At A Glance
AI can make your holiday advertising more efficient, but identity makes it accurate. This season, the brands that connect their AI tools to a strong identity foundation will see measurable performance.Originally appeared in Adweek
This holiday advertising season, identity is the real differentiator
Marketers are betting big on AI to run their holiday advertising, using it to build predictive audiences, generate creative at scale, and optimize media buys in real time. The draw is clear: greater efficiency, delivered at scale.
But here’s the problem: without a solid identity foundation, AI is just guessing. And in a year when consumers are cautious and competition is fierce, guesses won’t deliver the outcomes you need.
Experian’s 2025 Holiday spending trends and insights report shows that success this season will depend on connecting the right data to the right audiences in real time.
Are shoppers really using AI to make holiday purchases?
Not yet. Only 12% of consumers plan to use AI tools to shop this season, mostly for finding discounts. Instead, trusted influences (like retailer websites, product reviews, and recommendations) still guide buying decisions.
For marketers, that’s a signal to focus on credibility and connection. AI can support your holiday advertising strategy, but trust still wins the sale.
Consumer sentiment heading into the holidays is low, but that could mislead marketers
How marketers are really using AI in holiday advertising
Behind the scenes, AI is working overtime. Teams use it to segment audiences, test creative, and optimize media in real time. These capabilities are powerful, but only if they’re grounded in accurate, persistent data.
Think about the typical holiday shopper. They may browse a product online, validate it in store, and finally purchase days later from a different device than they used while browsing. If AI isn’t anchored in identity, it struggles to connect those touchpoints. Instead of amplifying relevance, it amplifies noise.
Why identity is the GPS for AI-driven holiday advertising
Identity is what turns AI from a blunt instrument into an accurate tool. By unifying fragmented signals across channels and devices, identity provides the consistent consumer view that AI needs to be effective.
With that foundation, AI can do more than churn out models. Instead, it can:
Identify the right audiences and filter out waste
Personalize with context, not just scale
Measure real outcomes, linking exposures to visits and purchases
Identity doesn’t just improve efficiency; it creates accountability. And in a season where every holiday advertising campaign dollar is scrutinized, accountability is the difference between investment and waste.
How to turn complexity into clarity this holiday season
This year’s holiday advertising season is complicated. Marketers are confident, consumers are cautious, and AI is somewhere in the middle. The challenge isn’t just speed or volume, it’s accuracy.
By pairing AI with identity, you can adapt to real behavior instead of assumptions. You can build campaigns that are consistent across connected TV, retail media, and social platforms. And you can prove results when it matters most.
AI isn’t a holiday miracle. But when it’s powered by identity, it can give you clarity in a noisy season and proof of performance when budgets are under scrutiny.
What’s the real takeaway for marketers this season?
Don’t assume AI alone will save your holiday advertising strategy. It won’t. Consumers still trust human voices more than machines, and your AI models are only as strong as the data beneath them. Identity is the difference between guesswork and accuracy, between activity and impact.
This holiday season, the winners won’t be the brands that simply spend more or automate faster. They’ll be the ones that put identity at the core of their AI strategy and meet consumers where they really are.
Download Experian’s 2025 Holiday spending trends and insights report to see where consumers are spending and how identity can help your holiday advertising campaigns more effective.
FAQs
AI works best when it’s grounded in accurate data. Without identity, it can’t connect actions across devices or channels, which limits its effectiveness.
Identity creates a single, persistent view of your audience. That means AI can personalize content, measure conversions, and cut waste with far greater accuracy.
It’s the data layer that connects people across their devices, browsers, and behaviors—so your campaigns reach real individuals.
By tying exposure to verified outcomes—like store visits or purchases—using identity-linked data. That’s how Experian helps brands move from impressions to impact.
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Joint solution will enhance accuracy and reach across North America, EMEA and APAC NEW YORK, April 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Tapad, a global marketing technology company and leader in digital identity resolution solutions, today announced a new joint capability with Arm®Treasure DataTM , a leader in enterprise customer data management. The partnership combines The Tapad GraphTM technology with Arm Treasure Data's robust enterprise Customer Data Platform (CDP), enabling advertisers in the Arm Treasure Data marketplace to access Tapad's datasets. With the integration of Tapad's Graph and Arm Treasure Data's existing first party data, marketers will be able to deliver scalable, cross-device messaging with precision. In addition, marketers can benefit from anonymous customer journey analysis, audience expansion and online and offline attribution. Arm Treasure Data's APAC market customers will have access to expanded audience reach by leveraging Tapad's global, proprietary datasets. While Tapad will be able to extend its presence into the APAC region, tapping into Arm Treasure Data's existing footprint. "Combining Tapad's Graph with Arm Treasure Data's CDP will enable our customers to make holistic, data-driven decisions that increase ROI," said Chris Feo, SVP of Global Data Licensing and Strategic Partnerships at Tapad. "In combining these two solutions, we can now offer advertisers the value of both technologies to optimize their marketing initiatives and create seamless experiences across multiple devices and channels." "The Tapad GraphTM is a trusted and established platform with a history of innovation," said Stephen Lee, Senior Director, Business Development, Arm Treasure Data. "Integrating Tapad's technology into the Arm Treasure Data CDP will allow for streamlined experiences across markets, achieving global scalable reach." For more information about The Tapad GraphTM, or to request a demo, visit our identity page. About Tapad Tapad, Inc. is a global marketing technology company and leader in digital identity resolution solutions. The Tapad GraphTM, and related solutions, provide a privacy-safe approach to connecting device identifiers to brand and marketer data, thereby allowing for enhanced measurement, attribution, reach and ROI of marketing campaigns. The Tapad GraphTM enables marketers around the world to maximize campaign effectiveness and drive business results. Tapad is recognized across the industry for its innovation, growth and workplace culture, and has earned numerous awards, including the TMCnet Tech Culture Award. Based in New York, Tapad also has offices in Chicago, London, Oslo, Singapore and Tokyo, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telenor Group. About Treasure Data Arm Treasure Data enterprise Customer Data Platform (CDP) unifies data from multiple sources – online, offline, IoT and device generated data – and empowers enterprises to disrupt their markets with superior customer experiences. Our customers are creating transformational customer relationships by connecting the data dots with our CDP. Arm Treasure Data is fully owned by Arm Holdings and has a global customer base of over 300 enterprises including Fortune 500 and Global 2000 companies. Our clients manage over 130 trillion records, resulting in more predictable and profitable business results. Contact us today
Leading global marketing technology company, Tapad, a part of Experian, adopts The Trade Desk’s streamlined cookie ID into its identity resolution solutions to increase global cookie coverage across the internet April 03, 2019 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Global marketing technology company, Tapad, a part of Experian, has partnered with The Trade Desk to onboard The Trade Desk’s unified ID solution into its digital identity driven solutions. The Trade Desk’s unified ID solution is free for all parties spanning the digital advertising supply chain, including SSPs, DSPs, DMPs and data providers. With leading players onboarding the unified ID solution, such as Tapad, streamlined cookie syncs make ad viewing experiences better for consumers, increase match rates for all parties, and expand cookie coverage on a global-scale. Adoption of The Trade Desk’s global cookie footprint enables Tapad customers to benefit from greater precision and potentially higher performing digital marketing campaigns. “Digital identity resolution is key to improving digital marketing campaigns. Supporting The Trade Desk’s unified ID solution, in conjunction with our cross-device and identity resolution offerings, helps us and the entire open ecosystem,” said Chris Feo, SVP of Global Data Licensing and Strategic Partnerships at Tapad. “It simplifies cookie syncing, and increases match rates among our partners; enabling our customers to improve marketing campaign performance.” “Identity is critical in the ecosystem and as a long-standing leader in the space, Tapad has shown a strong commitment to building digital identity resolution solutions that help marketers launch more effective campaigns on a global scale,” said Ed Chater, VP of Data Partnerships, The Trade Desk. “We are thrilled for their participation and look forward to solving the digital identity narrative across the industry through this partnership. The continued widespread adoption of the unified ID solution validates our collective mission to improve the effectiveness of digital advertising.” About Tapad Tapad, Inc. is a global marketing technology company and leader in digital identity resolution solutions. The Tapad Graph™, and related solutions, provide a privacy-safe approach to connecting device identifiers to brand and marketer data, thereby allowing for enhanced measurement, attribution, reach and ROI of marketing campaigns. The Tapad Graph™ enables marketers around the world to maximize campaign effectiveness and drive business results. Tapad is recognized across the industry for its innovation, growth and workplace culture, and has earned numerous awards, including the TMCnet Tech Culture Award. Based in New York, Tapad also has offices in Chicago, London, Oslo, Singapore and Tokyo, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telenor. About The Trade Desk, Inc. The Trade Desk™ is a technology company that empowers buyers of advertising. Through its self-service, cloud-based platform, ad buyers can create, manage, and optimize more expressive data-driven digital advertising campaigns across ad formats, including display, video, audio, native and, social, on a multitude of devices, such as computers, mobile devices, and connected TV. Integrations with major data, inventory, and publisher partners ensure maximum reach and decisioning capabilities, and enterprise APIs enable custom development on top of the platform. Headquartered in Ventura, CA, The Trade Desk has offices across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. To learn more, visit thetradedesk.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Contact us today