At A Glance
Sell-side decisioning is changing how publishers and advertisers collaborate, improving efficiency and fostering more meaningful connections. Experian’s syndicated audiences and data solutions help both sides reach the right audiences with greater transparency and privacy.In our Ask the Expert Series, we interview leaders from our partner organizations who are helping lead their brands to new heights in AdTech. Today’s interview is with Paul Zovighian, VP of Marketplaces at Index Exchange.
Sell-side activation vs. buy-side packaging
What’s fundamentally changed with sell-side decisioning, and how does it now diverge from traditional buy-side packaging?
Sell-side decisioning is programmatic’s next major evolution – one that redefines how intelligence enters the transaction. Advances in infrastructure and computing power now allow supply-side platforms(SSPs) to act in the crucial pre-bid moment, enriching impressions with context, quality, and data before they reach the buy side.
This isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about unlocking new value. Smarter requests mean buyers see only the most relevant opportunities, while publishers gain recognition for the true worth of their audiences and environments.
We’re still at the beginning of this shift. Many players still package inventory without engaging in real pre-bid intelligence. As the market matures, the companies that evolve toward sell-side decisioning will be the ones to set the pace for programmatic’s future.
Economic shifts with scaled curation
As curation scales, what economic levers shift for both publishers and buyers, and how do those shifts influence deal structure and media planning?
As curation scales, one of the most powerful levers is data. It’s the industry’s most valuable asset, and on Index it keeps its full worth. We don’t take a platform cut or add hidden fees, so data partners benefit from the clearest, most efficient economics in the market. Data vendors gain confidence that their economics aren’t eroded by a platform tax.
For publishers, this means stronger yield and more ad spend flowing directly into working media. When data retains its full value, it enhances how impressions are packaged, priced, and differentiated—driving more competition for quality inventory and more opportunities for revenue.
For buyers, it means compressed supply paths and total transparency – they know exactly what they’re paying for. With no intermediaries and full transparency into economics, buyers gain a clearer view of where their budgets go and the confidence that their investments reach real audiences in trusted environments. They benefit from cleaner supply chains, better performance, and more meaningful alignment between spend and outcome. The result is a healthier marketplace where both sides benefit from efficiency, fairness, and scale.
Moving decisions upstream for value
What decisions historically made in DSPs should now move upstream to publishers or SSPs to unlock more value, and which should remain buy-side?
Decisioning is no longer confined to demand-side platforms(DSPs). We can enrich impressions by applying intelligence — via data, algorithms, creative technology, and more, before they even reach the buy side — adding context, filtering out low-quality supply, and expanding audience discovery.
This isn’t about shifting roles; DSPs remain critical for campaign strategy, optimization, and budget allocation. The sell side simply ensures every bid request is smarter from the start, creating more value for all parties.
In doing so, we also alleviate pressure on DSPs — enabling more comprehensive data discovery by searching for signals at the top of the funnel, prior to optimization. That means DSPs can focus on what they do best, supported by a cleaner, more transparent supply path.
Index Marketplaces use cases explained
Index Marketplaces is designed to enable the strength of our partners, and Experian brings one of the broadest sets of demographic and audience insights in the industry. That scale enables a wide variety of applications, from more precise audience activation to deeper measurement and analytics.
What’s different on the sell side is how those insights are applied. By activating Experian’s syndicated audiences directly at the point of decision, their value is realized in real time and across the full scale of the open internet. Buyers gain a clearer path to relevant audiences, and publishers benefit from stronger alignment between data and media.
It’s an approach that ensures partners like Experian can maximize the impact of their assets while helping the market move toward more intelligent, performance-driven activation.
Identity signals with stronger privacy
For identity partners like Experian, what’s the right way to bring audience, context, and propensity signals into sell-side activation?
The beauty of sell-side decisioning is that it reduces the hops in how identity signals are applied. Without it, IDs have to travel through multiple platforms, creating extra handoffs and additional risks of data loss or leakage.
With sell-side decisioning, those signals are obfuscated under a deal ID and applied directly at the point of decision. That means audience, context, and propensity data are activated securely, without ever leaving the sell-side environment.
For partners like Experian, it’s the cleanest path to value: fewer hops, stronger privacy protection, and clearer economics for everyone in the chain.
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FAQs
Sell-side decisioning allows publishers to add intelligence, like audience data and context, before ad impressions are sent to buyers. This makes the process more efficient and ensures advertisers see only the most relevant opportunities.
Traditional buy-side packaging happens after impressions are sent to demand-side platforms (DSPs). Sell-side decisioning moves some of that intelligence upstream, enriching impressions earlier and reducing inefficiencies.
Curation refers to the process of organizing and enriching ad inventory with data and context. For publishers, it leads to better yield and more ad spend going directly to their media. For advertisers, it means clearer, more transparent supply paths.
By applying audience and identity signals directly on the sell side, data stays within a secure environment. This reduces the number of platforms handling sensitive information, lowering the risk of data loss or leakage.
Experian provides demographic and audience insights that are activated directly at the point of decision. This helps advertisers reach the right audiences more effectively while ensuring publishers can maximize the value of their inventory.
When publishers and SSPs handle some decisioning earlier, DSPs can focus on campaign strategy and optimization. This creates a cleaner, more efficient process for everyone involved.
A deal ID is a unique identifier used in programmatic advertising to bundle audience and context signals securely. It ensures data is applied without being exposed or shared across multiple platforms.
About our expert
Paul Zovighian, VP of Marketplaces, Index Exchange
Paul Zovighian carries over a decade of industry expertise, stemming from his analytics and optimization roots to his current post as VP, Marketplaces, where he is focused on the commercial activation of Index’s newest product, Index Marketplaces. Previously, in his role as VP of corporate development, Paul led Index’s first-ever business acquisition. In his spare time, he enjoys long walks on the beach and befriending cats in NYC’s thriving bodega community.
About Index Exchange
Index Exchange is a global advertising supply-side platform enabling media owners to maximize the value of their content on any screen. They’re a proud industry pioneer with over 20 years of experience connecting leading experience makers with the world’s largest brands to ensure a quality experience for consumers.
Latest posts
At Experian, we understand the importance of audience targeting when it comes to crafting a successful marketing campaign. We are excited to share a curated list of audience recommendations to support your campaign planning so you can confidently connect with your audience. What separates Experian’s syndicated audiences Experian’s 2,400+ syndicated audiences are available directly on over 30 leading television, social, programmatic advertising platforms, and directly within Audigent for activation within private marketplaces (PMPs). Reach consumers based on who they are, where they live, and their household makeup. Experian ranked #1 in accuracy by Truthset for key demographic attributes. Access to unique audiences through Experian’s Partner Audiences available on Experian’s data marketplace, within Audigent for activation in PMPs and directly on platforms like DirectTV, Dish, Magnite, OpenAP, and The Trade Desk. New and improved audience segments we recommend for Q1 campaigns Q1 is the ultimate season for TV, with the NFL playoffs, Super Bowl, College Football playoffs, award shows and so much more capturing viewers’ attention. That’s why we're excited to introduce 14 new and 8 updated television audiences. Recently released on major platforms, these new television audiences offer unique opportunities to align your campaign planning with the latest viewer behavior trends. Cable Satellite or Streaming Network Subscribers Satellite Service Subscribers Mutli Brand TV Owners Seasonal audiences for Q1 New Year’s audiences As the new year approaches, it’s the ideal moment to connect with consumers inspired by their New Year’s resolutions. In 2024, one-third of U.S. adults set goals for the year, focusing on key areas like healthier living, getting organized, exploring new experiences, and improving financial wellness. Experian’s New Year’s resolution audiences provide valuable insights into these aspirations, allowing you to tailor your messaging and engage with consumers determined to make positive changes in 2025. From promoting healthy lifestyles and travel to supporting organization and financial goals, Experian’s data-driven solutions help you capture these motivated audiences with precisely targeted messaging. Learn more here Football audiences Football season presents an unmatched opportunity for brands to connect with one of the most engaged audiences in the U.S. As in-game ad costs continue to rise and slots fill up quickly, brands are seeking innovative ways to reach passionate football viewers beyond the game. Experian’s specialized football audience segments allow advertisers to engage with fans across categories like NFL stadium visitors, college football enthusiasts, beer drinkers, and dedicated TV viewers, ensuring your brand connects meaningfully with consumers throughout the season. Read more here Financial audiences With tax season just around the corner, brands have the opportunity to connect with financially engaged audiences in the U.S. Whether your goal is to reach self-starters managing their own returns or high-net-worth individuals seeking advanced tax solutions, Experian can ensure your brand connects meaningfully with the right financial audience at the right time. Experian’s specialized financial audience segments empower brands to engage with key groups, such as: Tax Return – Self prepare user Tax Return – Online tax software user Tax Return – Professional Service Preparer user Savvy Sounding-Board Seeking Investor Price Sensitive, Self-Directed Investor Top recommendations for Q1 Based on the top Experian audiences activated in Q1 of 2024, our top 10 list is designed to assist agencies and media buyers plan data-driven advertising campaigns. Occupation 1) Small Business Owners: This segment contains consumers who are likely to be small business owners. 2) Military – Inactive: This segment contains consumers who are likely to be inactive in the military. 3) Legal/Education and Health Practitioners: This segment contains consumers who are likely to have an occupation in Legal/Education and Health Practitioner. 4) Technical: Computers/Math and Architect/Engineering: This segment contains consumers who are likely to have an occupation in Computers/Math and Architect/Engineering. Consumer Lifestyles 5) Vacation/Leisure Travelers: Weekend Getaways: This segment contains consumers who are likely high spenders or frequent purchasers of weekend getaway travel. 6) Women's Sleepwear and Lingerie: High Spenders: This segment contains consumers who are likely high spenders at women's sleepwear and lingerie stores (e.g., Soma, Victoria's Secret). 7) Smart Investors: This segment contains consumers who are likely actively seeking out as much information about an investment as possible before committing, shopping around for the best investment deal, and aversion to financial debt. 8) Computers/Software Frequent Spenders: This segment contains consumers who are likely frequent spenders of computer software. Life Events 9) New Movers: High Spenders: This segment contains consumers who are likely new mover high spenders. 10) New Parents: Child Aged 0-36 Months: This segment contains consumers who are likely to be new parents for children aged 0-36 months. You can find the complete audience segment name in the appendix. Activate the right audiences with Experian For a full list of Experian’s syndicated audiences and activation destinations, download our syndicated audiences guide. Need a custom audience? Reach out to our audience team and we can help you build and activate an Experian audience on the platform of your choice. Connect with our audience team Contact us Appendix Here are the complete audience segment names (taxonomy paths) for all audience segments discussed in this blog post. TV Audiences Television (TV) > Household/Family Viewing > Cable Satellite or Streaming Network Subscribers Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Discount Holiday Shoppers Television (TV) > Brand Owners > Multi Brand TV Owners Financial Audiences Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Financial Behavior > Tax Return – Self prepare user Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Financial Behavior > Online Tax Software user Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Financial Behavior > Tax Return –Professional Service Prepare user Financial Personalities > Investments Financial Personality > Savvy Sounding-Board Seeking Investor, Average Investable Assets Financial Personalities > Investments Financial Personality > Price Sensitive, Self-Directed Investor, Very High Investable Assets Occupation Consumer Behaviors > Occupation: Small Business Owners Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Occupation > Military – Inactive Demographics > Occupation > Professional: Legal/Education and Health Practitioners Demographics > Occupation > Technical: Computers/Math and Architect/Engineering Consumer Lifestyles Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Travel > Vacation/Leisure Travelers: Weekend Getaways Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Apparel > Women's Apparel (Clothing): Women's Sleepwear and Lingerie: High Spenders Financial Behavior > Smart Investors Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Technology/Telecom > Computers/Software Frequent Spenders Life Events Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > New Movers: High Spenders Life Events > New Parents > Child Age 0-36 Months Latest posts
The advertising ecosystem has seen significant transformation over the past few years, with increased privacy regulation, changes in available signals, and the rise of channels like connected TV and retail media. These changes are impacting the way that consumers interact with brands and how brands understand and continue to deliver relevant messages to consumers with precision. Experian has been helping marketers navigate these changes, and as a result, our marketing data and identity solutions underpin much of today’s advertising industry. We’re committed to empowering marketers and agencies to understand and reach their target audiences, across all channels. Today, we are excited to announce our acquisition of Audigent—a leading data and activation platform in the advertising industry. With Audigent’s combination of first-party publisher data, inventory and deep supply-side distribution relationships, publishers, big and small, can empower marketers to better understand their customers, expand the reach of their target audiences and activate those audiences across the most impactful inventory. I am excited to bring together Audigent’s supply-side network as a natural extension to our existing demand-side capabilities. Audigent’s ability to combine inventory with targeted audiences using first-party, third-party and contextual signals provides the best of all worlds, allowing marketers to deliver campaigns centered on consumer choices, preferences, and behaviors. The addition of Audigent further strengthens our strategy to be the premier independent provider of marketing data and identity, ultimately creating more relevant experiences for consumers. To learn more about Experian and Audigent, visit https://www.experian.com/marketing/ and https://audigent.com/. Contact us
Retail media has been on everyone’s radar for a while. Commerce media has also established itself as a significant player in the AdTech industry over the past few years. While retail media focuses on engaging customers within a retailer’s ecosystem, commerce media goes beyond these boundaries to capture the entire shopping journey, spanning multiple touchpoints, channels, and platforms.But what is commerce media, and why should we care? Commerce media is here to stay Estimated to hit $33.86 billion this year and more than double by 2028, the hunt is on to capture as much of retail media’s projected ad spend as possible. However, given the numerous verticals expanding their retail media strategy to include any touchpoint within the commerce channel, it might be time to lower the retail media flag and hoist the LUMA dubbed "commerce media flag." So why are Travel, Financial Services, and other verticals focusing on the commerce media ship? Authenticated and digital users (usually app-driven) Consented data that provides unique insight into the household’s or consumer’s intent/purchase behavior Emerging focus on advertising as an important revenue stream for the future With all this “data” at their disposal — why is it not smooth sailing for commerce media to build an ad-supported business? What’s missing for them to acquire the lucrative billions efficiently and effectively? Why retail media networks are important Retail media networks (RMNs) are now a major tool for brands to connect with shoppers. These networks gather valuable data from customers who browse and shop on e-commerce sites and apps. What makes RMNs so powerful is that they allow brands to advertise directly to people who are already interested in buying, leading to more successful sales. For marketers, RMNs offer a clear way to reach potential customers and ensure their advertising dollars are well spent. But as competition grows and consumer habits change, these networks must keep improving. To stay ahead, brands will have to find new ways to use RMNs effectively, linking them with other parts of the commerce media world to unlock even greater results. Differences between building a loyalty program and developing ad products Loyalty programs are the backbone of commerce media networks; however, creating a loyalty program is much different than building an advertising product. It requires commerce companies to bring on additional people, technology, and partners to execute flawlessly. There are four areas to consider: 1. Organizing your data at scale To successfully build an ad-supported business at scale, data must be organized to initiate action (targeting and/or measurement). However, this requires changes in company culture. Both the business and technology infrastructure must be updated. Additionally, commerce media companies must update their mindset around creating and selling products. 2. People We have seen this story before, with large opportunities comes the requirement for new talent. Where are we seeing commerce media companies recruit from? AdTech and MarTech. Whether it’s engineers or data scientists, business development and partnership leads, or even your direct sales team, the poaching has begun. To build a successful business around advertising, experts are needed who can navigate the waters. 3. Partner vs. build The Requests for Information (RFIs) and Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for any combination of agency, demand-side platform, supply-side platform, customer data platform, identity graph, clean room, and beyond are piling up. One trend is clear: commerce media companies are looking for collaborative partners to provide a true strategic partnership to take on the complexities of the transition away from retail media. 4. Identity will remain the keystone to success All commerce media companies have some identity data that reveals a slice of their customers’ viewpoint. Yet, unlocking the broad view of these audiences is crucial to success. These companies need to use the “full pie” to see well-rounded profiles, gain the reach required to access them across many channels, and turn opportunities into revenue. Advertisers can finally close the loop with commerce media networks Commerce media companies with real-time transaction data enable advertisers to see true ROI on their ad spend when products move off the shelves. Measuring real product lift/sale touch points across multiple channels will put performance and measurement front and center. Programmatic was the promise of performance advertising. Well, commerce media may finally fulfill that vow, creating enough value for companies to make it a real competitor to social channels. While retail media will always exist, the transition to commerce media has become increasingly popular and is here to stay. The journey might not be a straight shot to perfect results, but the data, partnerships, and resources are out there and ready to hop aboard to help guide commerce media companies to success. The future of commerce media Commerce media shows no signs of slowing down. More industries are seeing the benefit of making every customer touchpoint an opportunity to drive sales. Whether through social media shopping or in-app purchases, commerce media pushes businesses to create smoother, more connected shopping experiences for consumers. In the future, brands won’t just compete on prices or products — they’ll stand out by offering simple, seamless shopping experiences across all devices. With better data and tools to track consumer behavior, brands will be able to personalize their ads and measure their success in real time. Commerce media allows brands to see a direct link between their ads and sales. Those who can adapt and keep up with these changes will come out on top. Create a connected customer view with Experian At Experian, we empower RMNs to unlock the full potential of their first-party data through comprehensive identity and audience solutions. Our data-driven capabilities enable RMNs to build a deeper understanding of their customers, optimize audience targeting across channels, and create enriched, actionable segments that drive measurable outcomes. By seamlessly connecting our offline and digital data, we help RMNs organize identities into households, device IDs, and more. Each household is enriched with valuable marketing insights, allowing you to gain better customer understanding, create targeted advertising, and reach the right customers across different devices. Additionally, you’ll be able to measure the effectiveness of your advertising efforts. With our support, RMNs can maximize revenue opportunities, extend reach, and confidently demonstrate the value of the network to advertisers. Contact us today to find out how Experian can help you succeed in commerce media. Contact us Latest posts