At A Glance
AdTech can feel overwhelming with all its jargon, but we're breaking it down café-style. From first-party data and identity resolution to clean rooms and ID-free targeting, this guide breaks down the essential terms marketers need to know.In this article…
If you’ve ever sat in a meeting and heard an AdTech term you didn’t understand, you’re not alone. The industry evolves as quickly as a café turns over tables on a busy weekend. Even seasoned regulars can get tripped up by the jargon.
So instead of scratching your head over the “menu,” let’s walk through some of the most common terms: served café-style.
The ingredients: The many flavors of first-party data
Every meal starts with ingredients, and in AdTech, those ingredients are data. First-party data is not just one thing: it’s more like everything your favorite neighborhood café knows about you.
First-party data
The café knows your coffee preferences because you’ve told them directly; whether by ordering at the counter, calling in, or placing an order online. This is information you’ve willingly provided through your interactions, and it belongs only to that café.
First-party cookies
The barista writes down your preferences in a notebook behind the counter, so next time you walk in, they don’t have to ask. First-party cookies remember details to make your experience smoother, but only for that café.
Authenticated identity
A loyalty app that connects online orders to in-person visits. By logging in, you’re saying, “Yes, it’s really me.” Authenticated identity is proof that the customer isn’t just a face in line, but someone with a verified profile.
Persistent identity
Recognizing you whether you order through the app or in person. Persistent identity enables the ability to keep track of someone across different touchpoints, consistently, without confusing them with someone else.
Permissioned data
Agreeing to join the loyalty program and get emails. Permissioned data is a connection to the customer that the customer proactively shared with the café by signing up for their loyalty program or email newsletter.
Each piece comes from direct interactions, stored and used in different ways. That’s what makes first-party data nuanced. The saga of third-party cookie deprecation and changing privacy regulations makes it important to understand which types of data you can collect and use for marketing purposes.
And once you have those ingredients, the next step is making sure you recognize how they fit together, so you can see each customer clearly. That’s where identity resolution comes in.
The recipe: Bringing the ingredients together with identity resolution
At the café, identity resolution is what helps the staff recognize you as the same customer across every interaction. Without it, they might think you’re two different people; one who always orders breakfast and another who sometimes picks up pastries to go.
Matching
The café has a loyalty program, and the pet bakery next door has one too. When they match records across their two data sets, they realize “M. Jones” from the café is the same person as “Michelle Jones” from the bakery. That connection means they can activate a joint promotion, like free coffee with a dog treat, without either business handing over their full customer lists. In marketing, matching works the same way, linking records across data sets for activation so campaigns reach the right people.
Deduplication
Collapses duplicate profiles into a single, clean record, so you don’t get two birthday coupons, even though that would be nice to get.
That’s what Experian does at scale: we connect billions of IDs in a privacy-safe way, so you can get an accurate picture of your audience.
And once you can recognize your customers across touchpoints, the next challenge is collaborating across systems and partners for deeper insights. That’s where the behind-the-counter processes come in.
Behind the counter: Crosswalks and clean rooms
At a café, these terms are like the behind-the-counter processes that keep everything running smoothly. They may sound technical, but they all serve the same purpose: helping data collaborate across different sources, while keeping sensitive information safe. The goal is a better “meal” for the customer, deeper insights, better targeting, and more personalized campaigns. Here’s how they work.
Crosswalks
The café partners with the pet bakery next door. They both serve a lot of the same people, but they track them differently. With a crosswalk, they can use a shared key to recognize the same customer across both businesses, so you get a coffee refill, and your dog gets a treat, without either one handing over their full customer list. A crosswalk is the shared system that lets both know it is really you, without swapping personal details. It’s the bridge connecting two silos of data.
Clean rooms
The café and the pet bakery want to learn more about their shared customers, like whether dog owners are more likely to stop by for brunch on weekends. Instead of swapping their full records, they bring their data into another café’s private back room, a clean room, where they can compare trends safely and privately. Both get useful insights, while customer details stay protected. That’s a clean room: secure collaboration without exposing sensitive data.
Of course, sharing and protecting data is only part of the picture. The real test comes when you need to serve customers in new ways, especially as the industry moves beyond cookies.
Serving customers in new ways: Cookie-free to ID-free
Targeting has evolved beyond cookies, just like cafés no longer rely only on notebooks to remember regulars.
ID-free targeting
The café looks at ordering patterns, like cappuccinos selling on Mondays and croissants on Fridays, without tracking who’s ordering what. Instead of focusing on who the customer is, the café tailors choices based on the context of the situation, like time of day or day of the week. This is like contextual targeting, serving ads based on the environment or behavior in the moment, rather than on personal identity.
ID-agnostic targeting
The café realizes customers show up in all sorts of ways: walk in, online ordering, delivery. Each channel has its own “ID,” a name on the app, a credit card, or a loyalty profile. ID-agnostic targeting means no matter how you order, the café can still serve you without being locked into one system.
Just like cafés no longer rely only on notebooks to keep track of regulars, marketers no longer have to depend solely on cookies. Today, there are multiple paths, cookie-free, ID-free, and ID-agnostic, that can all help deliver better, more relevant experiences.
But even with new ways to reach people, one big question remains: how do you know if it’s actually working? That’s where measurement and outcomes come into play.
Counting tables vs. counting sales
At the café, measurement and outcomes aren’t the same.
Measurement
Tables filled, cups poured, specials ordered.
Outcomes
What it all means: higher revenue, more loyalty sign-ups, or increased sales from a new promotion.
Both matter. Measurement shows whether the café is running smoothly, but outcomes prove whether the promotions and strategies are truly paying off. Together, they help connect day-to-day activity to long-term success.
All of this brings us back to the bigger picture: understanding the menu well enough to enjoy the meal.
From menu to meal
In AdTech, there will always be new terms coming onto the menu. What matters most is understanding them well enough to know how they help you reach your business goals. Just like at the café, asking a question about the specials isn’t foolish. It’s how you make sure you get exactly what you want. The more we, as an industry, understand the “ingredients” of data and identity, the better we can cook up new solutions that serve both brands and consumers. After all, the goal isn’t just to talk about the menu, it’s to enjoy the meal.
At Experian, we help brands turn that menu into action. From identity resolution to privacy-safe data collaboration, our solutions make it easier to connect with audiences, activate campaigns, and measure real outcomes.
If you’re ready to move from decoding the jargon to delivering better customer experiences, we’re here to help
FAQs
First-party data is information a customer shares directly with a brand, like purchase history, preferences, or sign-ups. It’s the most valuable and privacy-safe data marketers can use to build personalized campaigns.
Identity resolution ensures a brand can recognize the same customer across different touchpoints. Matching links records across data sets (e.g., between partners) so campaigns reach the right people without exposing full customer lists.
A crosswalk bridges two data systems with a shared key to recognize the same customer, while a clean room allows partners to analyze data together securely without exposing sensitive details.
Cookie-free and ID-free targeting shift focus away from tracking individuals, instead tailoring ads based on context (like time of day or content being viewed) or allowing flexibility across multiple IDs.
Measurement tracks activity (like clicks or visits), while outcomes prove business impact (like sales, loyalty, or revenue). Both are essential, but outcomes show whether strategies are truly effective.
Experian provides tools for identity resolution, privacy-safe data collaboration, and campaign measurement, helping marketers move from understanding the “menu” of AdTech terms to achieving real results.
Latest posts
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 Allison Dewey (Director, Data & Curation) at 33Across. Navigating complexity in digital advertising Digital advertising is more fragmented and privacy-constrained than ever. How is 33Across helping marketers cut through that complexity to drive real outcomes, and what makes your approach distinct? Reaching audiences without compromising scale or performance is one of the toughest challenges for marketers. Users consume content across multiple devices and channels, making it difficult for marketers to identify and accurately target them with the right message. 33Across segments leverage AI-powered contextual and behavioral signals across privacy-safe environments to help marketers accurately identify audiences, whether they’re streaming content on their connected TV or researching products on their mobile device. What sets us apart is that we don’t just identify valuable audiences; we help marketers also target cookieless inventory and power it with real-time signals. Marketplace integration milestones What excites you most about bringing 33Across audiences into Experian’s data marketplace? We’re excited to bring 33Across audiences into Experian’s data marketplace because it connects our unique segments with a powerful data ecosystem that marketers already trust. Buyers looking to activate audiences that are both privacy-safe and performant continue to tap into the Experian data marketplace for high-quality, high-performing data. We offer a wide range of audience verticals, including B2B, demographic, retail purchase data, interest and intent, and political data. In addition, we offer the ability to create custom segments across verticals. Our intent-based audiences, built from contextual and engagement signals, help buyers reach consumers on CTV, desktop, or mobile devices with scale. Being part of Experian’s data marketplace accelerates access to these audiences, drives better ROI, and helps brands future-proof their strategies today. Retail demand signals Retail brands are racing toward privacy-safe, first-party data. Which 33Across retail datasets or segments are experiencing the highest demand, and what makes them a must-have? Retail marketers are leaning into contextual and behavioral intent signals to complement their first-party data strategies. At 33Across, we’re seeing high demand for segments tied to shopping intent, including in-market consumers browsing for categories like fashion, home goods, electronics, and health & wellness. What makes these segments essential is their real-time nature – they can capture consumer interest as it happens. For retail brands looking to expand their reach while respecting privacy, our segments offer scalable, actionable intent that drives results. B2B without cookies Reaching real B2B decision-makers at scale is tough with or without signals. How does 33Across deliver both precision and reach in this environment? B2B marketing often struggles with balancing scale and specificity. 33Across addresses this by combining contextual precision with AI-modeled behavioral signals; this segment approach reaches professionals actively engaging with relevant content and topics, even in environments where IDs are unavailable. Marketers gain access to more signals and, in turn, better reach from 33Across’ unique publisher integrations and audience curation built from machine learning and AI. We surface intent through content consumption patterns and contextual engagement, unlocking valuable, privacy-safe signals at scale. Allowing B2B marketers to reach real decision-makers in a signal-sparse world. Use cases With retail, B2B, and beyond, can you share an example of how brands in these verticals are utilizing your audiences? Top brands that have a user-focused approach use 33Across audiences to drive scale; performance. These brands enable our segments to precisely reach the right users across devices and increase conversion rates; brand awareness. By reaching the right users, brands have higher conversion rates and increase campaign efficiency. Supply path innovation As identifiers disappear, advertisers are looking for scalable, privacy-safe ways to reach real people. How is 33Across helping unlock more addressable inventory and drive performance? By combining contextual, semantic, and engagement-based signals, we deliver intent-based targeting that performs across CTV, display and video. Higher addressability helps marketers not only extend their reach but also deliver personalized messaging across digital channels in a privacy-compliant way. Contact us FAQs How can advertisers reach audiences without traditional identifiers? By using contextual and engagement-based signals, advertisers can target consumers across CTV, mobile, and desktop in a privacy compliant way, even as identifiers become less available. What audience segments are most in demand for retail marketers? Segments tied to shopping intent, such as consumers browsing fashion, electronics, or health products, are highly sought after because they capture real time interest and drive results. How can B2B marketers find decision-makers without cookies? Combining content engagement patterns with machine learning allows marketers to reach professionals actively engaging with relevant topics, even in environments where IDs are unavailable. What makes privacy safe audience targeting effective? Privacy safe targeting uses real time contextual and behavioral signals to deliver relevant messaging across devices and channels without compromising consumer trust. How can real-time intent signals drive demand? Real time intent signals allow advertisers to capture consumer interest as it happens, helping demand side platforms and brands deliver timely, relevant ads that increase engagement and drive conversions across devices like CTV, mobile, and desktop. About our expert Allison Dewey, Director of Data and Curation, 33Across Allison Dewey is the Director of Data & Curation at 33Across, where she oversees data partnerships, integrations, and supply-side curation. With a deep expertise in audience targeting and signal optimization, Allison plays a key role in connecting data into the programmatic world. Allison holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Bates College. About 33Across Rooted in over 15 years of data expertise, 33Across harnesses signals to enrich and expand marketers’ audiences and reach them wherever they consume content. Built from over 300 billion proprietary data signals, we apply machine learning and AI to create over 1,500 B2C and B2B segments using privacy-first principles to reach audiences. Latest posts
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. Download the report now 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 Here's why 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. See our predictions for Black Friday 2025 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. Why connected data will make or break Cyber Week 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. Explore Experian's holiday audiences to activate this season 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. Download now FAQs Why isn’t AI enough on its own for holiday advertising? 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. How does identity improve AI-driven campaigns? Identity creates a single, persistent view of your audience. That means AI can personalize content, measure conversions, and cut waste with far greater accuracy. What does “identity” mean in marketing terms? It’s the data layer that connects people across their devices, browsers, and behaviors—so your campaigns reach real individuals. How can marketers prove ROI in holiday advertising? 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. Latest posts
What challenge did the pet brand face? A national e-commerce pet supplier wanted to expand into audio advertising to diversify beyond display campaigns. But with only one team member available to test this new channel, they faced three hurdles: Prove performance in a new channel Run lean with limited bandwidth Show purchase intent, engaged site visits, and completion rates fast They needed a partner to handle execution and supply optimization so their lean team could focus on strategy and selling audio internally. Hear how we're working with Audacy to help our clients connect beyond the screen Tune in here The solution: How did Experian Curated Deals help? Audigent, a part of Experian, ran point on setup, optimization, and real-time reporting. The brand turned to Experian Curated Deals. Together we: Streamlined access to curated inventory, cutting intermediaries and boosting efficiency Handled campaign setup and supply-side optimization Delivered real-time demand-side platform (DSP) reporting for agile targeting refinements Provided an extension of their in-house team, giving them bandwidth to focus on pitching audio internally “What stood out about Experian was their real-time control and the depth of their trading team. I knew I could hand them a campaign, and they’d run with it.”Programmatic Media Lead, National e-commerce pet supplier Want to see the full case study? Download it here What results did the campaign deliver? In just a few months, audio transformed from a small test into a top-performing channel: Exceeded KPIs by 63% Increased purchase intent and engagement vs. competing platforms Matched display performance without creative refreshes or incentive overlays Earned budget increases, positioning audio as a long-term investment Reduced internal setup time, freeing the team for strategic projects “Experian became more than just a media partner: they filled critical gaps that would typically require outsized investment in internal resourcing.”CMO, National e-commerce pet supplier Explore more examples of how brands are driving performance with Experian Windstar Cruises Leading athletic retailer Swiss Sense Why does this matter for marketers? For marketers, audio isn’t experimental anymore. It’s a proven channel that can drive both engagement and conversions. This case study shows how brands can: Use Experian Curated Deals to validate new channels with minimal risk. Lean on Experian to handle execution, freeing teams to focus on growth. Drive meaningful engagement and purchase intent, not just impressions. For marketers navigating limited resources and pressure to prove ROI fast, Experian Curated Deals provides both performance and confidence. Want to beat your campaign goals by double digits? Contact us today FAQs What is Experian Curated Deals? Experian Curated Deals streamline access to premium media inventory by eliminating unnecessary intermediaries, optimizing efficiency, and ensuring campaigns perform against KPIs. Why use curated deals for audio advertising? Curated deals help brands test and validate audio quickly, without the heavy lift of manual setup and supply path management. Can audio really drive conversions? Yes. In this case, audio campaigns not only exceeded awareness and engagement goals but also matched the conversion performance traditionally associated with display. How does Experian support lean teams? By managing setup, supply optimization, and reporting, Experian acts as an extension of your team, reducing internal workload while driving performance. Latest posts