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Third-party cookies have been the foundation of targeted advertising for a long time. Around 75% of marketers worldwide rely on third-party cookies, with approximately 42.2% of websites using them to gather user data. These tiny bits of code silently track our online activities, collecting search history and product preferences to help advertisers tailor their campaigns to our needs.
However, as fears over online privacy have grown, the third-party cookie era is ending. Most American consumers are worried about data privacy when engaging with brands online. Privacy concerns are widespread across all age groups, with 82.7% of 18- to 24-year-olds and 87.8% of 55- to 65-year-olds expressing apprehension about how their data is handled, according to eMarketer.
While some other search engines have already eliminated third-party cookies, Google Chrome — which holds 65% of the global browser market — is just beginning to phase them out as new alternatives are tested. Google’s third-party cookie deprecation is expected to impact marketers in a big way.
Let’s talk about what that impact will look like and how marketers can reconcile consumer demands for browsing privacy with their preference for personalized ad experiences.
What is cookie deprecation?
Cookie deprecation is a process where web browsers, like Google Chrome, phase out the use of a specific cookie type. In the context of this article, we’re referring to third-party cookies, small pieces of data stored on a device by websites a person visits.
Advertisers and other companies use third-party cookies to track a person’s actions on the web. They help those companies learn about an individual’s interests and show them targeted ads. But over time, internet users have become more aware of cookies and how much companies know about them, so browsers are phasing out third-party cookies to respect user privacy.
The timeline and reasons behind the shift
In January 2020, Google announced it would no longer allow third-party marketing cookies by 2022. Realizing it needed to find an alternative first, it pushed the deadline back several times over the years, eventually confirming that third-party cookies would be deprecated by the end of 2024 — a big deal for the advertising industry. So, what’s the motivation behind this change?
Many people are becoming increasingly worried about online privacy and the intrusiveness of third-party cookies. In recent years, lawmakers have pressured tech companies to make changes in response to their constituents’ concerns about online privacy rights. By getting rid of third-party cookies, browsers like Chrome are trying to give users more control over their data and respect privacy demands to create a more privacy-friendly browsing experience.
This shift is part of a broader trend in the digital world toward greater privacy protections, with browsers like Firefox and Safari having already phased out third-party cookies. We’ve also seen other significant moves in this direction, including the following. These regulatory efforts reflect a growing awareness of how important it is to protect data privacy and consumer rights in a world gone digital.
- Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework was introduced in iOS 14.5, requiring users to get permission before tracking their data across other apps or websites.
- The Global Privacy Control (GPC) strives to improve users’ control over their internet privacy by letting them signal their preferences for data sharing.
- Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) have strict guidelines for how companies handle personal data to prioritize transparency and user consent.
Google’s most popular browser, Chrome, recently made its first big move toward third-party cookie deprecation. On January 4, 2024, Google announced the rollout of a new “Tracking Protection” feature, limiting cross-site tracking by default. They’re doing this gradually, activating the feature for 1% of random Chrome users worldwide, about 30 million people.
Google Chrome’s cookie phase-out impact
Chrome’s third-party cookie deprecation is expected to have the farthest-reaching consequences for marketers like you, as it has almost two-thirds of the browser market worldwide. It’s important to note that this phase-out specifically targets third-party cookies, not first-party cookies, which are generated and stored by the website a user visits directly and will be unaffected by this change.
Here are a few of the impacts to prepare for.
Reduced tracking capabilities
Once third-party cookies are eliminated, you may face challenges in understanding consumer behavior across different websites. Without this tracking capability, understanding your audiences and effectively tailoring advertising campaigns might become more difficult.
Required shift in strategy
It will be key for you to adapt your advertising strategies to rely less on third-party data and more on alternative targeting methods. This shift may involve greater emphasis on contextual advertising, which targets people based on the content of the websites they visit instead of browsing history, and first-party data gathered directly from site users to personalize advertising campaigns.
Additionally, in order to move beyond reliance on cookies and third-party identifiers, activation platforms like demand-side platforms (DSPs) must evolve to identify addressable IDs within bid streams. This adaptability is essential as digital advertising shifts toward privacy and cookieless environments. By being able to recognize addressable IDs in bid streams, DSPs can help facilitate more accurate, personalized targeting and help advertisers reach their audiences across channels and devices without privacy concerns. As a marketer, you should understand the capabilities of your chosen platforms and inquire about their support for evolving targeting methods and data sources.
New compliance regulations
By limiting the ability to track users across the web, Google aims to enhance user privacy and control over their data. You’ll need to embrace privacy-centric approaches to advertising to comply with evolving privacy regulations and build trust with consumers.
Challenges posed by Google’s cookie deprecation in 2024
Marketers are responding to the announcement of third-party cookie deprecation with an eye toward innovation as they proactively seek new solutions. As of early 2024, 56% of marketers in the United States were testing cookieless alternatives. Knowing their customer acquisition will be less efficient without these cookies, they’re looking for ways to maximize the value of their existing customers, increase retention, and make better use of first-party data. Others have been slow to react due to a lack of awareness or uncertainty about how to handle the changes.
Here are some additional challenges advertisers can expect to face as third-party cookies begin to be phased out.
Impact on targeting and personalization
The decline of third-party cookies is expected to have a major impact on targeting and personalization strategies. As advertisers will no longer have access to individual browsing histories, some may struggle to reach specific audiences and deliver personalized content. As a result, they have begun to explore using first-party data and contextual targeting to preserve relevance and consumer engagement.
Attribution and measurement challenges
The future removal of third-party cookies may also make it harder to measure the effectiveness of advertising and accurately attribute conversions. Marketers are currently searching for reliable alternatives to track users across channels and touchpoints. Google’s Attribution Reporting API and private aggregation methods are being explored as potential solutions to these attribution and measurement challenges.
Data privacy and compliance challenges
Future third-party cookie deprecation makes data privacy and compliance a top priority. With the introduction of stricter regulations like GDPR and CCPA, you need to ensure your data collection and usage practices comply with privacy laws. To maintain the trust of consumers and abide by regulatory requirements, it has become essential to shift toward first-party data collection and more transparent consent mechanisms.
Lack of resources to invest in alternative solutions
One of the main challenges advertisers will face with future cookie deprecation is a lack of resources to invest in alternative solutions. Many businesses don’t have the financial resources or technical expertise to explore and implement new targeting and measurement methods.
Additionally, some companies have been reluctant to adopt new solutions because they want to thoroughly test and evaluate their efficacy. The fear of investing resources in unproven technologies or strategies has led to a cautious approach among marketers and advertisers. However, this reluctance to adapt could hinder their ability to remain competitive.
Many companies may also face logistical challenges due to the complexity of transitioning from reliance on third-party cookies to alternative data sources and targeting methods. Integrating new technologies, adjusting workflows, and retraining staff requires time and effort, adding to the complexity of the transition.
Adapting to a cookieless world
Even though third-party cookies are going away, you still have other types of data in your arsenal to help you continue reaching your audience.
Use first-party data
First-party data, collected from customers or website visitors directly, offers valuable insights into consumer behavior and preferences. By investing in proven data collection methods and analytics tools, you can understand your audience more accurately and tailor your messaging and targeting accordingly.
Explore Experian’s signal-agnostic products
Experian is leading the charge in preparing marketers for a cookieless world with our audiences and foundation built from over 200 offline data sources. Our signal-agnostic Graph supports universal IDs and enables brands to expand their existing IDs to all other digital and addressable IDs within our Graph.
Advertisers can enhance their strategies by working with Experian to enrich first-party data with our demographic and behavioral attributes to gain a better understanding of audiences without cookies. Additionally, our data collaboration solutions enable marketers to collaborate with partner data, deriving greater value and enabling deeper insights for effective marketing campaigns. Experian is future-proofing identity strategies to ensure continued marketing performance and success.
Discover alternative targeting technologies
As third-party cookies become obsolete, marketers are starting to investigate alternative targeting technologies for optimizing campaigns. These may include contextual targeting, which focuses on the content and context of a user’s web browsing activity, as well as emerging solutions like cohort-based targeting, which groups users based on shared interests and behaviors. Think of third-party cookie deprecation as the opportunity to innovate and rethink strategies that have relied too heavily on one type of technology.
Best practices for marketers in the post-cookie era
Embracing best practices for a privacy-centric advertising environment can help you maintain your effectiveness and thrive in a cookieless world. Let’s talk strategies to help you succeed in the post-cookie era.
Focus on customer consent and transparency
Having consumers opt-in to sharing their data is an excellent way to build your data pool ethically. One way to do this is by encouraging users to create accounts or log in to access exclusive content or features while providing valuable information in exchange for their data. Another way is by conducting surveys or quizzes to gather insights directly from users about their preferences, interests, and behaviors. You could also use interactive content like polls and contests to engage users and collect data. These approaches can enrich your data pool while demonstrating your commitment to respecting user privacy and preferences.
Prioritize obtaining explicit consent from users before using or gathering their data for your advertising. Implement transparent data practices by clearly communicating to consumers how you’ll use their data and providing easily accessible options to manage their privacy preferences. By building trust through transparency and respecting user choices, you can forge stronger relationships with your audience.
Enhance the customer experience with quality data
In the future absence of third-party cookies, first-party data will be paramount in helping you understand and engage with your audience effectively. Invest in strategies that will help you collect high-quality data directly from customers, such as through interactive content, preference centers, and loyalty programs. By obtaining and using accurate, relevant data, you can provide personalized experiences that resonate with audiences and drive meaningful engagement.
Collaborate with evolving technology platforms
As Google’s cookie deprecation reshapes advertising, it will be important to collaborate closely with technology providers and key industry players who are adapting to these changes. Make sure your chosen platforms are keeping up with the industry and offering solutions that align with the shift to cookieless environments. Partnering with platforms that are proactively addressing these challenges will make it easier to navigate the changing marketing environment and drive better results for consumers and campaigns.
Prepare for the future of advertising with Experian
Despite the fact that third-party cookies are going away, there’s no need to panic. This change offers new opportunities for innovation and strategic refocus. With the emergence of alternative targeting methods, such as first-party data, you can still reach your target audiences effectively while respecting user privacy. By staying proactive and utilizing your available resources, you can navigate the cookieless future with confidence and continue to drive meaningful connections with your audiences.
With a robust suite of data-driven solutions and a breadth of addressable IDs, Experian can help you continue to reach and engage with your target audiences. Our Consumer Sync identity solution is signal-agnostic and empowers consistent consumer interactions, while our Consumer View data solution offers privacy-compliant data to help you connect meaningfully with consumers and reach audiences effectively. Connect with Experian today to discover how we can help you prepare for and thrive in a cookieless future.
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Summer may be vacation season for consumers, but it\’s go time for marketers. Between holiday weekends, travel season, and changing shopping habits, the pressure is on to deliver campaigns that land and convert. If you\’re feeling behind, you\’re not alone. Many marketers face the same challenge every year: How do you actually use the customer data you have to fuel high-impact, seasonal marketing? And how do you ensure your brand shows up in front of the right people in the right place before the competition beats you to it? That’s where Experian comes in. With Experian’s advanced Audience solutions, you can get ahead of the trends, connect with vacation-ready shoppers, and optimize performance across digital, TV, and retail media using customer data for seasonal marketing. Capitalize on vacation excitement to drive sales and growth Summer travel often triggers a surge in pre-trip spending. Surveys show that 82% of consumers plan to travel this summer, and according to Fortune, today’s travelers spend thousands of dollars on things like luggage, apparel, and recreation gear before they even leave their homes! But while consumer demand is heating up, so are the challenges. Marketers are navigating a turbulent economic environment shaped by shifting demand curves, tighter budgets, the rising cost of goods, and supply chain disruptions caused by newly imposed tariffs. These pressures are forcing teams to rethink everything from product positioning to pricing strategies. In this climate, it’s more important than ever to maximize performance, reduce waste, and stay laser-focused on reaching high-intent audiences likely to convert. Using customer data for seasonal marketing helps brands predict and capture demand with precise, relevant targeting. Whether your customers are planning a trip to the beach or hiking the Rockies, timely messaging and audience alignment can drive engagement and conversion. Experian Audiences power effective audience strategies But even the most compelling campaigns can fall flat if you\’re working with incomplete data, outdated segments, or generic targeting. Consumer data providers like Experian can help you fix that. Our Audience solutions help you go beyond assumptions and truly understand who your shoppers are, what they’re planning, and how they behave, so you’re ready to get in front of their summer plans. Six steps to creating a successful seasonal marketing campaign When you’re ready to turn summer intent into strategy, Experian Audience solutions help you translate vacation-driven behaviors into high-performing campaigns. Each product in the Experian Audience suite supports a specific stage in seasonal marketing planning and execution. 1. Define your goals Before diving into channels and creatives, get clear on your customer database marketing goals. Are you trying to increase online purchases? Drive in-store traffic? Expand brand awareness? Use Syndicated Audiences to set fast, focused goals. If you’re short on time, Experian’s 2,400+ Syndicated Audiences give you a head start. These pre-built, behavior-based segments — from luxury travelers to seasonal sports enthusiasts — help you quickly identify who to target, where they spend time, and how to message to them. With segments ready to plug into 30+ activation platforms, you can ensure quick, confident activation. 2. Decide what data you need and which audiences to target Using customer data for seasonal marketing means mapping behavior to intent. This core tactic in customer database marketing can help you drive deeper engagement. Our data solutions simplify the process, whether you’re starting with limited data or already know your best customers. If you’re starting with a list, Enrichment can append lifestyle, income, and travel preference data to help you understand what motivates your existing customers. If you don’t have a list, Marketing Attributes gives you full control when building new audiences or lookalikes based on relevant seasonal traits like beach vacationers or frequent CTV watchers. 3. Identify key holidays and events Summer is full of shopping triggers: Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, and countless local and regional events. However, not every customer behaves the same way. Use Enrichment to understand when your customers are most likely to act. By comparing your first-party data to broader market segments, you can time promotions more strategically. For instance, enrichment might reveal that outdoor gear buyers convert in early June, while luxury travelers plan closer to July. 4. Activate across digital, TV, and retail media Summer shoppers don’t stick to one screen. They’re streaming TV, reading travel blogs, browsing retail apps, and catching up on email — often from a beach chair or airplane seat. That’s why omnichannel delivery is a must, and it’s where consumer data vendors like Experian can help you reach your audience across channels with targeted messaging for key holidays and events: Syndicated Audiences simplifies omnichannel activation with built-in integrations to 30+ leading activation platforms. These pre-mapped segments let you deliver consistent messaging across the places where your audience is most engaged. Looking for privacy-forward reach? Contextually-Indexed Audiences are segments built by linking real-world behavioral data to the types of content those audiences typically consume online, allowing you to activate based on content instead of identity while offering a more contextually relevant experience. Using customer data for seasonal marketing, Experian maps real audience segments across web and app environments — like national park guides and travel blogs — for ID-free precision targeting in a cookieless environment. 5. Track and evaluate performance Don’t wait until the end of the campaign to make changes. Experian’s measurement tools help you track performance in real time, so you can optimize early and often. Measure how well specific audiences — enriched, syndicated, or contextual — are performing across platforms and use those insights to shift spend toward top performers. 6. Optimize and refine your strategy After the season ends, it\’s time to take what you’ve learned and build smarter for the next push. Use Outcomes to analyze: Who converted Which segments underperformed How your customer base compares to the broader market How your audience evolved Which campaigns drove meaningful adoption These insights can then inform your next round of audience building, so whether it’s back-to-school or a holiday, you’re already ahead. Example 1: The beach vacation shopper To illustrate Experian’s Audience solutions at work, let’s say a high-end swimsuit brand wants to reach women over 30 planning beach vacations to Florida, Hawaii, or Mexico. However, their CRM only includes basic transaction and purchase details and offers little insight into who their customers are. Audience solution: Enrichment Using Experian’s Enrichment solution, the brand could layer on lifestyle, income, and travel preference data to turn shallow profiles into rich audience segments. With a deeper understanding of their shoppers, the brand could develop a targeted messaging strategy by destination, build high-performing lookalike audiences, and confidently activate across channels. Example 2: The European traveler As another example, suppose a footwear brand wants to reach millennial travelers heading to Europe between May and August. They specialize in stylish, comfortable walking shoes that are ideal for travel but lack the technical in-house resources to build custom segments. Audience solution: Syndicated Audiences Using our Syndicated Audiences, the brand could easily tap into pre-built segments tied to leisure travelers, international shoppers, and comfort-focused footwear buyers. With plug-and-play access to over 2,400 verified audience segments, the brand could quickly layer this targeting into their programmatic and paid social campaigns without requiring custom development. And with fast speed-to-market and improved message relevance, the brand could launch cross-channel campaigns just in time for peak summer travel planning. Example 3: The outdoorsman Consider a camping tent company that wants to reach families planning summer trips to national parks, campgrounds, or RV resorts. They don’t have much first-party data to work with, but they know their audience is online, researching their next adventure. Audience solution: Contextually-Indexed Audiences With Experian’s Contextually-Indexed Audiences, the brand could target people actively reading content about outdoor travel (like hiking tips, campground reviews, or road trip itineraries) without relying on cookies or IDs. They’d be able to activate contextually relevant audiences mapped to sites that outdoor enthusiasts frequent and drive site traffic with strong click-through rates. Example 4: Big-box retailer launching summer gear Imagine a national retailer preparing to promote summer essentials like patio furniture, grills, fitness gear, and travel accessories. Their goal is to build predictive models for their summer product demand and reach new customers most likely to buy before they even search. Audience solution: Marketing Attributes With Experian’s Marketing Attributes, the retailer could license over 5,000 lifestyle, demographic, and behavioral variables to enrich internal models and uncover high-indexing consumer groups, such as outdoor entertainers or health-conscious families. This data-powered insight would help them predict demand and identify audience segments worth testing across media channels. The team could find new, qualified segments ideal for email and CTV activation and get a head start on the season, eventually increasing ROI on their summer campaign spend. Talk to Experian about your summer campaigns today Using customer data for marketing doesn\’t have to be overwhelming, especially when you have access to a trusted consumer data provider and plug-and-play audience tools for every stage of the funnel. Whether you’re working with a robust CRM or starting fresh, consumer data vendors like Experian can help you reach the right audiences with speed, accuracy, and confidence. Our advanced tools are designed for both advanced marketers and teams just beginning to explore consumer database marketing. No matter your goals, Experian is here to help you build an audience strategy that performs. Contact us today Latest Posts
Connected TV (CTV) continues to expand as a dominant force in digital advertising. Streaming adoption is climbing, yet advertising budgets aren’t keeping pace. With the Newfronts and Upfronts presentations completed, advertisers are being asked to make big decisions with lingering questions still in the mix. One of the biggest barriers? Persistent misconceptions about what CTV can and can’t do. That uncertainty can hold teams back from putting serious weight behind the most addressable screen in the house. Experian works with leading CTV partners to tackle those concerns head on – whether it’s improving measurement, reducing wasted impressions, or making audience data more actionable. To help marketers walk into Upfront conversations with clarity and confidence, we connected with industry experts from Ampersand, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), FreeWheel, and Madhive to separate fact from fiction. Here are four common CTV myths – and the reality behind them 1. CTV is not ready for performance marketing Why this misconception exists CTV was once seen as a branding tool—good for awareness, but hard to measure. Without clear attribution or precise targeting, it wasn’t built for the kind of performance marketing advertisers expect from digital media. What\’s actually happening In the not-so-distant past, marketers lacked a consistent way to connect CTV impressions to digital or in-store actions because of device fragmentation and limited signal sharing between platforms. Today, you can reach specific audiences on the biggest screen in the house—and know what happened after they saw your ad. Advancements in identity resolution and cross-device tracking now allow advertisers to measure everything from incremental reach to store visits and purchases. The growing use of universal identifiers like Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) makes it easier to connect ad exposure to real outcomes across screens. \”With better visibility into who’s watching CTV and what they do afterward, it’s no longer just about getting a message in front of people—we can actually understand if it drove real-world results, like a store visit or a purchase. By tapping into high-quality audience data—from behavioral to demographic to transactional—we’re able to improve match rates and reach, which ultimately leads to more meaningful outcomes for advertisers.\”Murphy Vandemotter, Director of Data Operations, Madhive That shift—from impressions to impact—is what makes CTV a true performance channel, not just a way to build brand awareness. How Madhive works with Experian to provide data that drives better targeting and measurement – at scale Madhive is helping local advertisers achieve better CTV outcomes by integrating Experian’s syndicated audiences directly into the Madhive Data Marketplace. Advertisers are using Experian’s data to better understand local audiences, deliver more personalized messaging, and extend campaign reach – in some cases, achieving 10x the reach compared to other marketplaces. Combined with Madhive’s measurement tools and real-time optimization capabilities, advertisers can maximize their CTV investments by building lookalike audiences, quickly adjusting underperforming strategies, and personalizing engagement with viewers at the local level. 2. CTV advertising lacks brand safety and fraud protection Why this misconception exists CTV is sometimes lumped in with the broader digital ecosystem, where concerns around fraud, brand safety, and opaque buying paths are more common. Some advertisers worry they’re not getting what they paid for—or worse, that their ads could appear next to low-quality content. What\’s actually happening CTV has a much stronger foundation for brand safety and ad fraud than many marketers realize. The most effective way to minimize risk is to work directly with premium publishers and their primary technology platforms — not through long, complex chains of intermediaries that can open the door to fraud and low-quality placements. Platforms like FreeWheel provide direct access to premium CTV inventory across major broadcast and cable brands, helping marketers consolidate spend and significantly reduce exposure to risk. Working with primary supply partners ensures ads run alongside trusted, high-quality programming, not questionable or low-value content. By prioritizing direct paths to premium publishers, advertisers can take greater control over where their campaigns appear, achieving better transparency, higher quality, and stronger outcomes. \”Advertisers can reach a broad collection of premium CTV inventory directly through FreeWheel. This not only greatly reduces a marketer’s risk, but it also provides certainty that they’re getting what they paid for in terms of quality content to appear alongside their brands.” Matt Clark, VP of Strategic Partnerships, FreeWheel In other words, cutting corners often increases risk—while consolidation and direct access to premium supply creates a cleaner, safer media buy. How Experian and FreeWheel match quality content with quality targeting Industry standards like OpenRTB 2.6 are evolving to give advertisers more control over where and how their ads appear. At the same time, Experian is helping advertisers maximize that control through our integration with FreeWheel. Advertisers can access Experian’s syndicated audiences directly within FreeWheel’s sell and buy-side programmatic advertising platforms. This gives advertisers the ability to create and activate campaigns across linear, digital, and advanced TV. Backed by a deep understanding of people in the offline and digital worlds, Experian’s data is ranked #1 in accuracy by Truthset, giving advertisers confidence that they are reaching the right people. Television audiences you can reach include cord-cutters and consumers who subscribe to free and paid ad-supported streaming TV services. 3. CTV audiences are too fragmented to manage effectively Why this misconception exists With so many streaming platforms and devices in play, US households subscribe to 4 paid video streaming services on average, it can feel nearly impossible to manage reach and frequency without overspending or annoying your audience. What\’s actually happening Advertisers don’t need to choose between scale and precision anymore. With the right audience and identity strategy, it’s possible to connect the dots across screens and unify fragmented viewing behaviors. “We activate first- and third-party data across CTV, linear, and video-on-demand in a consistent way—making sure campaigns reach real households, not just devices. We also track unduplicated reach and frequency across platforms, so advertisers can understand what’s actually working. Together with Experian, we can measure whether those impressions moved the needle and guide media planning with full-funnel attribution insights.\”Anastasia Dukes-Asuen, Sr. Director of Advanced TV Data & Insights, Ampersand Experian Audiences are built on our household-level identity graph, giving advertisers a powerful tool to manage reach and frequency across screens. How Ampersand works with Experian Ampersand utilizes Experian Marketing Data to enhance audience-based media planning, activation, and optimization across linear and addressable TV platforms. By combining Experian Audiences with a footprint of 64 million data-enabled homes, Ampersand helps advertisers find the most valuable networks and dayparts to reach their intended viewers. Through its Addressable Simulator tool, powered by Experian data, Ampersand models different budget scenarios to show how reallocating spend into addressable TV can extend reach and improve efficiency. Using Experian-powered targeting has delivered real-world results, like helping a national cruise brand achieve a 14% lift in incremental reach, a 3.1x increase in frequency, and a 24% lower effective CPM. 4. CTV is only for younger, tech-savvy audiences Why this misconception exists Streaming was originally associated with younger viewers, leading advertisers to believe CTV wasn’t an effective way to reach older demographics. That impression stuck, but it’s no longer true. What\’s actually happening Smart TVs are everywhere, and CTV has gone mainstream. Across generations, households are tuning in to ad-supported streaming services in record numbers—and they’re doing it on the biggest screens in their homes. What ARF data shows New research from the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) backs this up. According to the 2024 DASH TV Universe Study: 77% of U.S. households own at least one Smart TV 82% receive at least one ad-supported streaming service 62% of households receive at least one ad-supported subscription streaming service (AVOD) like Netflix or Max with ads “The audience with the highest Smart TV and ad-supported CTV adoption? Millennials and Gen Xers—Americans in their prime parenting years. Even Boomers have embraced CTV: 73% own a Smart TV and 72% receive at least one ad-supported CTV service.” Jim Meyer, General Manager of the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) DASH TV Universe Study ARF and Experian gives marketers the most accurate understanding of who is watching We partnered with the ARF and its DASH universe study to create 18 TV audiences. By combining the ARF’s DASH data set with Experian Marketing Data, we developed one-of-a-kind TV audiences that reflect how viewers interact with digital devices and e-commerce accounts. We created this resource so our customers can align their marketing campaigns with media usage. These audience segments also yield insights that help marketers reach their audiences with the right messages and content. Make CTV work for you this Upfront season CTV is evolving fast, and advertisers who rely on outdated assumptions risk missing out on its full impact. If you\’re weighing where to place your bets this Upfront season, don’t let old myths steer you off course. CTV delivers reach, performance, and accountability—especially when powered by high-quality data. Experian helps advertisers get more from their CTV investment with household-level insights that control ad frequency and unified audience activation to maintain consistent messaging across platforms. Let’s make your CTV campaigns work smarter. Learn how Experian can help you understand your customers, reach the right audience, and measure performance. Get in touch Latest posts
Back-to-school season remains one of the biggest retail moments of the year—and 2025 is expected to follow suit. Total spending is projected to reach $84.51 billion, with K–12 shoppers alone contributing nearly $50 billion—59% of the total. E-commerce will also play a major role, accounting for 37.4% of total back-to-school sales. However, 2025 shoppers may be facing even higher costs due to the incoming tariffs with everything from laptops and lunchboxes to kids\’ clothing and crayons becoming more expensive. In anticipation of these rising prices, shoppers might once again start early to score deals. Last year, 55% of back-to-school and college shoppers had already started buying items in July for the upcoming school year. This early start coincided with major July promotions like Amazon Prime Day, in which U.S. shoppers spent a record $14.2 billion online, where school-related purchases surged by over 200%. Whether you’re marketing school essentials or offering services to help students succeed, it’s easy to default to the same go-to audiences. This blog post highlights overlooked back-to-school segments to help you build personalized back-to-school strategies that resonate with students, parents, and educators. You can find the complete audience segment names in the appendix. School the competition: How Experian can help you connect with 2025 shoppers With summer just around the corner, back-to-school might not be top of mind, but there’s no better time to start planning. Whether you\’re reaching parents, students, or educators, Experian’s syndicated audiences can help ensure your marketing messages make the honor roll by landing with the right people at the right time. 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 back-to-school attributes such as Presence of Children. 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 The Trade Desk, Magnite, DirectTV, Dish, and OpenAP. Meet your overlooked back-to-school audiences Back-to-school shoppers aren’t one-size-fits-all. From parents prepping supply lists to students outfitting dorms, reaching the right audience is key to making the grade with your campaign. Let\’s go beyond the basics. Here are four back-to-school audience categories you can target with Experian: New year, new gear-ers Weeknight TV watchers Parenting personas School-season meal planners Let’s open our notebooks and break down the audience segments within each group. Whether your customers are buying backpacks, stocking the fridge, or searching for school essentials, these insights will help your campaign pass with flying colors. New year, new gear-er From teens picking out their first-day outfit to college students stocking up for dorm life, these audiences represent a wide range of priorities, needs, and spending behaviors. They’re also heavily influenced by trends, technology, and value-driven purchases. Don’t overlook these five high-potential audiences in your strategy: Big-Box Electronics Stores: High Spenders Amazon Frequent Spenders Department Store Deal Shoppers In Store Spenders Teen Apparel (Clothing): Online and In Store High Spenders Dell Computer and Apple Mac Purchaser Weeknight TV watchers Back-to-school season is also back-to-routine season. Families are gathering for more shared TV time in the evenings—especially in August and September. This makes co-viewing households a prime audience for messaging tied to school-year prep. Rethink your back-to-school approach with these five overlooked segments: Co-Watchers Co-Watchers with Children Cord Cutters: Recent Engagement Channel Preference: Streaming TV Digital Video Parenting personas Targeting by household structure helps tailor messaging to the right family dynamic—whether it’s parents with toddlers or households with college students. Four audiences you might be missing this back-to-school season: Digital Moms and Dads Sports Utility Families Colleges and Cafes Kids and Cabernet School-season meal planners Food and grocery shopping routines shift during the school season. These audiences are ideal for promotions tied to lunch prep, after-school snacks, and weeknight meals. Add these four under-the-radar audiences for back-to-school success: Online Grocery Delivery Services: High Spenders Grocery Stores: High Spenders Fast Food/QSR Frequent Spenders Fast Food/QSR Pizza Frequent Spenders Core back-to-school shoppers Of course, you’ll want to add traditional back-to-school audiences to your strategy. These audiences are highly engaged and often the decision-makers, making them ideal for marketers looking to drive purchase intent early and often. Here are four key back-to-school audiences you can target–all are available by life stage to reach PreK, elementary, middle, and high school households: Back to School Supplies Back to School Moderate Spend Back to School High Spend Back to School Apparel Make the grade with Experian this back-to-school season As marketers gear up for the back-to-school season, it’s the perfect time to sharpen your strategy and connect with back-to-school shoppers. Whether you’re building tried-and-true segments or exploring more unexpected, high-potential groups you might have not considered, Experian can help you reach the right audience. If you’re looking to create targeted segments for activation across digital and TV or gain insights to guide your campaign planning, Experian has you covered. 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. Additionally, work with Experian’s network of data providers to build audiences and send to an Audigent PMP for activation. Connect with our audience team You can activate our syndicated audiences on-the-shelf of most major platforms. For a full list of Experian’s syndicated audiences and activation destinations, download our syndicated audiences guide. Explore our other seasonal audiences that you can activate today. View now Contact us Latest posts Appendix New year, new gear-ers Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Big-Box Electronics Stores: High Spenders Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Big Box and Club Stores: Amazon Frequent Spenders Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Shopping Behavior > Department Store In Store Spenders Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Apparel > Teen Apparel (Clothing): Online High Spenders Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Apparel > Teen Apparel (Clothing): In Store High Spenders Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Technology > Dell Computer Model Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Technology > Apple Mac Purchaser Model Weeknight TV watchers Television (TV) > Household/Family Viewing > Co-Watchers Television (TV) > Household/Family Viewing > Co-Watchers with Children Experian > Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Entertainment > Streaming/Video/Audio/CTV/Cable TV: Cable/Broadcast TV: Cord Cutters: Recent TrueTouch: Communication Preference > Engagement Channel Preference > Streaming TV TrueTouch: Communication Preference > Engagement Channel Preference > Digital Video Parenting personas Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Personas > Digital Moms Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Personas > Digital Dads Mosaic – Personas – Lifestyle and Interests > Group D: Suburban Style > D15 – Sports Utility Families Mosaic – Personas – Lifestyle and Interests > Group O: Singles and Starters > O53 – Colleges and Cafes Mosaic – Personas – Lifestyle and Interests > Group A: Power Elite > A03 – Kids and Cabernet School-season meal planners Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Grocery > Online Grocery Delivery Services: High Spenders Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Grocery > Grocery Stores: High Spenders Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Food and Drink > Restaurants: Fast Food/QSR QSR Frequent Spenders Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Food and Drink > Restaurants > Fast Food/QSR Pizza Frequent Spenders Core back-to-school shoppers Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School Moderate Spend – PreK (Early Ed – PreK) Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School Moderate Spend – Elementary School Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School Moderate Spend – Middle School Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School Moderate Spend – High School Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School High Spend – PreK (Early Ed – PreK) Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School High Spend – Elementary School Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School High Spend – Middle School Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School High Spend – High School Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School Apparel – PreK (Early Ed – PreK) Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School Apparel – Elementary School Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School Apparel – Middle School Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School Apparel – High School Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School Supplies – PreK (Early Ed – PreK) Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School Supplies – Elementary School Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School Supplies – Middle School Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Seasonal > Back to School Supplies – High School