
2024 marked a significant year. AI became integral to our workflows, commerce and retail media networks soared, and Google did not deprecate cookies. Amidst these changes, ID bridging emerged as a hot topic, raising questions around identity reliability and transparency, which necessitated industry-wide standards. We believe the latest IAB OpenRTB specifications, produced in conjunction with supply and demand-side partners, set up the advertising industry for more transparent and effective practices.
So, what exactly is ID bridging?
As signals, like third-party cookies, fade, ID bridging emerged as a way for the supply-side to offer addressability to the demand-side. ID bridging is the supply-side practice of connecting the dots between available signals, that were generated in a way that is not the expected default behavior, to understand a user’s identity and communicate it to prospective buyers. It enables the supply-side to extend user identification beyond the scope of one browser or device.

Imagine you visit a popular sports website on your laptop using Chrome. Later, you use the same device to visit the same sports website, but this time, on Safari. By using identity resolution tools, a supply-side partner can infer that both visits are likely from the same user and communicate with them as such.
ID bridging is not inherently a bad thing. However, the practice has sparked debate, as buyers want full transparency into the use of a deterministic identifier versus an inferred one. This complicates measurement and frequency capping for the demand-side. Before OpenRTB 2.6, ID bridging led to misattribution as the demand-side could not attribute ad exposures, which had been served to a bridged ID, to a conversion, which had an ID different from the ad exposure.
OpenRTB 2.6 sets us up for a more transparent future
In 2010, the IAB, along with supply and demand-side partners, formed a consortium known as the Real-Time Bidding Project for companies interested in an open protocol for the automated trading of digital media. The OpenRTB specifications they produced became that protocol, adapting with the evolution of the industry.
The latest evolution, OpenRTB 2.6, sets out standards that strive to ensure transparency in real-time bidding, mandating how the supply-side should use certain fields to more transparently provide data when inferring users’ identities.
What’s new in OpenRTB 2.6?
Here are the technical specifications for the industry to be more transparent when inferring users’ identities:
- Primary ID field: This existing field now can only contain the “buyeruid,” an identifier mutually recognized and agreed upon by both buyer and seller for a given environment. For web environments, the default is a cookie ID, while for app activity, it is a mobile advertising ID (MAID), passed directly from an application downloaded on a device. This approach ensures demand-side partners understand the ID’s source.
- Enhanced identifier (EID) field: The EID field, designated for alternative IDs, now accommodates all other IDs. The EID field now has additional parameters that provide buyers transparency into how the ID was created and sourced, which you can see in the visual below:

Using the above framework, a publisher who wants to send a cross-environment identifier that likely belongs to the same user would declare the ID as “mm=5,” while listing the potential third-party identity resolution partner under the “matcher” field, which the visual below depicts. This additional metadata gives the demand-side the insights they need to evaluate the reliability of each ID.

“These updates to OpenRTB add essential clarity about where user and device IDs come from, helping buyers see exactly how an ID was created and who put it into the bidstream. It’s a big step toward greater transparency and trust in the ecosystem. We’re excited to see companies already adopting these updates and can’t wait to see the industry fully embrace them by 2025.”
Hillary Slattery, Sr. Director, Programmatic, Product Management, IAB Tech Lab
Experian will continue supporting transparency
As authenticated signals decrease due to cookie deprecation and other consumer privacy measures, we will continue to see a rise in inferred identifiers. Experian’s industry-leading Digital Graph has long supported both authenticated and inferred identifiers, providing the ecosystem with connections that are accurate, scalable, and addressable. Experian will continue to support the industry with its identity resolution products and is supportive of the IAB’s efforts to bring transparency to the industry around the usage of identity signals.
Supply and demand-side benefits of adopting the new parameters in OpenRTB 2.6
- Partner collaboration: Clarity between what can be in the Primary ID field versus the EID field provides clear standards and transparency between buyers and sellers.
- Identity resolution: The supply side has an industry-approved way to bring in inferred IDs while the demand side can evaluate these IDs, expanding addressability.
- Reducing risk: With accurate metadata available in the EID field, demand-side partners can evaluate who is doing the match and make informed decisions on whether they want to act on that ID.
Next steps for the supply and demand-sides to consider
For supply-side and demand-side partners looking to utilize OpenRTB 2.6 to its full potential, here are some recommended steps:
For the supply-side:
- Follow IAB Specs and provide feedback: Ensure you understand and are following transparent practices. Ask questions on how to correctly implement the specifications.
- Vet identity partners: Choose partners who deliver the most trusted and accurate identifiers in the market.
- Be proactive: Have conversations with your partners to discuss how you plan to follow the latest specs, which identity partners you work with, and explain how you plan to provide additional signals to help buyers make better decisions.
We are beginning to see SSPs adopt this new protocol, including Sonobi and Yieldmo.
“The OpenRTB 2.6 specifications are a critical step forward in ensuring transparency and trust in programmatic advertising. By aligning with these standards, we empower our partners with the tools needed to navigate a cookieless future and drive measurable results.”
Michael Connolly, CEO, Sonobi
These additions to the OpenRTB protocol further imbue bidding transactions with transparency which will foster greater trust between partners. Moreover, the data now available is not only actionable, but auditable should a problem arise. Buyers can choose, or not, to trust an identifier based on the inserter, the provider and the method used to derive the ID. While debates within the IAB Tech Lab were spirited at times, they ultimately drove a collaborative process that shaped a solution designed to work effectively across the ecosystem.”
Mark McEachran, SVP of Product Management, Yieldmo
For the demand side:
- Evaluation: Use the EID metadata to assess all the IDs in the EID field, looking closely at the identity vendors’ reliability. Select partners who meet high standards of data clarity and accuracy.
- Collaboration: Establish open communication with supply-side partners and tech partners to ensure they follow the best practices in line with OpenRTB 2.6 guidelines and that there’s a shared understanding of the mutually agreed upon identifiers.
- Provide feedback: As OpenRTB 2.6 adoption grows, consistent feedback from demand-side partners will help the IAB refine these standards.
Moving forward with reliable data and data transparency
As the AdTech industry moves toward a cookieless reality, OpenRTB 2.6 signifies a substantial step toward a sustainable, transparent programmatic ecosystem. With proactive adoption by supply- and demand-side partners, the future of programmatic advertising will be driven by trust and transparency.
Experian, our partners, and our clients know the benefits of our Digital Graph and its support of both authenticated and inferred signals. We believe that if the supply-side abides by the OpenRTB 2.6 specifications and the demand-side uses and analyzes this data, the programmatic exchange will operate more fairly and deliver more reach.
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We spend our days surrounded by screens: at work, at home, and everywhere in between. But audio is the one channel that moves with us, from morning routines to evening commutes, from workouts to household chores. More than two-thirds of U.S. consumers will listen to digital audio every month this year, making it one of the fastest-growing ways to connect with audiences. Experian and Audacy are working together to solve the challenges of fragmented listening, cross-platform targeting, and campaign measurement, helping brands reach people in the moments other channels can’t. Why audio sticks with us Audio fits into life’s in-between moments, from the commute to the workout to the chores, when other media can’t. Unlike video, it doesn’t demand full attention; it joins the flow of daily routines. This makes audio uniquely personal, creating connections that other formats can’t replicate. Audacy’s expertise in understanding listener behavior ensures that audio campaigns feel like a natural part of daily life. Experian's data helps advertisers identify the right audiences, while Audacy ensures the message is delivered at the right time. Together, we help brands create campaigns that resonate deeply with listeners. By meeting audiences in their moments of focus, audio becomes a powerful tool for building meaningful and lasting connections. "Audio is a companion in people’s daily rituals. Whether it’s doing dishes, folding laundry, or going for a run, you have audio going in your ears, and you’re really engaged with it. From an advertising perspective, that’s incredibly powerful because listeners are paying attention to the content.”Kevin Greenwald, SVP of Advertising and Audience Products Making sense of scattered listening habits Today’s listeners consume audio across a variety of devices and platforms. Devices like smart speakers and smart home hubs now account for over 27% of digital audio time spent daily among U.S. adults, highlighting the growing role of connected devices in audio consumption. When listeners bounce between apps, stations, and devices, it’s easy for advertisers to lose track of them. Audacy’s advanced platform capabilities, combined with Experian’s identity solutions, simplify this process by providing a unified view of audience behavior, ensuring campaigns remain cohesive. Audio is highly adaptable, letting advertisers tweak a message on the fly by shifting tone, length, or format to stay relevant in the moment. This flexibility ensures that campaigns remain cohesive and impactful, no matter where or how listeners engage. “Audio has a degree of flexibility that other channels don’t. You’re not tied to a programming clock, and ad lengths can vary. It’s also easy to create a great audio ad quickly, which makes it a channel ripe for experimentation and innovation.”Kevin Greenwald, SVP of Advertising and Audience Products Following listeners wherever they go Today’s listeners don’t stay in one place: they bounce from live radio in the morning to streaming music during the day, then wind down with a favorite podcast at night. For advertisers, that creates a challenge: how do you keep up with an audience that’s always moving? Without a unified view of the listener journey, campaigns can lose impact. With the right insights, though, every handoff becomes an opportunity to stay relevant and connected. Audacy’s platform, combined with Experian’s identity solutions, bridges these gaps. Together, we help you follow your audience wherever they go, creating consistent experiences that drive results. This approach improves targeting and ensures that messages remain impactful. "I hope that there’s a day coming where we can understand ad exposure in the car as well as more cars are connected and things like that. That would be really powerful."Kevin Greenwald, SVP of Advertising and Audience Products Your audience is listening, let's make sure they hear you Audio helps you connect with your audience in moments other channels miss. With Experian’s marketing data and Audacy’s expertise, you can simplify cross-platform targeting, improve campaign measurement, and create messages that truly resonate. Let’s work together to make your message heard. Let's talk audio strategy. Contact us today About our experts Kevin Greenwald, SVP of Advertising and Audience Products, Audacy Kevin Greenwald is the SVP of Advertising & Audience Products, where he partners closely with Audacy's sales team to deliver leading ad product and measurement capabilities for their clients. Crystal Jacques, VP of Enterprise Partnerships, Experian Crystal Jacques is the VP of Enterprise Partnerships, leading Experian's go-to-market team across all verticals. With over ten years of experience in the Identity space, Crystal brings a wealth of expertise to her role. She joined Experian in 2020 through the Tapad acquisition, following her successful stint as the head of Global Channel Partnerships for Adbrain, which The Trade Desk later acquired. Latest posts

Reach de-identified patient and provider segments at scale across every channel. Pharmaceutical brands and media platforms, including connected TV (CTV), can activate HIPAA-compliant audiences built on real-world clinical and claims data through a new collaboration between PurpleLab and Experian. Targeting de-identified audiences is essential for engaging the right patients at pivotal moments in their health journey, maximizing ROI while safeguarding privacy and improving outcomes. Overall, prescription drugmakers spent $2.97 billion on national TV advertising in the first half of 2025, a 12.2% year-over-year increase, underscoring the growing demand for scalable, privacy-compliant healthcare advertising in premium media environments. Now, whether you're a pharma advertiser launching a new therapy or a platform curating health-focused inventory, PurpleLab’s integration refreshes the media planning ecosystem, offering marketers easier access to the audiences needed to drive impact. Activate with accuracy and scale PurpleLab’s de-identified healthcare segments, categorized by condition, treatment, specialty, and prescription behavior, are now accessible through Experian's data marketplace, streamlining media planning. This integration enables PurpleLab’s privacy-safe audiences to travel from discovery to omnichannel delivery. Experian then handles onboarding, activation, and audience expansion, in accordance with HIPAA and with industry standards. Utilizing Experian’s identity graph, spanning household and individual-level insights, as well as marketing attributes, these healthcare audiences can be: Onboarded securely, matching hashed emails or tokens to digital identifiers Activated across major channels, including CTV, mobile, display, and social Expanded with confidence, reaching more of the target population, patients, or healthcare professionals, without relying on third-party cookies This infrastructure unlocks greater scale and completeness for niche pharma audiences that have historically been hard to reach in digital and streaming environments. For brands navigating fragmented media and tightening privacy regulations, this collaboration provides the clarity and consistency they’ve been seeking. “We know healthcare marketers are under pressure to get it right: to respect privacy, be accurate, and scale. That’s why we’re excited to bring PurpleLab audiences into the Experian data marketplace and make them available through Audigent’s curated deals. It gives pharmaceutical brands and platforms a clear way to plan and measure campaigns, with the assurance that they’re reaching patients and providers when it matters in the right way.”Kim Gilberti, General Manager Curation through Audigent: Premium supply meets premium data For advertisers seeking turnkey media solutions, PurpleLab audiences are now also available through Audigent’s curated deals. Audigent’s curated deals simplify media buying by packaging PurpleLab’s clinically grounded audiences with premium, brand-safe inventory, thus creating a unified package. Instead of stitching together data and supply separately, media buyers can now access pre-built or custom-curated media deals where PurpleLab audiences are already integrated, ideal for health and wellness programming, premium CTV, or contextual content aligned to therapeutic areas. This approach gives marketers both efficiency and accuracy, streamlining execution while maintaining compliance and relevance. “Bringing together PurpleLab’s clinically precise audiences with Experian’s powerful identity and activation capabilities, and pairing it with Audigent’s premium inventory, gives advertisers more than a turnkey solution. It’s the power to launch campaigns that truly resonate, with data and media working in harmony from day one to deliver both efficiency and impact."Scott Ronay, VP, Advertising Sales Real-world use cases: Accuracy with purpose CTV awareness for cardiovascular therapies A cardiovascular brand is launching a CTV campaign to reach healthcare providers involved in treatment decisions. Using PurpleLab’s provider-level segments from the Experian data marketplace, a brand can activate audiences across brand-safe, streaming environments. This strategy enables meaningful engagement with prescribers while maintaining scale and compliance across CTV and complementary digital channels. Cross-device activation for high-impact health campaigns A biotech firm promoting a new therapy needs to reach patients who are likely to have a relevant condition, based on modeled audience segments. Using PurpleLab’s real-world patient segments, the advertiser activates across mobile, display, and CTV, with Experian’s identity graph ensuring household-level consistency across devices. Privacy and scale are preserved, while the brand ensures it’s not wasting impressions on ineligible or misaligned audiences. Closed-loop measurement, built for healthcare Beyond targeting, the PurpleLab–Experian integration empowers advertisers to measure real-world outcomes, not just digital proxies. By utilizing tokenization, Experian enables ad exposure data to be securely matched back to de-identified health events within PurpleLab’s platform. This means marketers can assess outcomes such as: Prescription lift among exposed vs. unexposed audiences Healthcare professional engagement and treatment initiation Patient adherence or follow-through behavior This type of closed-loop reporting is critical in pharma, where traditional metrics like clicks or impressions do not reflect business impact. Now, with token-based match-back, brands can see whether their campaigns are driving real results, securely and compliantly. Ready to reach the right patients and providers securely and at scale? Explore PurpleLab audiences in the Experian data marketplace and Audigent curated deals to activate clinically grounded, privacy-compliant segments across CTV, display, mobile, and more. Contact us Latest posts

Programmatic media buying isn’t getting any easier. Buyers face rising signal loss, shrinking margins, and growing pressure to perform in a privacy-first world. Add in fragmented tech, shifting privacy regulations, and inconsistent identity signals, and reaching the right audience at scale has never been more complex (or costly). Meanwhile, advertisers demand more transparency, publishers want control, and consumers expect relevance without feeling watched. Open exchanges, legacy data management platforms (DMPs), and spray-and-pray strategies just aren’t cutting it. That’s why curation has become a trending topic in the AdTech space. In programmatic advertising, curation refers to the strategic integration of enriched data and quality inventory into a single package — often executed as a private marketplace (PMP) deal. This approach reshapes how campaigns are built, activated, and optimized by enabling performance-ready buys that reduce waste, increase relevance, and give marketers greater control over outcomes. It’s no wonder then that curation investments are accelerating, PMPs are gaining traction, and buyers are shifting budgets accordingly. Over 66% of the $150 billion+ open exchange programmatic market now flows through curated PMPs, with industry giants like Google publicly backing curation as a core strategy. So what exactly is programmatic curation, and why is it becoming essential for privacy-conscious, performance-driven marketers? Let’s break it down. What does programmatic curation mean in AdTech? Programmatic curation is the process of filtering, structuring, and packaging enriched data with high-quality programmatic inventory — enhanced by real-time optimization to create more targeted, efficient, and transparent media buys. Instead of buying at scale and hoping for the best, curation prioritizes accuracy and value over volume, resulting in more targeted, efficient, and transparent media buys. As privacy regulations reshape targeting, curation is becoming a key differentiator in an increasingly crowded AdTech space. It connects robust data with quality supply, helping marketers stay effective while giving publishers new ways to monetize with control. But not all curation is created equal. Programmatic curation requires three core elements: 1. Unique data Unique, privacy-compliant, and valuable. 2. Strong supply connections Access to quality inventory from publishers at scale. 3. Optimization tools To measure, refine, and improve performance during a campaign and improve performance throughout the campaign lifecycle. Without all of these elements, a so-called “curator” may simply be repackaging inventory without delivering the full value of a curated approach. Why does curation still matter with cookies sticking around? While third-party cookies and mobile IDs like IDFA haven’t gone away, the industry has already pivoted in anticipation of their decline. Even without Google flipping the switch, signal loss is here thanks to Apple’s ATT, tighter compliance rules, and new tracking restrictions. Marketers are dealing with less data, more fragmentation, and fewer reliable IDs. So if you want to run an effective, scalable media campaign today, you need tools that go beyond third-party cookies. That’s why programmatic curation is gaining ground as a better, more sustainable way to buy media. Investments in programmatic curation are growing, and not just for identity resolution. Marketers are leaning in because it: Combines verified audience data with premium inventory Supports ID-free or context-aware targeting Enables scalable, identity-agnostic strategies Improves data quality through enrichment Creates more controlled, pre-approved media paths via PMPs Experts anticipate that, at some point, publishers will have to lean into this method. “Curation will be bigger than header bidding and as big as programmatic or RTB — that’s our bet.”Andrew Casale, CEO Whether cookies stay or go in the future, curation works for an ecosystem that demands smarter, cleaner, and adaptable media buying. What are the benefits of curation and who wins? Curation is one of the few innovations in AdTech delivering meaningful wins across the ecosystem. By bringing better data, cleaner supply, and more intentional targeting into programmatic advertising, it helps brands, agencies, and media buyers drive stronger performance, gives publishers more control, and creates a more respectful experience for consumers. And unlike traditional approaches, curation is built for what’s now and what’s next. Here’s how each group benefits and why it matters. Brands and agencies Curation helps brands and agencies run smarter, more efficient campaigns by connecting high-quality data with premium supply. It delivers: More efficient supply paths with less waste and better performance Lower costs than DMP segments and open exchange buys Cleaner, pre-vetted inventory that aligns with audience and brand goals Future-proofed buying via cookieless and log-level data integrations Stronger targeting and measurement driven by enriched data and actual usage signals instead of modeled assumptions Better outcomes through real-time supply and data optimization Publishers For publishers, curation makes inventory more addressable without giving up control. It enables: Smarter packaging that aligns with buyer needs and campaign goals Higher CPMs by curating inventory above open exchange floors More control over how audiences are accessed and how inventory is monetized Access to higher-value demand through curated, data-backed deals Better protection of proprietary audience in a privacy-conscious environment Consumers At the end of the chain, curation improves the ad experience for those who matter most: your audience. It supports: Higher-quality content alignment for more natural, less disruptive ad experiences tailored to their interests Less invasive tracking, as targeting becomes more data-smart and privacy-aware, with reduced reliance on legacy identifiers and personally identifiable information (PII). Curation is setting a new standard for how data, inventory, and experience come together across the ad ecosystem. When media is smarter, cleaner, and more intentional, everyone wins. What’s Experian’s role in powering curation? With the acquisition of Audigent, Experian is now more than just a premier data provider. We’re also a full-service curation partner. Together, we deliver end-to-end programmatic curation across data, inventory, and optimization, helping brands and publishers unlock smarter, more scalable media strategies. What Experian + Audigent enable Whether you need speed-to-market with pre-curated deals or white-glove custom deals, Experian and Audigent make it easier to activate high-performing, privacy-compliant campaigns at scale with: End-to-end curation across data, inventory, and real-time optimization Pre-packaged and custom PMP deals with built-in performance signals Scalable, privacy-first media solutions aligned to brand objectives, verticals, and KPIs These aren’t just theoretical; curated marketplace deals are already delivering measurable gains. In OpenX, Audigent-curated campaigns increased bid competition by 20% and drove a 118% spike in impressions won over a two-month period. Key benefits for partners By bringing together our data depth and Audigent’s curation technology, we offer our partners a full suite of value-added capabilities, including: High-quality, verified data ranked #1 in accuracy by Truthset and powered by Experian’s identity graph and deep programmatic data insights Data enrichment layers that boost addressability, accuracy, and contextual relevance Privacy-compliant infrastructure built for secure, cookieless data use at scale Platform integration across leading demand-side platforms (DSPs) and supply-side platforms (SSPs) for seamless activation and optimization How Boiron achieved smarter reach with Audigent’s curated PMP strategy A leading homeopathic brand partnered with Audigent to scale customer acquisition for its flu relief product without increasing media investment. They wanted to reach new, privacy-compliant audiences while improving CPA across display and video. Using Audigent’s curated SmartPMPs and CognitivePMPs, the campaign delivered measurable performance improvements: 80% lower CPA on display than historical benchmarks 40% lower CPA on video 30% reduction in data costs Significant media efficiency gains through real-time supply and data optimization Fully future-proof targeting with zero reliance on cookies or MAIDs See how Boiron’s success story is just one example of how curated deals backed by Experian identity and Audigent’s optimization technology can deliver efficiency and impact in a privacy-conscious environment. Our curation capabilities Together with Audigent, our curated solutions go beyond basic packaging. Every deal is designed for performance, privacy, and relevance, so you can activate smarter media with greater confidence: Deal ID-ready audiences for fast, turnkey activation Performance-specific curation, including viewability, CTR, and outcome-based targeting Custom audience + inventory packages tailored to campaign goals Vertical-specific curation for industries like auto, retail, CPG, and financial services Real-time optimization signals embedded into every curated deal Don’t wait: Curate today The future of programmatic advertising won’t be won by those waiting for perfect signals, clean cookies, or simplified tech stacks. It’ll be won by marketers and publishers who embrace smarter, cleaner ways to activate their data, inventory, and strategy now. With Experian and Audigent, you’re not just getting better data but also a partner that helps you activate it with accuracy, privacy, and performance at scale. Whether you’re trying to reduce media waste, gain supply path control, or future-proof your campaigns, curated deals can get you there faster. Let’s build a curation strategy that gives you control in a chaotic ecosystem. Latest posts