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.
Contact us
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
Originally appeared on MediaPost As the digital ecosystem becomes more complex, managing multiple identifiers for consumers has emerged as a significant challenge. From cookies and IP addresses to mobile IDs and universal IDs, marketers and platforms face increasing difficulty in maintaining a unified view of their consumers. Without a coherent identity strategy, campaigns can suffer from poor targeting, limited personalization, and flawed attribution. Experian understands these challenges and offers solutions to help our partners navigate the complexities of a multi-ID landscape. By utilizing both digital and offline data, we provide the tools to unify fragmented identifiers and maintain a persistent view of consumers. As a result, marketers and platforms get rich insights, accurate cross-device targeting, improved addressability, and measurable advertising. The shifting identity landscape For years, the industry has relied on cookies to identify consumers across devices and platforms. However, with ongoing signal loss, including the uncertainty around cookies, and the evolution of privacy regulations, the digital identity landscape has grown more complicated. As consumers hop from one device to another, they are now represented by multiple signals, each tied to a different aspect of their digital behavior. While this shift brings complexity, it also opens the door for innovation. Marketers and ad platforms now have the opportunity to rethink their identity strategies and adopt more flexible approaches that are not reliant on a single identifier. This is where Experian comes in. Connecting the dots: A holistic view of the customer journey Our identity solutions are designed to help manage today’s multi-ID ecosystem by connecting digital and offline identifiers to a single customer profile. This creates a unified view of the consumer, and when combined with our understanding of customer behavior (e.g. demo, interests, shopping patterns) marketers and platforms get both insights about their customers and the addressability to reach them across channels. Four examples of what you can do with a strong identity foundation If an advertiser wants to make its first-party data more addressable, it can utilize our Digital Graph with universal IDs, hashed emails (HEMs), and connected TV (CTV) IDs to extend its reach. A publisher who wants to gain further insights into their audiences and create private marketplaces (PMPs) can achieve this goal with the use of our Digital Graph with hashed emails, universal IDs, mobile ad IDs (MAIDs), CTV IDs, and IPs. The publisher can use this in concert with Marketing Attributes to understand age, gender, household income, buying behavior, and more. The publisher can connect marketing attributes to the Digital Graph via our Living Unit ID (LUID) to understand more about consumers that fall into their segments. A demand-side platform (DSP) who wants to extend first-party and third-party audience reach across all digital devices on their platform will use the Digital Graph with all digital IDs to allow users of their platform to select cross-device extension against first-party and third-party audiences. A retail media network (RMN) can use our Offline and Digital Graphs to connect in-store and online purchases to a household profile—even when purchases are made by different people. The RMN can then reach that household across digital media platforms and accurately attribute the in-store purchase back to digital ad exposure. Identity as a strategic asset: Today and in the future In our paradoxical world where consumers are represented by multiple identifiers, yet marketers and platforms face signal loss, identity is more than a technical issue—it’s a strategic asset. The ability to unify identity data into a single profile provides marketers with the customer intelligence needed to drive growth and stay competitive. Here’s how we do it: Deep, persistent customer understanding: With roots in offline, deterministic data like names, addresses, and emails, we provide an accurate and persistent view of identity to our customers. This allows you to maintain a consistent and comprehensive understanding of your customers and their marketing attributes over time. Highly accurate and refreshed digital identities: Our signal-agnostic graph is not reliant on any one signal as it includes HEMs, cookies, MAIDs, IPs, Universal IDs, and CTV IDs. Our Digital Graph is updated weekly, ensuring the data is always fresh and addressable. This persistent linkage of individuals and households to their identifiers and devices means your campaigns are always targeting the right people. Connected offline and digital graphs for holistic insights: We connect offline and digital identities by following privacy-first best practices, such as preventing re-identification, to allow insights from the offline world to be used in the online world. This integrated approach, enriched with marketing data, gives you better insights, more addressable advertising, and the ability to engage customers across multiple devices while accurately measuring campaign impact. Transform challenges into opportunities The rise of the multi-ID landscape presents both challenges and opportunities for the advertising industry. We stand as the trusted partner to navigate this complexity, utilizing insights from the offline world to inform decisions in the online world, enabling personalized marketing and accurate attribution, and helping you achieve your current and future goals. Get started today Latest posts
The concept of the "hedged garden" is gaining traction in the AdTech space as a promising new approach. It offers a more controlled and protected environment for advertisers, reshaping how digital advertising operates. But what exactly is a hedged garden, and could it be the solution we've been looking for? Let's dive into the details and explore its implications. Walled gardens vs. the open web Walled gardens continue to disrupt the advertising industry to stay relevant. Google, Meta (Facebook), and Amazon, the largest walled gardens, offer consumer privacy and rich first-party data to advertisers. But, time spent within these platforms, Google and Meta specifically, continues to decrease. Open web: Pros and cons On the other hand, the open web allows for more transparency, scale, and constant diversification. Yet, this has not led to increased spending. As a result, the open web continues to lag behind walled gardens. With a heavy reliance on third-party data and growing concerns over signal loss, the open web faces significant challenges. Under these circumstances, advertisers turn to easy activation channels like walled gardens, even as they become less effective to marketers. Consumers are increasingly focused on privacy, pushing the industry toward alternatives to third-party cookies. As Google rethinks its cookie deprecation plans, channels like connected TV (CTV) and mobile apps, which don't rely on cookies, are gaining traction. “A significant portion of web traffic does not support cookies today — and that number will grow as Google rolls out [its] new solution. This means that the industry shouldn't slow down investments in cookieless solutions, including alternative IDs, first-party data and data-driven contextual targeting.”kimberly gilberti, general manager, experian This shift emphasizes first-party data and user choice as a potential solution that balances privacy with effective advertising sources. Enter the hedged garden So, what is a hedged garden? The “hedged garden” is a new industry concept where a network of publishers works together to activate first-party data sets in a privacy-compliant way across many partners at scale. These publishers run their businesses with large amounts of first-party consumer data. But they are not big enough on their own. What does a hedged garden look like? Hedges are more permeable and not as tall as walls. This idea is key to the success of the hedged garden. Data protection and privacy regulations As hedged gardens grow, staying compliant with privacy laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is vital. These rules focus on protecting user data by requiring clear consent and transparency. Hedged gardens help publishers share first-party data in a safe, privacy-compliant way. By working together, they ensure data is used responsibly, aligning with strict privacy regulations. This not only keeps marketers compliant but also builds trust with consumers at a time when data protection is more important than ever. Opportunities for marketers in hedged gardens Hedged gardens offer unique opportunities for marketers to enhance their strategies. Unlike walled gardens, hedged gardens offer the ability to work with a wider array of data sources and provide more diverse insights into audience behavior. This flexibility lets marketers develop more tailored, cross-platform campaigns that reach users in different ways. Additionally, hedge gardens encourage collaboration with multiple partners, allowing for new partnerships and innovative strategies. With data from several sources, marketers can create more precise and privacy-compliant targeting methods to deliver better results. With the right approach, hedged gardens give marketers the freedom to break away from restrictive ecosystems and drive creative and impactful growth. How Experian navigates through hedged gardens As our ecosystem moves toward a hedged garden solution, how do we get involved? We are already a key ingredient for this type of solution within the TV landscape. Below, we walk through how we partner with one of our current TV media clients. Organize our client’s data and provide a Living Unit ID (LUID) First, we work with our client to clean and enhance their data, matching individual personal identifiable information (PII), such as an email address, to a household through a LUID. Our Digital Graph, which includes hashed emails (HEMs), cookies, mobile ad IDs (MAIDs), IPs, universal IDs, and CTV IDs, is rebuilt weekly to create accurate, refreshed connections. This consistent linkage creates precise targeting and measurement over time. Our interconnected Offline and Digital Graphs organize identity into households and devices, enriched with marketing data for deeper insights and better addressability. With partnerships across major platforms, we improve match rates, helping you activate audiences seamlessly for optimal reach and measurement. Enrich data through Experian Marketing Data Next, our TV media client licenses our Marketing Attributes. This data is the most comprehensive resource for both traditional and digital marketing campaigns. With its multi-channel availability and addressable capabilities, our Marketing Attributes allow our clients to develop insights and build audiences based on a wide range of attributes within their segment set, ensuring they reach relevant audiences across all channels. Activate audiences across the ecosystem Finally, we help our client execute their audiences across the full digital and TV ecosystem. We enable the connection that allows these audiences to be activated by matching partner LUIDs (example: LUID123 = LUIDABC). By using client-specific LUIDs to match up data in a privacy-first manner, we can continue to build strong partnerships within the fast-growing ecosystem. Are hedged gardens the future of advertising? Have we found the perfect bridge between walled gardens and the open web? We’re hedging our bets. Our vote is yes, but only time will tell. The future of advertising is shifting, and hedged gardens appear to be a promising model that balances the scale of walled gardens with the flexibility of the open web. We’re using what we learned from the TV industry to support other hedged garden verticals (retail media networks, audio, and gaming). Now that we know what a hedged garden is, we should consider what the future holds for both walled and hedged gardens. What’s next for walled gardens Increased privacy regulations: Walled gardens will face stricter regulations on data use, pushing them to adapt for compliance and trust. Reduced market dominance: As advertisers want more control, reliance on walled gardens could decline, shifting focus to hedged gardens. Diversified ad spend: Brands may spread their budgets across multiple platforms instead of being locked into walled gardens. The future of hedged gardens Greater industry collaboration: Expect more publishers and platforms to join forces in hedged gardens for better data activation. Expansion into new channels: Hedged gardens will expand into emerging channels like gaming and connected devices. Improved data integration: Privacy-first data sharing in hedged gardens will lead to smoother, more secure ad targeting. Data collaboration in a post-cookie world As signal loss becomes a growing concern, the need for secure, privacy-first data collaboration will rise. Hedged gardens offer a pathway forward, allowing advertisers to activate first-party data across multiple partners while complying with data regulations. This is where Experian Collaboration shines. By enabling data sharing without exposing raw consumer data, clients and partners can collaborate at Experian in their own environment or in clean rooms. Each of these environments allows partners to exchange data and gain insights without compromising privacy. Maximize your advertising reach with Experian As the advertising landscape changes, one thing remains clear: successful campaigns will require flexible, privacy-first solutions. At Experian, we are at the forefront of this shift. With our data expertise and advanced collaboration solutions, we’re here to help you navigate through both walled and hedged gardens to maximize your advertising reach. Together, we can navigate across the walled and hedged garden ecosystems. Contact us to learn how. Contact us Latest posts
Originally appeared on Adweek The advertising industry is experiencing a significant shift resulting from Oracle's market exit. Over the years, Oracle’s advertising tools—built through key acquisitions like Crosswise, BlueKai, Datalogix, and Grapeshot—have become essential for many marketers, data providers, and platforms. With Oracle’s departure, stakeholders are left searching for reliable alternatives to maintain their data-driven strategies. While this transition may seem daunting, it presents a unique opportunity to reassess audience and identity solutions. With the growing importance of adaptability and interoperability, now is the perfect time for advertisers, agencies, publishers, and platforms to adopt future-focused strategies. Oracle’s legacy: A combination of acquisitions Oracle’s advertising business wasn’t a unified solution but a collection of acquired technologies. Crosswise provided a cross-device identity graph; BlueKai offered a robust data management platform (DMP); Datalogix specialized in offline purchase data; and Grapeshot was known for its contextual targeting. Together, these tools powered a comprehensive offering for advertisers, data providers, and platforms. Yet, much of Oracle’s advertising success stemmed from the external data it used. For example, many of Oracle’s automotive audiences relied heavily on third-party data, largely powered by Experian data. This means that while Oracle may no longer be an option, many of the services marketers depended on through Oracle are still available from Experian, ensuring continuity. What this means for advertisers and agencies For advertisers and agencies, Oracle’s exit means losing access to its syndicated audiences. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to cause a major disruption. As one of Oracle’s primary data providers, we've mapped Oracle’s audiences to our own, ensuring marketers can easily maintain their targeting strategies without losing performance or efficiency. With access to over 2,400 syndicated audiences across key verticals such as demographics, automotive, retail purchases, or financial data, advertisers can continue their campaigns with confidence and precision. What sets us apart? Powered by data ranked #1 in accuracy by Truthset, our audiences are built on reliable, offline, deterministic data — like name, address, phone number, and email. This means advertisers can be confident that they are reaching the right audiences across all channels. With our audiences available across 30+ ad platforms, including programmatic, TV, and social media, advertisers and agencies have easy access to keep their campaigns running. For advertisers that ran audience targeting using Grapeshot's Contextual Platform, our new Contextually-Indexed Audiences are a replacement built for the evolving digital media landscape. By combining the precision of audience targeting with the flexibility of contextual targeting, marketers get a privacy-safe, yet scalable way to target audiences that is not reliant on cookies or other user identifiers. Marketers can activate these audiences through leading demand-side platforms (DSPs) or through Audigent private marketplaces (PMPs). A new opportunity for data providers Oracle’s marketplace has long been a crucial distribution channel for third-party data providers, particularly through BlueKai. With its closure, providers have an opportunity to explore new onboarding services and marketplaces that offer similar or even better reach and effectiveness. New alternative onboarding solutions are emerging, particularly in areas like TV and digital, ensuring that the loss of Oracle’s services does not leave a significant gap. These solutions are being built to overcome the challenges typically present with data onboarding — complicated integration processes, limited ID matching capabilities, and opaque pricing structures. One such solution is Experian’s new Third-Party Onboarding. What sets us apart? With our digital and offline identity capabilities embedded within this solution, data providers receive superior programmatic and connected TV (CTV) reach and addressability compared to the competition. The first data providers – Adentro, Kontext, L2, and Webbula – are already using this solution to increase the adoption of their audiences and maximize their revenue. Additionally, new marketplaces are emerging that aim to fill the void left by Oracle, offering distribution to key destinations and providing data providers with continued access to advertisers who require high-quality, third-party data. Platforms shift to new audience solutions Platforms that relied on Oracle for third-party data and audience onboarding are now facing challenges in maintaining their ability to target specific audiences. This could affect their inventory's attractiveness to buyers. However, we offer a seamless solution for platforms looking to replace Oracle’s capabilities. As one of Oracle’s primary data providers, we've already mapped Oracle’s audiences to our catalog of over 2,400 syndicated audiences. Platforms can continue providing precise audience targeting and ensure advertisers receive the performance that they demand. Additionally, Third-Party Onboarding builds upon the investment and infrastructure used to distribute our own audience segments, providing platforms with audiences from leading third-party data providers. Moving forward: Embracing connectivity We're dedicated to powering data-driven advertising through connectivity. With best-in-class syndicated audiences, new Contextually-Indexed Audiences, and an easy-to-use Third-Party Onboarding solution, we're enabling advertisers, agencies, data providers, and ad platforms to improve their marketing operations. Oracle’s departure marks the end of one era, but it also opens the door to a future where collaboration, interoperability, and connectivity define the landscape. By choosing partners like us, advertisers, agencies, and platforms can ensure they remain agile, innovative, and well-equipped to thrive in this new era of data-driven marketing. Reach out to your account representative or our audience team for information about our comprehensive audience mapping and finding the right audiences for your campaigns. Download our audience lookbook to discover more about Experian’s audiences. Contact us Latest posts