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
Study reveals that brands with more mature identity programs were significantly more likely to be successful in achieving their key objectives Tapad, a part of Experian, a global leader in cross-device digital identity resolution and a part of Experian, has commissioned Forrester Consulting, part of a leading research and advisory firm, to conduct a new study that evaluates the current state of customer data-driven marketing and explores how marketers can use identity solutions to deliver privacy safe and engaging experiences, in an evolving data landscape. The study highlights the changing ground rules for digital marketing and the threat that poses to marketers’ ability to deliver against long standing KPIs and campaign goals. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of respondents said that the forces of data deprecation will have a significant (40%) or critical (21%) impact on their marketing strategies over the next two years. Among those surveyed, identity resolution strategies have surfaced as an opportunity to create more powerful customer experiences, with 66% aiming to have it help improve customer trust and implement more ethical data collection and use practices, while nearly 60% believe it will point the way to more effective personalization and data management practices. Although organizations are eager to implement identity resolution strategies, a complex web of solutions and partners makes execution a challenge. For example, respondents report using at least eight identity solutions on average, across nearly six vendor partners, and they expect that fragmentation to persist in the ‘cookieless’ future. Additionally, brands’ identity resolution technologies typically represent a patchwork of homegrown and commercial solutions. Eighty-one percent of respondents use both in-house and commercial identity resolution tools today, and 47% use a near-equal blend of the two. Despite the challenges, many brands have the foundation for a strong identity resolution strategy in place, and they are thriving as a result. Specifically, more mature brands were 79% more successful at improving privacy safeguards to reduce regulatory and compliance risk, 247% more successful at improving marketing ROI, and over four times more effective at improving customer trust compared to their low-maturity peers. Additional insights include: Marketers Are Increasingly Playing a Key Strategic Role Within the Organization, But There is a Mandate to Demonstrate Value. Nearly three-quarters of respondents in our study agree the marketing function is more strategically important to their organization than it used to be, while almost two-thirds agree there’s more pressure than ever to prove the ROI or business performance of their activities. Consumers Expect Brands to Deliver Engaging Experiences Across Highly Fragmented Journeys: Tapad, a part of Experian found that 72% of respondents agree that customers demand more relevant, personalized experiences at the time and place of their choosing. At the same time, 67% of respondents recognize that customer purchase journeys take place over more touchpoints and channels than ever, and 59% of respondents agree that those journeys are less predictable and linear than they once were. Marketing Runs on Data, But the Rules Governing Customer Data Usage are Ever-Evolving: According to the study, 70% of decision-makers agree that consumer data is the lifeblood of their marketing strategies – fueling the personalized, omnichannel experiences customers demand. At the same time, 69% of respondents recognize that customers are increasingly aware of how their data is being used. At least two-thirds agree that data deprecation, including tighter restrictions on data use (66%), as well as operating system and browser changes impacting third-party cookies (68%) means that legacy marketing strategies are unlikely to remain viable in the long-term.“ Our latest survey findings give us a better understanding of how our customers and other companies around the world are trying to master the relationship between people, their data and their devices,” said Mark Connon, General Manager at Tapad, a part of Experian. “This research shows why it's fundamental for the industry to continuously work to develop solutions that are agnostic. Tapad, a part of Experian has worked tirelessly to deliver on this with our Tapad Graph, and by introducing solutions like Switchboard to help the evolving ecosystem and in turn helping customers reap the benefits of better identity in both short and long-term.” The study is founded on an online survey of over 300 decision-makers at global brands and agencies, which was fielded from March to April, 2021. Data deprecation and identity are fast-developing, moving targets, so this study delivers targeted insights and recommendations for how to prepare for coming shifts in customer data strategies – whether they manifest tomorrow or a year from now. Get in touch
Third-party cookies have been a crucial component in people-based advertising and digital identity. With Google's recent announcement of delaying third-party cookie deprecation to 2024, the industry has more time to rethink how to effectively identify and communicate with consumers when the time comes. Preparing for cookie deprecation Solving for the post-cookie world is mission critical, particularly as consumer expectation for a relevant digital experience is heightened. We’ve seen a number of industry participants, including brands, publishers, data providers and technology platforms, work around the clock to find an alternative to third-party cookies—one that amasses the same scale and reach but also maintains consumer privacy. In fact, industry insights echo that sentiment. According to a white paper from Winterberry Group, Collaborative Data Solutions: The Evolution of Identity in a Privacy-First, Post-Cookie World, sponsored in part by Experian, one of the most frequently heard comments was the urgency for the industry to develop post-cookie, privacy compliant solutions that work in a more integrated manner. And if there was one overarching position regarding the research into the future of identity, it’s that collaboration is key. Participants in the white paper expressed that with the elimination of third-party cookies, there will be a surge in collaborative solutions across and within companies to accommodate changes in the digital marketplace. Collaborative data solutions must move beyond new post-cookie identity replacements and encompass more holistic approaches, including first-party data. First-party data sharing Currently, 64.3 percent of organizations in the US collaborate with other organizations to share first-party data for insights, activation, measurement or attribution, and 16.7 percent in the U.S. have plans to. Virtually all US companies surveyed were aware of the option to collaborate with other organizations and expressed openness to discussions around sharing first-party data. What is the solution to third-party cookie deprecation? The deprecation of third-party cookies is creating a shock in the marketing and advertising world because there has been an over-dependence on one type of identifier. Therefore, the solution to identify consumers across the digital ecosystem will not come from a single replacement for third-party cookies. Instead, it will rely on a combination of solutions, including collaborative data between organizations and implementation of proprietary first-party data strategies, as well as a framework that can connect all these touchpoints together. Experian can help you navigate the cookieless future Experian is focused on building a more effective advertising ecosystem that promotes the interoperability of digital touchpoints while enabling and fostering new innovations in a privacy forward way. Contact us today and get started with building connected identity in the ever-changing data landscape. To learn more, watch the recording of our webinar with The Vitamin Shoppe where we discuss identity and how you can drive more addressable audience strategies amidst diminishing data signals. Get in touch
As today’s digital landscape gets more and more complicated there are more ways for brands to connect with users and drive purchases and more ways for ad tech to target and measure those touch points. As in-person shopping picks up steam due to the re-normalization of society post-COVID 19; the connection between digital ads and in-person purchases needs to be made once again. With the rise of Connected TV throughout the pandemic there are even more digital opportunities to target a user. But how do you make sure that those brand engagements are captured and correctly attributed to offline purchases and conversions? The answer lies in a holistic identity resolution strategy. Cross-device identity resolution with The Tapad Graph connects the identifiers and devices of individuals within a household to each other; enabling targeting, frequency capping, extension, segmentation and measurement or attribution between devices; including Connected TV and hashed (privacy-protected) email addresses along with Cookies, Mobile Ad Ids and IP Address. Brands can join their first-party data to The Tapad Graph to execute strategies that connect online and offline data for pre, mid and post-campaign efficiencies. Let’s imagine a scenario in which an outdoor retail brand is targeting users watching specific content on a Connected TV device. Powered by identity resolution, they start with a general ad on CTV and continue targeting down individual paths with each user. When one of them converts in store and makes a purchase; the outdoor retailer can connect that action through location and in-store traffic data with the cross-device identity resolution used to execute the digital campaign. Now the actions of the user online and offline are resolved for more accurate measurement and attribution after the campaign ends. But it doesn’t stop there– the brand's CRM data can be reactivated for the next digital campaign and leveraged to capitalize on the most effective media mix for the user who made the purchase previously. These combined insights can be invaluable in shaping up future campaign strategies with geo-contextual ads, recommended additional products and personalization to help drive more conversions and purchases in-store or online. As in-person shopping picks back up and marketers are tasked once again with balancing online and in-store KPIs, the right identity resolution strategy can unlock necessary efficiencies for retailers, ad tech vendors and agencies tasked with supporting these initiatives. Get in touch