Originally appeared on MarTech Series
Marketing’s understanding of identity has evolved rapidly over the past decade, much like the shifting media landscape itself. From the early days of basic direct mail targeting to today’s complex omnichannel environment, identity has become both more powerful and more fragmented. Each era has brought new tools, challenges, and opportunities, shaping how brands interact with their customers.
We’ve moved from traditional media like mail, newspapers, and linear/network TV, to cable TV, the internet, mobile devices, and apps. Now, multiple streaming platforms dominate, creating a far more complex media landscape. As a result, understanding the customer journey and reaching consumers across these various touchpoints has become increasingly difficult. Managing frequency and ensuring effective communication across channels is now more challenging than ever.
This development has led to a fragmented view of the consumer, making it harder for marketers to ensure that they are reaching the right audience at the right time while also avoiding oversaturation. Marketers must now navigate a fragmented customer journey across multiple channels, each with its own identity signals, to stitch together a cohesive view of the customer.
Let’s break down this evolution, era by era, to understand how identity has progressed—and where it’s headed.
2010-2015: The rise of digital identity – Cookies and MAIDs
Between 2010 and 2015, the digital era fundamentally changed how marketers approached identity. Mobile usage surged during this time, and programmatic advertising emerged as the dominant method for reaching consumers across the internet.
The introduction of cookies and mobile advertising IDs (MAIDs) became the foundation for tracking users across the web and mobile apps. With these identifiers, marketers gained new capabilities to deliver targeted, personalized messages and drive efficiency through programmatic advertising.
This era gave birth to powerful tools for targeting. Marketers could now follow users’ digital footprints, regardless of whether they were browsing on desktop or mobile. This leap in precision allowed brands to optimize spend and performance at scale, but it came with its limitations. Identity was still tied to specific browsers or devices, leaving gaps when users switched platforms. The fragmentation across different devices and the reliance on cookies and MAIDs meant that a seamless, unified view of the customer was still out of reach.
2015-2020: The age of walled gardens
From 2015 to 2020, the identity landscape grew more complex with the rise of walled gardens. Platforms like Facebook, Google, and Amazon created closed ecosystems of first-party data, offering rich, self-declared insights about consumers. These platforms built massive advertising businesses on the strength of their user data, giving marketers unprecedented targeting precision within their environments.
However, the rise of walled gardens also marked the start of new challenges. While these platforms provided detailed identity solutions within their walls, they didn’t communicate with one another. Marketers could target users with pinpoint accuracy inside Facebook or Google, but they couldn’t connect those identities across different ecosystems. This siloed approach to identity left marketers with an incomplete picture of the customer journey, and brands struggled to piece together a cohesive understanding of their audience across platforms.
The promise of detailed targeting was tempered by the fragmentation of the landscape. Marketers were dealing with disparate identity solutions, making it difficult to track users as they moved between these closed environments and the open web.
2020-2025: The multi-ID landscape – CTV, retail media, signal loss, and privacy
By 2020, the identity landscape had splintered further, with the rise of connected TV (CTV) and retail media adding even more complexity to the mix. Consumers now engaged with brands across an increasing number of channels—CTV, mobile, desktop, and even in-store—and each of these channels had its own identifiers and systems for tracking.
Simultaneously, privacy regulations are tightening the rules around data collection and usage. This, coupled with the planned deprecation of third-party cookies and MAIDs has thrown marketers into a state of flux. The tools they had relied on for years were disappearing, and new solutions had yet to fully emerge. The multi-ID landscape was born, where brands had to navigate multiple identity systems across different platforms, devices, and environments.
Retail media networks became another significant player in the identity game. As large retailers like Amazon and Walmart built their own advertising ecosystems, they added yet another layer of first-party data to the mix. While these platforms offer robust insights into consumer behavior, they also operate within their own walled gardens, further fragmenting the identity landscape.
With cookies and MAIDs being phased out, the industry began to experiment with alternatives like first-party data, contextual targeting, and new universal identity solutions. The challenge and opportunity for marketers lies in unifying these fragmented identity signals to create a consistent and actionable view of the customer.
2025: The omnichannel imperative
Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, the identity landscape will continue to evolve, but the focus remains the same: activating and measuring across an increasingly fragmented and complex media environment. Consumers now expect seamless, personalized experiences across every channel—from CTV to digital to mobile—and marketers need to keep up.
The future of identity lies in interoperability, scale, and availability. Marketers need solutions that can connect the dots across different platforms and devices, allowing them to follow their customers through every stage of the journey. Identity must be actionable in real-time, allowing for personalization and relevance across every touchpoint, so that media can be measurable and attributable.
Brands that succeed in 2025 and beyond will be those that invest in scalable, omnichannel identity solutions. They’ll need to embrace privacy-friendly approaches like first-party data, while also ensuring their systems can adapt to an ever-changing landscape.
Adapting to the future of identity
The evolution of identity has been marked by increasing complexity, but also by growing opportunity. As marketers adapt to a world without third-party cookies and MAIDs, the need for unified identity solutions has never been more urgent. Brands that can navigate the multi-ID landscape will unlock new levels of efficiency and personalization, while those that fail to adapt risk falling behind.
The path forward is clear: invest in identity solutions that bridge the gaps between devices, platforms, and channels, providing a full view of the customer. The future of marketing belongs to those who can manage identity in a fragmented world—and those who can’t will struggle to stay relevant.
Contact us
Latest posts
Audigent, a part of Experian, is excited to announce that curated audience and contextual inventory packages are now accessible on Google Display and Video 360 (DV360), delivered via Index Marketplaces. These premium deals offer industry-leading targeting solutions, combining high-quality data and inventory to enhance scale, value, and performance across connected TV (CTV), display, and online video (OLV). The integration launches with over 250 ready-to-run deals covering various sectors, including some available for DV360 buyers for the first time, such as automotive, B2B, seasonal retail, sports fandom, travel, and weather, among others. Each deal combines exclusive audience data with premium inventory under a single DV360 deal ID. The supply-side activation lets you scale campaigns without cookies or device IDs, so results stay consistent even as traditional tracking disappears. "We’re excited to expand Audigent’s curated, data-enriched packages in DV360 with Index Exchange. Putting Experian’s audiences and Audigent's premium supply inside a single deal ID accelerates smarter decisions for marketers—letting brands activate, test, and see results right away.”Chris Feo, Chief Business Officer, Experian Why these packages stand out Unique targeting and supply packages Each package fuses exclusive data with handpicked inventory and ships as a single, ready-to-trade deal ID. Deep partner bench Audiences are sourced from first-party publisher data as well as data leaders such as Experian, Affinity Answers, Acxiom, Bombora, Circana, Dun & Bradstreet, Resonate, Sports Innovation Lab, The Weather Company, and more, providing buyers with deterministic purchase, intent, behavioral, and lifestyle signals in one flight. Future-proofed addressability Packages rely on Audigent’s identity framework, contextual intelligence, and supply-side data activation rather than third-party cookies or device IDs, keeping reach intact as identifiers fade. Three reasons these packages drive results Signal-agnostic reach: Cookieless, device-less targeting preserves scale today and tomorrow. Instant activation: Traders simply add the pre-curated deal ID to a DV360 line item and go live in seconds. Built-in quality assurance: Exclusive audience data is paired with hand-vetted inventory, so you start closer to KPIs from day one. Direct-to-source media buying that pays off By packaging curated, data-enriched deals directly atop Index Exchange, via the Index Marketplaces platform, Audigent eliminates extra hops and integrates premium partner data into a single price, with no additional data management platform (DMP) fees. That means higher match rates, simplified audience management, and a cleaner, greener path that concentrates spend on top-tier publishers. Paired with Index Exchange’s omnichannel reach, brands see stronger performance and lower waste, no trade-offs required. "Our goal with Index Marketplaces is to streamline access to premium supply, high-quality data, and measurable outcomes. Hosting Audigent's ready-to-run deals on Index lets DV360 buyers tap addressable inventory curated for scale, sustainability, and speed – no extra steps, just better results."Paul Zovighian, Vice President of Marketplaces, Index Exchange Real-world use cases Audigent’s deep data collaboration bench isn’t window dressing; it’s baked into every package. Deterministic signals from Experian and fellow data leaders come pre-loaded, so you tap high-intent, high-match audiences the instant you activate a deal ID. In-market auto shoppers Reach consumers actively researching specific vehicle types, such as compact cars, SUVs, trucks, or luxury models, using deterministic data from Experian. These segments predict purchase intent within the next 180 days, enabling the delivery of accurate messaging at the moment of consideration. B2B account growth Target decision-maker employees at companies segmented by employee count: 11–50, 51–250, or 251+, using Dun & Bradstreet’s data. Or reach small business professionals and business decision-makers via deals utilizing Bombora’s data assets. Sports fandom Engage verified MLB fans based on purchase behavior, powered by Sports Innovation Lab. Extend reach to contextual sports content, including live sports and sports-related programming across CTV and OLV. Seasonal retail bursts Engage gift-givers and in-market segments for gifts and occasions. Target DIY home improvers and verified affinity audiences for home projects. Reach back-to-school families by targeting parents preparing for the school year with Affinity Answers’ event-based segments. Weather-driven behavior Activate campaigns based on how real-time or forecasted weather conditions (like sunny days, outdoor activity suitability, or severe weather alerts) influence mindsets and decisions, powered by The Weather Company's data. "This collaboration integrates The Weather Company’s industry‑leading weather forecast data into DV360, the world’s largest buying platform, enabling real‑time relevance through curated deals. Experian contributes deep expertise in consumer audiences, The Weather Company delivers unmatched precision in timing and location, and Index Exchange adds efficiency and transparency – together creating a streamlined, turnkey solution for activation." Dave Olesnevich, VP of Data and Ad Product, The Weather Company Ready to activate? Search Audigent in DV360’s Marketplace, select the Audigent package that fits your KPIs, and add the deal ID to your line item. Prefer a custom build? Reach out to us at partnershipsales@experian to curate a package tailored to your campaign goals. The quickest path to performance is just one deal ID away. Contact us now Latest posts
Brands want more from their media investments: better insights, more efficient reach, and clear proof of performance. Whether you’re starting with high-quality first-party data or need help reaching new audiences, Experian offers flexible solutions to drive reach among key audiences and to measure the impact. We’ve built two primary activation and measurement solutions tailored to how brands operate, so you can spend less time managing data and more time driving outcomes. Use case 1: First-party insights to activation and measurement Best for: Brands with first-party data looking to deepen their understanding of existing customers, activate intelligently, and measure what matters – all through a single trusted partner. Solution: Audience Engine + Outcomes Audience Engine Audience Engine is our self-service platform designed to help you onboard first-party data, gain key insights into your customers, build custom audiences using our powerful data assets, and activate them across 200+ platforms — all within a single workflow. Outcomes Experian Outcomes closes the loop by measuring real-world results of your campaigns (such as visits, purchases, and website actions) and tying them back to specific media exposures across digital and TV channels. Together, these tools offer a full-funnel audience and measurement solution, from planning and activation to proving performance. Let’s bring this to life A leading athletic retailer partnered with Experian and Yieldmo to drive in-store foot traffic, targeting shoppers likely to buy from their competitors during key sales windows. Using Experian’s Audience Engine, which includes our proprietary and third-party data marketplace, Yieldmo built a high-performing, self-serve targeting strategy for the retailer. By combining Experian Audiences with Partner Audiences from Alliant, Circana, Webbula, and Sports Innovation Lab, Yieldmo was able to build apparel and footwear audiences from the data marketplace including: In-store shopper segments Athleisure purchasers Competitive purchasers Audience Engine also enabled Yieldmo to tap into Experian’s identity graph, expanding cross-channel reach and maximizing campaign scale and precision. And while not used for this campaign, our Outcomes solution allows advertisers to tie media spend to in-store activity, so retailers can measure true business impact. Benefits Understand your customers more deeply To reveal behavioral, demographic, and lifestyle trends. Reach your first-party audiences at scale Across top activation platforms, using Audience Engine’s onboarding capabilities. Increase your brand awareness By reaching prospective audiences, using Experian Audiences, Partner Audiences, and lookalike audiences. Measure campaign effectiveness With Outcomes, which correlates media exposures (digital and/or TV) with offline and online conversions, visits, or sales. Optimize future media buys By using attribution insights to refine targeting, creative, and channel mix based on what’s actually driving results. Use case 2: Activation and measurement Best for: Brands that already know who they want to reach and are looking to activate high-quality, data-driven audiences across their preferred media platforms and want to clearly understand what’s driving performance. Solution: Audiences + Partner Audiences + Outcomes Audiences Experian Audiences are pre-built audience segments grouped by shared attributes from Experian Marketing Data built for activation on-the-shelf of top programmatic, TV, and social destinations like FreeWheel, Magnite, and Madhive, in addition to Audience Engine. Partner Audiences Experian's Partner Audiences are high-quality audience segments sourced directly from 30+ leading third-party data providers like Affinity, Circana, and Dun & Bradstreet. These segments are curated across verticals like Business, CPG, Health, Retail, and Travel, and are available through on top media destinations, in addition to our data marketplace for easy selection and deployment. Outcomes Experian Outcomes helps close the loop by tying real-world results back to media exposures across digital and TV channels. Together, these products empower marketers to activate smarter and prove success with confidence. Let's bring this to life A leading fashion brand set out to grow their customer base by reaching high-intent shoppers where they spend their time: online. Their goal: drive e-commerce conversions through a programmatic campaign powered by The Trade Desk. To do it, they needed more than just reach, they needed accuracy. That’s where Experian came in. On The Trade Desk, the brand quickly discovered Experian’s prebuilt audience segments, readily available and easy to activate. They selected: Age Range: 25–44 Women’s Fashion Frequent Spenders: Households identified as frequent purchasers of women’s apparel, cosmetics, jewelry, and accessories—based on verified, consumer-reported transactions from the past 24 months. These segments gave the brand confidence that it was putting its message in front of the right consumers, those most likely to engage and buy. To understand whether their campaign was driving results beyond impressions, the brand implemented a site pixel to capture both top-of-funnel visitation and bottom-of-funnel conversions. Using Experian’s Outcomes solution, they were able to close the loop—tying ad exposure directly to e-commerce sales. The Outcomes report showed clear campaign lift, highlighting which channels and audience segments performed best. Armed with these insights, the brand refined their targeting and messaging for future media buys—boosting ROI with each iteration. Benefits Reach your ideal audience at scale By activating Experian Audiences and Partner Audiences off the shelf at digital and TV platforms. Access privacy-conscious, diverse data Curated by 30+trusted data providers in verticals like Business, CPG, Health, Retail, and Travel without needing to manage multiple data contracts. Understand what’s working Through Outcomes reporting, which connects media exposure to offline and online outcomes like conversions, purchases, or visits. Continuously improve performance By using attribution insights to inform audience selection, creative strategy, and media channel mix for future campaigns. Bring this to your brand Experian’s activation and measurement solutions for brands gives you the tools to act with clarity: from onboarding your first-party data to reaching new customers and tying media back to real results. Whether you’re starting with deep customer insights or building campaigns from scratch, here’s how our solution helps: Audience Engine Onboard your first-party data, gain insights into audience composition, build custom audiences using Experian and Partner Audiences, and activate them across 200+ leading platforms — all through a centralized, self-service platform. Audiences and Partner Audiences Reach high-intent prospects using Experian’s syndicated audiences or custom-built segments from partners like Circana, Dun & Bradstreet, and more. Outcomes Understand what worked. See how media exposure correlates with actions like store visits, quote requests, site activity, or purchases. Every element is built to help you scale campaigns, improve addressability, and tie media spend to results that matter—without the overhead of multiple vendors or disjointed systems. Ready to see it in action? Get in touch with our team. Latest posts
1,000+ ready-made segments, available for activation within Nexxen Audigent, a part of Experian, has officially launched its audiences in the Nexxen demand-side platform (DSP), pairing premium publisher audiences with Nexxen’s streamlined connected television (CTV) and omnichannel buying workflow. Audigent transforms real engagement from premium publishers into over 1,000 ready-to-activate segments—spanning beauty, finance, travel, and more. Three key benefits Signal quality Verified publisher data drives higher match rates and wider look-alike reach. Media impact Reach up to 92 million entertainment fans, 78 million retail shoppers, or 71 million finance intenders across CTV, online video (OLV), and display without guesswork. Privacy and compliance Every segment is built from opt-in, first-party data and delivered through Audigent’s privacy-by-design framework. How Audigent and Nexxen boost your campaigns Now live in the Nexxen DSP, Audigent’s premium audiences plug directly into your existing buying workflow—making it easier than ever to plan, activate, and optimize at scale. Audigent utilizes cookieless, first-party IDs sourced directly from its premium publisher network, allowing advertisers to future-proof campaigns and continue to reach real people across browsers, devices, and CTV. Vertical use cases Auto Target auto intenders as they research new models, then retarget them on CTV during primetime motorsports broadcasts. Retail and CPG Engage retail shoppers with dynamic product ads ahead of peak sales weekends, bridging display and CTV for sequential storytelling. Travel and Hospitality Reach travel planners with destination-specific offers the moment they begin searching for flights. Finance Serve relevant credit card or fintech messaging to finance enthusiasts researching personal finance content. Premium audiences, measurable performance As a part of Experian, Audigent’s audience solution complements our broader identity resolution and activation capabilities, ensuring consistency across every channel. Together with Nexxen’s unified tech stack, advertisers can launch ads faster while respecting consumer privacy. Audience data, targeting, and media all sit in one workflow, making results easy to see and optimize. Contact us Latest posts