 70 percent of consumers are now unreachable through these conventional methods, creating an 'addressability gap' that publishers and advertisers are eager to bridge. The landscape is further complicated by privacy regulations such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which mandate solutions that balance user privacy with advertisers' needs. Contributing to this intricate mix is the growing shift toward video and connected TV (CTV). These platforms have long operated in a cookie-less environment and are witnessing rising demand due to their engaging nature and broad reach. However, the attractiveness of these mediums to advertisers hinges on effective addressability, highlighting the urgent need for innovative audience identification and targeting methods. The emergence of data enablers and collaborative initiatives Data enablers like Experian are stepping up to meet this need. These companies are providing robust, privacy-compliant data resources to improve addressability. Experian's unique approach to identification, the Living Unit ID (LUID), is a key tool in bridging the current gap in reach. How Experian and Microsoft Advertising are redefining addressability We recently expanded our collaboration with Microsoft, to make our extensive data resources available through Microsoft Advertising’s data marketplace. This collaborative initiative represents a significant move, offering a compelling model of how data enablers and buy-side and sell-side platforms can work together to redefine addressability. The benefits of this arrangement extend to all stakeholders in the ecosystem. Advertisers using Microsoft Invest can now access Experian's audience data. This not only enhances the granularity of their audience targeting but also broadens the reach of their campaigns. Experian's identity spine also serves as a robust framework to extend the value and reach of advertisers' first-party data. For publishers, the accessibility of Experian data on Microsoft Advertising’s data marketplace opens the door to greater addressability in their inventory, enabling them to offer advertisers more addressable impressions. This then amplifies the value of their inventory, potentially increasing their overall yield. For advertisers, this integration facilitates access to highly relevant audiences while simplifying campaign setup and respecting user privacy. We can help you carve a new path toward addressability In the ever-evolving landscape of digital advertising, such collaborative efforts are becoming critical to ensure that advertising remains effective for brands, profitable for publishers, and respectful of consumer privacy. This model of cooperation and innovation is essential to navigate the challenges of a privacy-centric, cookie-less world and unlock the true potential of every media channel. With collaborative initiatives and innovative solutions, the industry is set to transform these challenges into opportunities, carving a new path toward addressability that respects privacy and delivers value for all stakeholders. Connect with us to learn more about how you can access our data in Microsoft Advertising’s data marketplace. To learn more about our partner Microsoft Advertising, visit their website. Latest posts

The cookieless future is here, and it's time to start thinking about how you will adapt your strategies to this new reality. In a cookieless world, you will need to find new ways to identify and track users across devices. This will require reliance on first-party data, contextual advertising, and alternative identifiers that respect user privacy. To shed light on this topic, we hosted a panel discussion at Cannes, featuring industry leaders from Cint, Direct Digital Holdings, the IAB, MiQ, Tatari, and Experian. In this blog post, we'll explore the future of identity in cookieless advertising. We'll discuss the challenges and opportunities that this new era presents, and we'll offer our tips for how to stay ahead of the curve. How cookieless advertising is evolving Programmatic advertising is experiencing multiple changes. Let's dive into three key things you should know. Cookie deprecation One significant change is cookie deprecation, which has implications for tracking and targeting. Additionally, understanding the concept of Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS) is becoming increasingly crucial. The demand and supply-side are coming closer together Demand-side platforms (DSPs) and supply-side platforms (SSPs) have traditionally been seen as two separate entities. DSPs are used by advertisers to buy ad space, while SSPs are used by publishers to sell ad space. However, in recent years, there has been a trend toward the two sides coming closer together. This is due to three key factors: The rise of header bidding Header bidding is a process where publishers sell their ad space to multiple buyers in a single auction. This allows publishers to get the best possible price for their ad space, and it also allows advertisers to target their ads more effectively. Cookie deprecation As third-party cookies are phased out, advertisers need to find new ways to track users, and they are turning to SSPs for help. SSPs can provide advertisers with data about users, such as their demographics and interests. This data can be used to target ads more effectively. The increasing importance of data Advertisers are increasingly looking for ways to target their ads more effectively, and they need data to do this. SSPs have access to a wealth of user data, and they're willing to share this data with advertisers. This is helping to bridge the gap between the two sides. The trend toward the demand-side and supply-side coming closer together is good news for advertisers and publishers. It means that they can work together to deliver more relevant ads to their users. Measuring and tracking diverse types of media The media measurement landscape is rapidly evolving to accommodate new types of media, such as digital out-of-home (DOOH). With ad inventory expanding comes the challenge of establishing identities and connecting them with what advertisers and agencies want to track. Measurement providers are now being asked to accurately capture instances when individuals are exposed to advertisements at a bus stop in New York City, for example, and tracking their journey and purchase decisions, such as buying a Pepsi. To navigate cookieless advertising and measurement, we must prioritize building a strong foundational identity framework. What you should focus on in a cookieless advertising era In a cookieless advertising era, you will need to focus on two key things: frequency capping and authentic identity. Frequency capping Frequency capping is a practice of limiting the number of times an ad is shown to a user. This is important in cookieless advertising because it helps to prevent users from being bombarded with ads. It also helps to ensure that ads are more effective, as users are less likely to ignore or click on ads that they have seen too many times. Frequency capping is often overhyped and yet overlooked. Instead of solely focusing on frequency, consider approaching it from an identity perspective. One solution could be to achieve a perfect balance between reaching a wider audience and avoiding excessive repetition. By increasing reach in every programmatic buy, you naturally mitigate frequency control concerns. Authentic identity The need for authentic identities in a digital and programmatic ecosystem is undeniable. While we explore ways to connect cookies, mobile ads, and other elements, it's crucial to remember who we are as real individuals. By using anonymized personal identifying information (PII) as a foundation, we can derive insights about households and individuals and set effective frequency caps across different channels. Don't solely focus on devices and behaviors in your cookieless advertising strategy and remember the true value of people and their identities. What’s next for cookieless advertising? The deprecation of third-party cookies is a major challenge for the digital advertising industry. Advertisers will need to find new ways to track users and target their ads. Here are three specific trends that we can expect to see in cookieless advertising. First-party data is moving in-house Many major media companies, equipped with valuable identifier and first-party data, are choosing to bring it in-house. They are focused on using their data internally rather than sharing it externally. "Many larger media companies are opting to bring their identifier and first-party data in-house, creating more walled gardens. It seems that companies are prioritizing data control within their own walls instead of sharing it externally."laura manning, svp, measurement, cint Fragmentation will continue The number of identifiers used to track people online is growing rapidly. In an average household, over a 60-day period, there are 22 different identifiers present. This number is only going to increase as we move away from cookies and toward other identifiers. This fragmentation makes it difficult to track people accurately and deliver targeted advertising. This means that we need new identity solutions that can help make sense of these new identifiers and provide a more accurate view of people. A portfolio of solutions will address signal loss Advertisers are taking a variety of approaches to cookieless advertising. A few of the solutions include: Working with alternative IDs. This refers to using alternative identifiers to cookies, such as mobile device IDs or email addresses. These identifiers can be used to track people across different websites and devices, even without cookies. Working with data index at a geo level. This refers to using data from a third-party provider to get a better understanding of people's location. This information can be used to target ads more effectively. Working with publisher first-party data that's been aggregated to a cohort level. This refers to using data that is collected directly from publishers, such as website traffic data or purchase history. This data can be used to create more personalized ads. Working with contextual solutions. This refers to using contextual data, such as the content of a website or the weather, to target ads. This can help to ensure that ads are relevant to the user's interests. "Cookie deprecation is often exaggerated, and alternate solutions are already emerging. As data moves closer to publishers and first-party data gains prominence, the industry will adapt to the changes."mark walker, ceo, direct digital holdings There is no one-size-fits-all solution for cookies, and you will need to be flexible and adopt a variety of different approaches. How will these solutions work together? You can take a waterfall approach to cookieless advertising. A waterfall approach is a process where advertisers bid on ad impressions in sequential order. The first advertiser to meet the minimum bid price wins the impression. In the context of cookieless advertising, a waterfall approach can be used to prioritize different targeting signals. For example, you might start by bidding on impressions that have a Ramp ID, then move on to impressions that have a geo-contextual signal, and finally bid on impressions that have no signal at all. This is a flexible approach that can be adapted to different needs and budgets. Watch our Cannes panel for more on cookieless advertising We hosted a panel in Cannes that covered the future of identity in cookieless advertising. Check out the full recording below to hear what leaders from Cint, Direct Digital Holdings, the IAB, MiQ, Tatari, and Experian had to say. Watch now Check out more Cannes content: Our key takeaways from Cannes Lions 2023 Insights from a first-time attendee Four new marketing strategies for 2023 Exploring the opportunities in streaming TV advertising Maximize ad targeting with supply-side advertising Follow us on LinkedIn or sign up for our email newsletter for more informative content on the latest industry insights and data-driven marketing. Latest posts

The rise of streaming TV advertising is revolutionizing the marketing landscape, bringing together the best of traditional television's broad audience reach and digital's precise targeting capabilities. Marketers now have a new platform to explore, but it comes with its own set of challenges and opportunities. To shed light on this topic, we hosted a panel discussion at Cannes, featuring industry leaders from AMC Networks, Disney, OMG, Paramount, Roku, and Experian. In this blog post, we'll explore the effectiveness of TV as a performance channel and audience targeting. TV as a performance channel Television has come a long way over the years. The evolution of linear TV to connected TV (CTV) is opening new possibilities for targeting and performance measurement, like what we're accustomed to in search and display. However, there's still a way to go. What's preventing us from fully realizing the potential of CTV? Let's explore what's holding us back. Three challenges Advertisers are captivated by CTV, a media platform that combines the best features of TV and digital advertising. With its unparalleled data and identity capabilities, alongside the immersive TV experience, it has the potential to be a powerful performance channel. However, we still face three challenges as performance dollars take center stage. "CTV is a valuable household device that provides direct audience insights. However, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the household and the individuals in the household, we need different techniques. The implementation of such methodologies from user level profiles to algorithmic inferences are still evolving across different companies." Louqman parampath, vp, product, roku Client education Performance marketers and agencies are still primarily focused on social and search. It's important to reassure them that CTV aligns with their established standards. Optimize KPIs We need to address the challenges around attribution and incrementality. We should optimize for the KPIs that performance marketers desire, which are different from the metrics commonly used in social media and search marketing. Results-driven interactions You should invest in interactive ad formats and novel experiences to give users clickable options that deliver the instant impact of performance marketing. While conversions and purchases can happen after seeing an ad thanks to view-through attribution, your goal should be to make video ad experiences feel like performance-based engagements. This transition is crucial to building trust and familiarity among performance marketers and agencies. Strategies to effectively reach audiences across different mediums There are various mediums to connect with consumers -- TV, digital, and mobile offer multiple avenues. Which strategies should you prioritize? Data interoperability When it comes to buying unified audiences, programmatically is the easiest route. By prioritizing data interoperability, you can ensure a seamless buying experience across all screens. "At Disney, we focus on data interoperability with industry solutions such as The Trade Desk/UID2, Google PAIR, and Experian and the LUID, making it effortless to buy unified audiences programmatically across all screens. With an identity graph as the foundation of our tech stack, we help our clients reach their target audience across linear, digital, and streaming properties."jamie power, SVP, addressable sales, disney Advanced targeting capabilities in linear TV Don't limit your perspective on television consumption to traditional streaming platforms alone. While streaming is popular, it's equally exciting to see advanced targeting capabilities integrated into linear television. Viewer habits are shifting, with appointment TV becoming a thing of the past. Today, viewers have more options to watch a variety of programming, regardless of its age. "Streaming has become another platform for viewers to consume programming, and it's exciting to see digital targeting capabilities being applied to linear TV. Viewer behavior has changed, with more opportunities to consume programs at different times, so it's important to use targeting capabilities like linear addressable to effectively reach the audience across multiple channels."evan adlman, Evp, commercial sales & revenue operations, amc networks While live premieres still attract a substantial audience, utilize linear addressable targeting to reach viewers across channels. By doing so, you can ensure your message reaches the right viewers at the right time. The viewership landscape has diversified - it's time to adjust our strategies. Make TV viewing patterns predictable To bring predictability to the unpredictable and fragmented landscape of TV, advertisers can create products that simplify and unify the viewing experience. This allows users to effortlessly transition between episodes, resulting in a cohesive and engaging viewing journey. Watch our Cannes panel for more on the future of streaming TV advertising We hosted a panel in Cannes that covered the future of streaming TV advertising. Check out the full recording below to hear what leaders from AMC Networks, Disney, OMG, Paramount, Roku, and Experian had to say. Watch now Check out more Cannes content: Our key takeaways from Cannes Lions 2023 Insights from a first-time attendee Four new marketing strategies for 2023 The future of identity in cookieless advertising Maximize ad targeting with supply-side advertising Follow us on LinkedIn or sign up for our email newsletter for more informative content on the latest industry insights and data-driven marketing. 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As a marketer, you know that the digital landscape is always changing. That's why it's important to make sure you're equipped with the right tools every step of the way - no matter how rapidly things change. You want to ensure your strategies and tactics stay ahead of any changes in technology or consumer behavior, so what new marketing strategies should be in your toolbox in 2023? Discover what industry leaders from Experian, Adweek, FreeWheel, Tubi, and Instacart had to say about what should be in every marketer's toolbox in 2023 at Cannes. Keep reading to learn the top four new marketing strategies you need in your marketing toolbox for 2023 and beyond. 1. A plan for signal loss The first item you should have in your marketing toolbox is a plan for signal loss. The phasing out of third-party cookies presents both a challenge and an opportunity. This shift not only poses challenges but also opens up opportunities for alternative strategies. On the one hand, it makes it more difficult to track users across channels and measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. On the other hand, it forces marketers to focus on building relationships with their customers and collecting first-party data. Consumer behavior is changing When we consider signal loss in a traditional sense, we think of the implementation of iOS 14, where we couldn't track click-based data from campaigns. It's important to reflect on the fact that the paid media ecosystem needed to adapt to new consumer realities. Younger demographics are less likely to click on ads and instead engage in video environments. They discover brands through platforms like TikTok or Instagram. It's crucial to understand how people behave, where they discover products, and where influence takes place. This understanding becomes even more vital when targeting a young audience demographic. Four things to consider when planning for signal loss There are four things you should consider when building out a plan to address signal loss and fragmentation. Channel diversification You need to reach your customers on the channels where they are already spending time, such as social media, email, and your own website. You should work with platforms that have first-party data to understand how your customers interact with your brand. Data privacy You need to be transparent about how you are collecting and using customer data. You should also anonymize data whenever possible. First-party data First-party data is now more crucial than ever, awakening its importance in shaping our actions. The combination of channel diversification and first-party data will be essential in the years to come. By focusing on these two areas, you can build stronger customer relationships and create more effective marketing campaigns. Contextual targeting Contextual targeting is emerging as a viable method to deliver more relevant content to your intended audience. By embracing signal loss, the alternative new marketing strategies that are emerging as a result, and adopting a privacy-centric mindset, you can navigate cookie deprecation. 2. Collaboration The second item you should have in your marketing toolbox is collaboration within the AdTech ecosystem. To address signal loss and changes in privacy, moving toward a more collaborative, holistic marketing ecosystem is key. Two ways we can achieve better collaboration Here are two ways we can create better collaboration in the AdTech ecosystem. Enable interoperability We should aim to create an ecosystem that fosters collaboration between marketers, publishers, advertisers, ad tech companies, and more. When we enable seamless interoperability, everyone can use the best data available. Use clean rooms We are witnessing a growing trend of collaboration between parties, where buyers and sellers share data in these secure environments. Clean rooms can help us develop data strategies in a controlled manner. 3. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) The third tool you should have in your marketing toolbox is generative AI. Benefits of implementing AI There are three main benefits to implementing AI within your marketing strategy. Enables creativity Although AI and machine learning have long been part of our toolbox, this moment marks an extraordinary acceleration that expands our capabilities. Copywriters can now create visuals, and art directors can write compelling copy. It's an extension of what we're capable of, potentially alleviating the burden of repetitive tasks and enabling more time for collaboration, creativity, and strategic thinking. By embracing generative AI, we can preserve valuable talent, prevent burnout, and invigorate the advertising industry. Enables more personalization The rise of personalization with AI has significantly increased the demand for tailored experiences. People now willingly allow AI agents to read their emails, hoping for quicker and easier responses. This shift signifies a change in the previous emphasis on privacy and consumer preferences. Consumers now see the value in exchanging personal information for more targeted services. E-commerce has already witnessed this transformation with customized ads based on individual preferences and behaviors. For instance, if a CPG brand notices you're not purchasing meat, they won't serve you ads for meat products. However, it's crucial to strike the right balance between being useful and intrusive. Users want relevant information that aligns with their needs without feeling intruded upon. As we navigate this path, we must ensure that personalization remains beneficial and respectful of user preferences. Helps drive impactful results and customer satisfaction The tool is a perfect analogy for improving your job performance and business operations. Having the right data input to feed the machine is crucial, just like using the right ingredients to cook a perfect meal. Keeping the consumer in mind throughout the process is key. You can ensure customer satisfaction by putting the right ingredients in and allowing the machine to work its magic. Scaling up, repeating, and refining the process will drive impactful results. 4. First-party data The fourth item you should have in your marketing toolbox is first-party data. Benefits of implementing a first-party data strategy Moving from a third-party cookie world to a first-party cookie world brings about significant transformation. Here are two benefits of implementing a first-party data strategy. Greater accuracy The shift to first-party cookies ensures greater accuracy, enabling us to establish critical mass through secure partnerships. This empowers us to strengthen and refine our personalization capabilities, much like Amazon's ability to anticipate customer needs before they arise. When you can predict and understand customer behaviors with remarkable precision, you can reach your customers with tailored and creative ads. "Building a robust first-party data strategy should be a central discussion for marketers, involving key stakeholders such as CEOs and CMOs. Quality and precise data are paramount, and while first-party relationships with consumers form the foundation, even established brands benefit from strategic partnerships. Together, we can unlock the potential of accurate and meaningful data-driven marketing."jeremy hlavacek, cco, experian Identify high-growth audiences First-party data can help you identify audiences with the greatest growth potential, ultimately optimizing marketing dollars for greater efficiency. Watch our Cannes panel for more new marketing strategies for 2023 We hosted a panel with Adweek in Cannes that covered what should be in every marketer's toolbox this year. Check out the full recording below to hear from leaders at Tubi, Freewheel, Instacart, Adweek, and Experian. Watch now Check out more Cannes content: Our key takeaways from Cannes Lions 2023 Insights from a first-time attendee Exploring the opportunities in streaming TV advertising The future of identity in cookieless advertising Maximize ad targeting with supply-side advertising Follow us on LinkedIn or sign up for our email newsletter for more informative content on the latest industry insights and data-driven marketing. Latest posts