In this article…
Contextual targeting is having a comeback, and it’s smarter, sharper, and more strategic than ever before. By 2030, annual contextual advertising spend is anticipated to reach $562 billion! As marketers move away from cookie-based targeting and adjust to a privacy-first digital world, contextual advertising is becoming one of the most effective ways to reach engaged audiences.
Unlike the basic contextual keyword targeting of the past, today’s contextual strategies are built on data, machine learning, and deep audience insights. Experian, with Audigent, plays a key role in powering this evolution, enabling marketers to execute contextual campaigns with the precision, performance, and compliance needed for today’s environment.
Let’s talk about how advertisers are reaching audiences in a changing advertising era with smarter contextual targeting.
What is contextual targeting?
Contextual targeting, by definition, is a cost-effective, privacy-safe way to engage audiences based on what they’re reading or watching in the moment without relying on personal identifiers. It places ads on webpages that contain content relevant to your product or service.
Contextual targeting vs. behavioral targeting
The concepts of contextual and behavioral targeting are commonly confused. Both aim to deliver relevant ads, but their methods differ significantly.
Let’s break it down.
Behavioral: Based on online behaviors
Behavioral targeting builds user profiles based on factors like browsing history, clicks, and purchases, tracking users across platforms using cookies and device IDs. For example, if someone researches new SUVs on multiple sites, they might see car-related ads long after they’ve stopped actively looking.
While 68% of consumers say they’re concerned about how their data is used in advertising, marketers have the opportunity to build trust through better targeting with Experian. We help brands meet rising consumer expectations with responsible, privacy-forward behavioral data and targeting options that enable you to reach audiences effectively while aligning with your privacy and control needs.
Contextual: Based on content and environment
Behavioral targeting will continue to play a valuable role in personalized marketing strategies, but contextual targeting is a compelling alternative or complement for strong performance in a privacy-safe, scalable, cost-conscious way.
Contextual targeting focuses on the ad environment. It analyzes the page’s content, such as keywords, tone, and structure, and serves ads that align with that context without personal identifiers or user tracking.
With Experian Marketing Data, you can enhance contextual targeting further by layering in data about who’s likely to be on the page. That combination of content signals and audience intent creates smarter, more privacy-compliant campaigns that perform better.
Innovations in contextual targeting
In its early form, contextual targeting depended on simple keyword matches. While functional, it lacked nuance and often resulted in broad or irrelevant placements.
Today, the approach is far more intelligent. Thanks to AI, machine learning, and natural language processing (NLP), platforms can now assess the full context of a webpage, analyzing tone, sentiment, structure, and content depth to determine the best ad match.
Contextually-Indexed Audiences
Experian’s Contextually-Indexed Audiences take contextual targeting one step further by analyzing traffic from websites and mobile applications to identify the types of frequent visitors to those pages with the power of rich consumer insights. Instead of simply showing up on relevant pages, brands can reach pre-qualified audiences mapped to those environments, combining intent, content, and data-driven strategy in a single solution.
This is where contextual targeting is headed and why it’s no longer just an alternative to behavioral but a strategic advantage in its own right.
A privacy-first future
Even as third-party cookies remain in use, their long-term reliability is uncertain, and the industry continues moving toward solutions that don’t depend on personal identifiers. Laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) have led advertisers to rethink how they engage audiences, shifting focus from individual tracking to content and context.
With modern tools, advertisers can use contextual targeting programmatic strategies to reach audiences in privacy-compliant ways that still deliver high performance. Programmatic platforms like demand-side platforms (DSPs) now offer pre-built contextual segments by industry, interest, seasonality, and more.
In a few clicks, marketers can launch campaigns that align with content environments where consumers are already engaged without behavioral tracking. For brands looking to future-proof their media strategies, contextual is one of the few options that checks every box.
Why more marketers are using contextual targeting
Contextual targeting can help you grow your audience, drive web traffic, boost visibility, and increase conversions as data privacy regulations grow stricter worldwide.
Here’s a deeper dive into the benefits of this targeting strategy.
Connect with ready-to-engage audiences
One of contextual targeting’s greatest advantages is the ability to meet consumers exactly where and when they’re most receptive. It places your ads on pages where they naturally add value to the user experience. When someone is actively reading or watching content about a specific topic, they’re already in the right mindset, which makes your ad feel more like a helpful recommendation than an interruption.
For example, if someone is reading a blog post comparing hiking backpacks, they’re far more likely to engage with an ad for outdoor apparel or trail shoes than one for an unrelated product like kitchenware.
Drive sales and revenue while lowering costs
Another draw of contextual targeting is its affordability for brands with limited budgets. It doesn’t require third-party data, identity graphs, or tracking infrastructure, so it’s easier on your media budget.
By aligning ads with page context, brands can also see real business results, such as:
- Lower cost per thousand impressions (CPM): Since contextual ads are served based on the content of the page rather than user profiles, they often have a lower price tag — especially in verticals where access to behavioral segments may be more competitive.
- Reduced cost-per-acquisition (CPA): More relevant impressions mean fewer wasted clicks and better ROI.
- Lower cost-per-click (CPC): On networks like Google Display, CPCs for contextually targeted ads can be as low as $0.45, especially in e-commerce and consumer goods sectors.
- Higher conversion rates: Ads placed in relevant environments outperform generic placements, which increases the likelihood of action and conversion.
- Higher lifetime customer value (LTV): Users who arrive at your site from contextually aligned ads are more likely to convert and become repeat customers, driving long-term revenue.
Quick and easy setup, built to perform
Contextual campaigns can also be launched quickly,often within a day, and produce immediate results.
One powerful option is Experian’s Contextually-Indexed Audiences, which combines real-time analysis from over two million websites with access to more than 1,400 trusted audience segments. Available through top demand-side platforms’ contextual marketplaces and Audigent private marketplaces (PMPs), this solution offers a scalable way to reach high-intent consumers without cookies or IDs.
Getting started is simple. With a few inputs like relevant topics, keywords, or content categories, you can activate ads in environments where your audience is already engaged. And the best part? The ease and speed to launch doesn’t mean you’re sacrificing results. Because your ads show up alongside content your audience is already interested in, they feel timely and relevant, which leads to more clicks, stronger engagement, and better overall performance.
Personalized experience based on known interest
Consumers crave personalization. In fact, Deloitte conducted a 2024 study that found 80% of consumers want personalized brand experiences and spend 50% more with the ones that do. Contextual targeting meets that expectation by delivering relevance in the moment without tracking users’ online behavior.
Experian’s Contextually-Indexed Audiences use contextual cues across the web to find common sets of audiences and identify where high-intent audience segments tend to show up. This helps advertisers deliver relevant, privacy-safe messaging to consumers who are more likely to engage, thereby building trust, capturing attention, and increasing performance while respecting user privacy.
Brand safety
Contextual targeting even helps brands avoid reputational pitfalls. With the help of AI and NLP, today’s contextual tools can assess what a page says and how it says it. That means you’re not just protecting user privacy but also your brand by ensuring your ads appear in relevant, trustworthy environments that reflect your values.
Contextual targeting examples
Contextual targeting works across nearly every industry, helping brands connect with audiences based on the content they’re consuming in the moment.
Here are a few examples of this in action across verticals.
Contextual targeting for automotive buyers
Most car buyers don’t just walk onto the lot. They arrive informed, having begun their journey online, researching makes, models, financing options, trade-in values, and credit requirements. It’s during this discovery phase that contextual targeting shines.
Advertisers in the automotive space can serve ads alongside car reviews, dealership comparisons, or articles about electric vehicle tax credits, connecting with shoppers actively gathering information and signaling strong purchase intent. When your ad appears in the middle of that research journey, it feels like the next logical step.
Contextual targeting also helps local dealerships and national brands stay top of mind during key decision-making moments without relying on third-party cookies.
Contextual targeting for first-time parents
New parents are one of the most information-hungry audiences online. From sleep training and stroller reviews to feeding schedules and baby-proofing tips, they consume a massive amount of content across various topics.
That content provides a rich canvas for contextual targeting. Brands selling baby gear, wellness products, insurance plans, or parenting services can place ads on relevant articles and forums, connecting with parents when they’re researching their options and making purchase decisions.
Contextual targeting for political campaigns
Contextual targeting helps political advertisers connect with voters in relevant, mission-aligned environments. In a time when misinformation and divisiveness can influence public perception, maintaining this control is more critical than ever.
With contextual targeting, campaigns can place their ads alongside trustworthy, high-quality content that addresses issues relevant to their supporters, whether it’s local policy, national news, or editorial commentary aligned with their platform. Advertisers can also avoid content that may contradict their message or brand values.
The future of contextual targeting
While Google no longer plans to fully deprecate third-party cookies, the industry has already moved forward. Most marketers have invested in cookieless solutions, and that momentum isn’t slowing down.
As contextual targeting becomes even more essential to future-proofing media strategies, its effectiveness depends on the quality and responsibility of the data behind it. That’s where Experian leads the way.
Experian Marketing Data as the foundation
At the core of Experian’s contextual targeting capabilities is Experian Marketing Data: a rich, privacy-compliant data set built from verified offline sources. This foundational data powers everything we do and fuels the full suite of Experian’s audience and targeting solutions.
Marketing Attributes and Audiences
One of the key products built from this data is Marketing Attributes, which transforms raw information into detailed, privacy-safe variables like lifestyle preferences, financial behaviors, and media habits. These attributes form the building blocks of Experian Audience solutions, allowing you to create highly specific segments tailored to your goals.
When applied to contextual targeting, these segments help you align your messaging with the types of content your ideal audiences are consuming in real time. We’ll help you activate contextually relevant campaigns using real audience insight to place the right message in the proper environment at the ideal moment.
Contextually-Indexed Audiences
Powered by Experian Marketing Data, Contextually-Indexed Audiences brings a new level of precision to contextual targeting. By analyzing traffic from over two million websites and apps, we offer access to 1,400 audience segments (like luxury shoppers or frequent travelers) that are most likely to visit specific content.
This lets you place your message in environments where your target customers already are, combining contextual relevance with data-driven intent. It’s a smarter, privacy-safe way to reach the right people without relying on cookies or user tracking.
You can activate these audiences instantly through the top demand-side platform’s contextual marketplace or partner with Audigent to create a custom PMP. A PMP offers more control and flexibility and allows you to enhance campaign performance with additional performance optimization capabilities and activation across any media-buying platforms.
Experian collaboration with Audigent and Peer39
Experian and Audigent partner to deliver SmartPMPs, or private marketplace deals that give advertisers access to premium inventory and privacy-first data activation in one streamlined solution.
What makes this partnership unique is Audigent’s supply-side integration. Instead of only running audience segments through the DSP, SmartPMPs pair Experian’s high-performing audiences with curated inventory from thousands of publishers, all accessible through a single deal ID.
This supply-side approach unlocks:
- Better reach across CTV, display, video, and more
- Stronger performance through real-time supply optimizations
- Personalized campaigns that don’t rely on cookies or user-level identifiers
We’ve also partnered with Peer39 and Audigent to expand contextual targeting capabilities further. These partnerships make it possible to match Experian syndicated audience segments, including geo-indexed and behavioral data, to contextual signals in real time.
Advertisers can now run fully cookieless campaigns with exceptional scale and performance by indexing Experian Marketing Data through our identity graph and activating through platforms like Audigent’s Hadron ID or Peer39’s integrations.
In one beta test with Audigent, a major national advertiser used this solution to run a 15-day campaign that exceeded CTR benchmarks by 25% with no cookies or IDs.
Talk to an Experian team member today
The future of digital advertising is about trust as much as performance.
Turn to Experian for help reaching your audience in the right environments using ethically sourced, privacy-first data. We help brands run scalable, contextually aligned campaigns built for today’s privacy landscape and tomorrow’s performance goals.
With tools like Marketing Attributes, Contextually-Indexed Audiences, and Audigent PMPs, we make it possible to connect meaningfully without crossing privacy boundaries. Let’s talk about how we can help you lead the way.
Latest posts
Identity-led local advertising that works Local advertisers run on tight budgets, short timelines, and constant pressure to prove what works. Every dollar must count. In this Ask the Expert session, Aaron Brown, Chief Scientist at Madhive, joins Ali Mack, VP of AdTech Sales at Experian, to discuss how the Maverick AI platform helps local advertisers make confident decisions, act on clear recommendations, and see outcomes they can stand behind. Why local campaigns demand accuracy, and how to deliver it Local teams juggle multiple channels, changing budgets, and heavy performance expectations. To stay competitive, local teams need quick answers to three critical questions: Which households are most valuable to reach? Which channels work best in their market? Are campaigns on on track, day by day? Delivering that level of accuracy means working from a single, trusted view of households, channels, and performance, powered by clean, connected, and continuously updated data. “When you think about local, these aren’t enormous budgets. These businesses depend on success from day one and are still finding their footing. There’s a wealth of nuanced information we need to hear from advertisers to ensure their campaigns succeed, and a wealth of insights we need to deliver back. It’s a real-time matching problem at scale to make sure everything runs profitably for our customers.”Aaron Brown, Chief Scientist Why Experian data is the foundation of local planning Data is the foundation of effective local advertising, but not all data is created equal. For local advertisers, the real advantage comes from high-quality, actionable data that pinpoints likely customers and reduces wasted spend. Experian Marketing Data provides the identity and insights spine that helps local advertisers: Identify the right households in each market Build consistent, people-based audiences across partners Activate with confidence and measure outcomes on the same foundation Madhive’s data marketplace builds on this identity layer, curating trusted data sets that advertisers can integrate directly into planning and activation. “We’re focused on creating perfect matches between businesses and consumers. The right data is critical, which is why we started the data marketplace. It’s a curated, opinionated take on the best data to drive outcomes for the companies that depend on us.”Aaron Brown, Chief Scientist Madhive's Maverick AI at the core of local advertising Madhive’s Maverick AI is the AI-powered operating system for local media. Built as a foundational layer behind Madhive’s entire workflow, Maverick AI connects the dots across planning, targeting, reporting, and storytelling. Its purpose is simple yet transformative: turn fragmented data and advertiser inputs into actionable insights at scale. What makes Maverick AI different? AI-driven intelligence It doesn’t just automate tasks; it analyzes signals, connects context across markets, and refines strategies as campaigns progress. Data connectivity Maverick AI integrates diverse data sources, including Experian’s trusted identity data, so local advertisers can target households with accuracy and measure outcomes confidently. Interactive transparency Beyond dashboards, Maverick AI works alongside sellers and advertisers, surfacing insights, flagging missing inputs, and turning transparency into clear next steps. Adaptability From structured KPIs to unstructured signals like lists of recent in-store buyers or priority ZIP codes, Maverick AI uses every clue to inform smarter, faster decisions. "Maverick AI exists to connect local advertisers with data like Experian’s. Its ability to collaborate and tell stories back to advertisers is one of its greatest strengths.”Aaron Brown, Chief Scientist How Maverick AI and Experian Marketing Data turn transparency into results Maverick AI turns performance transparency into aligned plans and faster optimizations for local advertisers and agencies. Paired with Experian’s identity data, advertisers get an accurate, household-level view of real people in real locations. That lets them build consistent local audiences, reach those audiences across connected television (CTV), social, and the open web, and confidently tie ad exposure back to outcomes that matter in each market. “Maverick AI is the foundational layer behind all our operations – targeting, reporting, and storytelling. It connects data across organizations and advertisers, including trusted data sources like Experian. AI works tirelessly to pick up context, connect the dots, and deliver great results end-to-end for our customers.”Aaron Brown, Chief Scientist Your next local campaign starts with Madhive and Experian Local advertising performance starts with a trusted identity foundation. With Experian data and Madhive’s Maverick AI platform, local advertisers can define the right households once, activate their campaigns across CTV and digital channels, and measure outcomes with confidence. Many brands are increasing investment in AI-powered planning to cut waste and grow on-target reach. Let’s work together to make your next campaign a success. Let's solve your local advertising challenges today About our experts Aaron Brown Chief Scientist, Madhive Aaron Brown is Chief Scientist at Madhive, where he leads Mad Labs, the company’s advanced innovation division. With a background spanning mathematics, computer science, and law, Aaron specializes in applying complex technical and theoretical breakthroughs to real-world business challenges. Before joining Madhive, he worked at the machine learning startup Intelligent Life. A graduate of Boston University with degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science, he also holds a J.D. from the University of Southern Queensland and lives in New York City. Ali Mack VP of AdTech Sales, Experian Ali Mack leads Experian’s AdTech business, overseeing global revenue across the company’s expansive tech and media portfolio. With over a decade of experience in digital and TV advertising, Ali drives strategic growth by aligning sales, customer success, and solutions teams to deliver impactful outcomes for clients and partners. She has successfully guided teams through two major acquisitions, integrating sales organizations and product portfolios into unified go-to-market strategies. Under her leadership, Experian has consistently exceeded revenue targets while fostering collaborative, results-driven teams and mentoring emerging leaders. Working closely with finance, product, and marketing, Ali develops strategies that support a diverse ecosystem of publishers, brands, and technology partners, positioning Experian at the forefront of data-driven advertising and identity resolution. FAQs What makes local advertising so challenging? Local advertisers face tight budgets, short timelines, and high pressure for results. They must reach the right households, tailor messaging, and optimize campaigns across zip codes. Experian’s data solutions and Madhive’s Maverick AI platform help overcome challenges like location targeting and data activation without losing signal. How does Madhive’s Maverick AI platform help advertisers achieve better results? Madhive’s Maverick AI platform centralizes operations, targeting, and reporting while enabling granular local planning at scale. It integrates Experian’s data to target households accurately, optimize campaigns across markets, and deliver measurable results, even for advertisers with limited budgets. How do Experian and Madhive foster collaboration in local advertising? Madhive’s Maverick AI platform provides transparency and clear recommendations, aligning advertisers on goals. Experian’s data solutions further enhance this process by providing a unified view of audience behavior, ensuring campaigns remain cohesive and effective across all channels. Latest posts
Audigent, a part of Experian, Dun & Bradstreet, and Experian are collaborating to help business-to-business (B2B) marketers target more effectively. Now, B2B marketers can reach verified decision-makers, keep the same audience across channels, and activate on connected TV (CTV) and digital via the Experian data marketplace. Together, Dun & Bradstreet’s trusted business data, Audigent’s curation and Deal ID activation, and Experian’s identity resolution drive efficient, measurable results. Unify identity and engage B2B audiences With Audigent, Dun & Bradstreet, and Experian working together, you get one dependable way to recognize the same companies and roles everywhere you run. Dun & Bradstreet's D-U-N-S® Number, serves as a stable company identifier, so offline business details map to the right digital profiles, and you can reach verified decision-makers with confidence. Through Audigent and Experian, you can access 400+ Dun & Bradstreet B2B audience segments, matched to a Deal ID and activated via Audigent’s curation engine and Experian’s data marketplace. This provides real-time B2B targeting across connected television (CTV), display, native, audio, and online video (OLV). Utilize differentiated data Dun & Bradstreet audiences are built on verified offline signals (e.g., company, industry, size, role, seniority) linked to the proprietary D-U-N-S® Number for deterministic matching. High-quality firmographic attributes become actionable segments you can activate in leading programmatic platforms. The result: privacy-compliant, performance-driven campaigns with omnichannel B2B targeting. Unmatched scale Dun & Bradstreet’s Data Cloud spans over 600 million businesses across industries and regions, offering unparalleled depth for B2B targeting. Verified business identity The D-U-N-S® Number links verified offline business data to digital environments, enabling accurate and scalable activation. Privacy-first design Data undergoes rigorous validation and is compliant with major global regulations (General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)), enabling responsible activation. Trusted by the enterprise Over 85% of Fortune 500 companies rely on Dun & Bradstreet B2B data for its depth, accuracy, and broad coverage of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Three ways unified B2B identity improves media performance Target with accuracy: Use deterministic firmographics. Dun & Bradstreet’s D-U-N-S® Number anchors a consistent way to recognize the same company, linking offline signals to authenticated business entities. Reduce waste: Activate curated PMPs for efficient spend. Audigent’s curation engine packages those audiences into Deal IDs and routes through cleaner, more predictable supply paths, so more budget reaches the buyers that matter. Publishers see up to 75% net revenue increase after fees, while brands save 36–81% on data segments and achieve 10–30% higher video completion rates. Stay consistent: Maintain identity across all channels. Use the same audience criteria across CTV, display, native, audio, social, and OLV to improve match consistency without relying solely on third-party cookies. Improve addressability with Experian's Digital Graph Advertisers can use Dun & Bradstreet’s off-the-shelf segments to target specific audiences accurately across channels. By connecting Experian’s Digital Graph with Dun & Bradstreet’s company and contact data, marketers gain a clear advantage: one durable identity that improves match rates, keeps reach consistent across CTV and digital, and aligns targeting with measurement. What that means in practice: Higher match rates without third-party cookies. Expect consistent reach across CTV and digital with one audience anchored to the same identity. Cleaner measurement because activation and identity stay in sync. Suggested use cases Below are simple ways to put this to work, using Dun & Bradstreet business data and Audigent Deal IDs so the same audience runs and measures the same everywhere. Target key decision-makers Reach professionals in Finance, Sales, Healthcare, and IT/Technology by job role, company size, and industry, driving awareness and consideration across complex buying committees. Reach SMB owners Target companies with fewer than 50 employees to connect with small-business owners and operators. Activate across channels via Audigent Deal IDs for consistent delivery and measurement. Achieve more with Audigent, Dun & Bradstreet, and Experian Together, Audigent, Dun & Bradstreet, and Experian allow marketers to activate high-quality B2B audiences with confidence, delivering relevant and efficient campaigns. By pairing Dun & Bradstreet’s trusted business data and proprietary D-U-N-S® Number with Audigent’s curation engine, you get deterministic, privacy-compliant targeting at scale, now boosted by Experian’s identity for consistent cross-channel reach. Ready to activate your next B2B audience? Talk to an Experian expert today FAQs What makes Dun & Bradstreet's data unique for B2B targeting? Dun & Bradstreet's data is anchored by the D-U-N-S® Number, a persistent business identifier that links offline signals like company size, industry, and role to digital environments. This ensures accurate, scalable, and privacy-compliant targeting. How does Experian enhance cross-channel reach? Experian's Digital Graph connects devices and IDs at the household level, enabling consistent audience identity across channels, even in cookieless environments. This ensures higher match rates and reliable measurement. What is Audigent's role in this collaboration? Audigent's curation engine creates audience-aligned Deal IDs and PMPs, optimizing supply paths for efficient media buying. This reduces waste and improves campaign performance with cleaner, more predictable targeting. How does this solution support ABM strategies? Marketers can build role-based segments (e.g., IT Directors at mid-sized companies) and activate them across CTV and digital channels. Sequential messaging tailored to buying stages helps accelerate pipeline and drive engagement. Latest posts
Personalization without context misses the moment Marketers have spent years perfecting personalization — but personalization alone often misses the mark. We’ve all seen it. You shop for a weekend getaway, then get served travel ads weeks later when you’re already home. The data was right. The timing wasn’t. Personalization based only on identity and behavior knows who you are but not when or why you’re ready to act. At Experian, we believe AI should make marketing feel more human. That means understanding people in context, recognizing their environment, mindset, and the moment, to create relevance that feels timely, not intrusive. The context gap: Why identity and behavior aren’t enough Identity and behavioral data can reveal the kind of consumer someone is and the kind of products they may want to buy. But they don’t explain what’s happening right now. The missing layer is context: the dynamic, real-time signal that shows why this moment matters. Context bridges the gap between knowing something about a consumer and understanding their intent. In an era of fragmented signals and stricter privacy rules, context is one of the most reliable ways to stay relevant without over-reliance on personal identifiers. It helps marketers adapt to shifting needs while keeping privacy intact. How Experian interprets context in real-time By context, we mean all the subtle, in-the-moment signals, like time of day, location, or what someone’s watching, that shape what people care about in real-time. At Experian, our technology interprets these in real-time: Temporal signals Time-based patterns such as daypart (morning vs. evening), recency (how fresh a signal is), seasonality (holidays, life events), and micro-moments (split-second intent-driven actions). Environmental signals The media or content environment; what type of program, article, or channel someone is engaging with when they see your ad. Situational intent Signals like browsing behavior or purchase patterns that hint at a person’s stage in the buying journey, from early research to final decision. By layering these signals over verified identity and behavioral data, Experian’s AI-powered technology helps marketers predict not just who will act, but when they’re ready to act. Experian’s approach: Turning context into relevance Consumer behavior changes by the minute, and marketers need to adapt just as quickly. Our technology interprets live bidstream data, device activity, content, and timing to optimize in the moment, ensuring your campaigns deliver meaningful relevance, not just broader reach. Our process combines: Input Clean, accurate identity and audience data anchored in our privacy-first framework. Enrichment Our models fuse household, device, and publisher context to reveal moment-based intent. Activation We're investing in agentic workflows that help marketers plan and execute performance campaigns at scale, activated via our real-time technology that dynamically adjusts deals and surfaces contextually aligned opportunities. Governance Every signal and recommendation follows Experian’s principles of transparency, consent, and ethical oversight. We call this AI-powered simplicity tools that help marketers work more efficiently, with intelligence that feels intuitive and human-centered. How context changes the game for marketers AI without real-time context can only react based on what it already knows. AI-powered by in-the-moment contextual data points enables marketers to anticipate, not just react. A travel brand can shift creative from “dreaming” to “booking” mode when AI detects signals of active planning. A retailer can align promotions with trending content or regional weather shifts in real time. A CPG brand can trigger different product messages based on the context of recipes or household occasions. Adjustments based on contextual signals compound into meaningful gains — higher engagement, better efficiency, and a consumer experience that feels natural rather than intrusive. Context makes AI more human Context introduces empathy into automation. It’s what keeps AI from overstepping, ensuring the message fits the moment. When marketers respect timing, environment, and intent, ads feel like service, not surveillance. Context transforms relevance into respect. At Experian, our vision is to make every signal serve people, not profiles. Because the more our technology (including our AI tools and capabilities) understands context, the more human marketing becomes. At Experian, responsible intelligence is built in Every contextual model we deploy adheres to our standards for transparent and responsible innovation. We validate inputs, monitor model drift, and ensure no context-based variable introduces bias or privacy risk. This is what responsible automation looks like in practice: intelligent, explainable, and ethical. From who to when: Context is the future of AI-driven marketing Identity tells us who someone is. Context tells us when it matters. The next wave of AI-driven marketing will unite privacy-first identity with contextual intelligence to deliver real-time relevance, responsibly. At Experian, we’re building that future now. Our AI-driven capabilities bring identity, insight, and generative intelligence together so brands, agencies, and platforms can reach the right people, at the right moment, with relevance and respect. Get started now About the author Matthew Griffiths SVP of Technology, Audigent, a part of Experian Matthew Griffiths is a seasoned technology entrepreneur and a driving force in advertising technology, data technology, and AI. As the Co-Founder and former CTO (now SVP of Technology) at Audigent, a part of Experian, he plays a pivotal role in shaping the company’s cutting-edge solutions for data activation, curation, and identity management. With years of executive experience across the U.S., Africa, and the U.K., Matthew has a proven track record of leadership in steering the adoption and use of cutting-edge technologies to drive business outcomes. His expertise spans from collaborating with top global corporations and governments to spearheading award-winning technology projects that deliver life-changing impacts in some of the world's most underserved communities. Matthew’s dynamic approach to solving complex business and technology challenges makes him a visionary leader in the AdTech space, consistently driving innovation and performance through technology. FAQs How does context make AI-driven marketing more effective? Context makes AI-driven marketing more effective because it helps marketers understand people in context, recognizing their environment, mindset, and the moment, to create relevance that feels timely, not intrusive. Context helps marketers understand not just who a person is, but when and why they’re ready to act. Experian’s AI-powered technology layers contextual signals over verified identity data to deliver relevance that feels intuitive, not invasive. This approach connects recognition with understanding, making every campaign more effective and more human. What is the context gap in AI-driven marketing? Identity and behavioral data can reveal the kind of consumer someone is and the kind of products they may want to buy. But they don’t explain what’s happening right now. That’s the context gap—the missing link between knowing something about a consumer and understanding their intent. Context closes this gap by analyzing environmental, temporal, and situational signals that reveal intent—without using invasive identifiers. Does Experian interpret contextual signals in real-time? Yes, at Experian, our technology interprets contextual signals, including temporal, environmental, and situational, in real-time. By layering these signals over Experian’s verified identity and behavioral data graph, marketers can predict when consumers are most receptive, turning data into real-time opportunity. What does responsible intelligence look like in practice? At Experian, every contextual model we deploy adheres to our standards for transparent and responsible innovation. We validate inputs, monitor model drift, and ensure no context-based variable introduces bias or privacy risk. What does Experian’s foundation in responsible automation look like? – Privacy-first clarity: We unify household, individual, device, demographic, behavioral, publisher first-party signals, and contextual data points to build a reliable view of consumers, even when certain signals are missing. This clarity helps marketers personalize, target, activate, and measure with confidence.- Predictive insight: Our models go beyond describing the past. They forecast behaviors, fill gaps with inferred attributes, create lookalikes, and recommend next-best audiences so clients can anticipate opportunity.- AI-powered simplicity: We’re investing in generative AI and exploring emerging agentic workflows to reimagine how marketers work. Our vision is to move beyond basic audience recommendations toward intelligent audience discovery and automated setup, helping teams uncover opportunities they may not have considered, while spending less time on manual work and more time on strategy and outcomes.- Real-time intelligence: Consumer journeys never stand still. Our AI-powered technology interprets live bidstream data, device activity, content, and timing to optimize in the moment, ensuring campaigns deliver meaningful relevance, not just broader reach.- Transparent and responsible innovation: We drive safe, modular experimentation, from generative applications to agentic workflows, always balancing bold ideas with ethical guardrails. We stay at the forefront of evolving legislation and regulation, ensuring our innovations protect consumers, brands, and the broader ecosystem while moving the industry forward responsibly. Latest posts