
The cookieless future is here, and it’s time to start thinking about how you will adapt your strategies to this new reality. In a cookieless world, you will need to find new ways to identify and track users across devices. This will require reliance on first-party data, contextual advertising, and alternative identifiers that respect user privacy.
To shed light on this topic, we hosted a panel discussion at Cannes, featuring industry leaders from Cint, Direct Digital Holdings, the IAB, MiQ, Tatari, and Experian.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the future of identity in cookieless advertising. We’ll discuss the challenges and opportunities that this new era presents, and we’ll offer our tips for how to stay ahead of the curve.
How cookieless advertising is evolving
Programmatic advertising is experiencing multiple changes. Let’s dive into three key things you should know.
Cookie deprecation
One significant change is cookie deprecation, which has implications for tracking and targeting. Additionally, understanding the concept of Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS) is becoming increasingly crucial.
The demand and supply-side are coming closer together
Demand-side platforms (DSPs) and supply-side platforms (SSPs) have traditionally been seen as two separate entities. DSPs are used by advertisers to buy ad space, while SSPs are used by publishers to sell ad space. However, in recent years, there has been a trend toward the two sides coming closer together.
This is due to three key factors:
The rise of header bidding
Header bidding is a process where publishers sell their ad space to multiple buyers in a single auction. This allows publishers to get the best possible price for their ad space, and it also allows advertisers to target their ads more effectively.
Cookie deprecation
As third-party cookies are phased out, advertisers need to find new ways to track users, and they are turning to SSPs for help. SSPs can provide advertisers with data about users, such as their demographics and interests. This data can be used to target ads more effectively.
The increasing importance of data
Advertisers are increasingly looking for ways to target their ads more effectively, and they need data to do this. SSPs have access to a wealth of user data, and they’re willing to share this data with advertisers. This is helping to bridge the gap between the two sides.
The trend toward the demand-side and supply-side coming closer together is good news for advertisers and publishers. It means that they can work together to deliver more relevant ads to their users.
Measuring and tracking diverse types of media
The media measurement landscape is rapidly evolving to accommodate new types of media, such as digital out-of-home (DOOH). With ad inventory expanding comes the challenge of establishing identities and connecting them with what advertisers and agencies want to track.
Measurement providers are now being asked to accurately capture instances when individuals are exposed to advertisements at a bus stop in New York City, for example, and tracking their journey and purchase decisions, such as buying a Pepsi.
To navigate cookieless advertising and measurement, we must prioritize building a strong foundational identity framework.
What you should focus on in a cookieless advertising era
In a cookieless advertising era, you will need to focus on two key things: frequency capping and authentic identity.
Frequency capping
Frequency capping is a practice of limiting the number of times an ad is shown to a user. This is important in cookieless advertising because it helps to prevent users from being bombarded with ads. It also helps to ensure that ads are more effective, as users are less likely to ignore or click on ads that they have seen too many times.
Frequency capping is often overhyped and yet overlooked. Instead of solely focusing on frequency, consider approaching it from an identity perspective. One solution could be to achieve a perfect balance between reaching a wider audience and avoiding excessive repetition. By increasing reach in every programmatic buy, you naturally mitigate frequency control concerns.
Authentic identity
The need for authentic identities in a digital and programmatic ecosystem is undeniable. While we explore ways to connect cookies, mobile ads, and other elements, it’s crucial to remember who we are as real individuals. By using anonymized personal identifying information (PII) as a foundation, we can derive insights about households and individuals and set effective frequency caps across different channels.
Don’t solely focus on devices and behaviors in your cookieless advertising strategy and remember the true value of people and their identities.
What’s next for cookieless advertising?
The deprecation of third-party cookies is a major challenge for the digital advertising industry. Advertisers will need to find new ways to track users and target their ads.
Here are three specific trends that we can expect to see in cookieless advertising.
First-party data is moving in-house
Many major media companies, equipped with valuable identifier and first-party data, are choosing to bring it in-house. They are focused on using their data internally rather than sharing it externally.
“Many larger media companies are opting to bring their identifier and first-party data in-house, creating more walled gardens. It seems that companies are prioritizing data control within their own walls instead of sharing it externally.”
laura manning, svp, measurement, cint
Fragmentation will continue
The number of identifiers used to track people online is growing rapidly. In an average household, over a 60-day period, there are 22 different identifiers present. This number is only going to increase as we move away from cookies and toward other identifiers.
This fragmentation makes it difficult to track people accurately and deliver targeted advertising. This means that we need new identity solutions that can help make sense of these new identifiers and provide a more accurate view of people.
A portfolio of solutions will address signal loss
Advertisers are taking a variety of approaches to cookieless advertising. A few of the solutions include:
- Working with alternative IDs.This refers to using alternative identifiers to cookies, such as mobile device IDs or email addresses. These identifiers can be used to track people across different websites and devices, even without cookies.
- Working with data index at a geo level. This refers to using data from a third-party provider to get a better understanding of people’s location. This information can be used to target ads more effectively.
- Working with publisher first-party data that’s been aggregated to a cohort level. This refers to using data that is collected directly from publishers, such as website traffic data or purchase history. This data can be used to create more personalized ads.
- Working with contextual solutions. This refers to using contextual data, such as the content of a website or the weather, to target ads. This can help to ensure that ads are relevant to the user’s interests.
“Cookie deprecation is often exaggerated, and alternate solutions are already emerging. As data moves closer to publishers and first-party data gains prominence, the industry will adapt to the changes.”
mark walker, ceo, direct digital holdings
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for cookies, and you will need to be flexible and adopt a variety of different approaches.
How will these solutions work together?
You can take a waterfall approach to cookieless advertising. A waterfall approach is a process where advertisers bid on ad impressions in sequential order. The first advertiser to meet the minimum bid price wins the impression.
In the context of cookieless advertising, a waterfall approach can be used to prioritize different targeting signals. For example, you might start by bidding on impressions that have a Ramp ID, then move on to impressions that have a geo-contextual signal, and finally bid on impressions that have no signal at all.
This is a flexible approach that can be adapted to different needs and budgets.
Watch our Cannes panel for more on cookieless advertising

We hosted a panel in Cannes that covered the future of identity in cookieless advertising. Check out the full recording below to hear what leaders from Cint, Direct Digital Holdings, the IAB, MiQ, Tatari, and Experian had to say.
Check out more Cannes content:
- Our key takeaways from Cannes Lions 2023
- Insights from a first-time attendee
- Four new marketing strategies for 2023
- Exploring the opportunities in streaming TV advertising
- Maximize ad targeting with supply-side advertising
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Audio platforms that overcome consumer identity challenges are winning new advertisers and driving higher ROAS. In this article, you’ll hear from leading audio platforms that are solving these challenges—and seeing results. Digital audio is evolving fast. What was once a niche channel of host-read sponsorships and direct buys is now a must-have in the modern media mix. Streaming platforms, podcasts, and digital radio are drawing more ad dollars thanks to audio’s ability to capture attention and connect with listeners. But with growth comes new pressure. Advertisers expect accuracy, scale, and to see results. At the same time, listeners want more relevant content and more personalized ad experiences. That’s where identity becomes essential. With Experian’s identity and audience solutions, audio platforms can: Bolster addressable audience targeting and personalization capabilities. Gain a comprehensive view of listeners’ digital identity to reach audiences across channels. Better understand consumer preferences, enabling advertisers to reach audiences with greater accuracy. Enhance the listening experience with more relevant content. Let’s break down the key challenges in audio—and how Experian can help solve them. Challenge 1: Anonymous listening limits addressability Most listening happens in environments where people aren’t logged in—via apps, smart speakers, and mobile devices. Without logged-in data, platforms struggle to know who’s listening and advertisers are unable to reach those anonymous listeners who don’t have an addressable ID. To overcome the identity gap in unauthenticated listening environments, leading audio platforms are turning to partners that connect fragmented signals—like device type, location, and behavioral patterns—to broader household and individual profiles. By using hashed emails and other alternative identifiers, platforms can begin to make anonymous sessions more addressable. This increase in addressability ensures the platform’s entire userbase can be reached, which leads to an increase in revenue. Experian’s solution Experian\’s identity spine, comprised of our Digital and Offline Graphs, helps you recognize listeners even when they’re outside your ecosystem. Platforms like Audacy are already leading the way. By integrating Experian’s Digital Graph, they’re gaining a more complete view of listeners’ digital identifiers—enhancing the experience across their app and website. With a better audience understanding, Audacy can deliver personalized content while helping advertisers reach specific groups with greater accuracy. Challenge 2: IP-based targeting falls short Audio has traditionally relied on IP addresses, but that’s no longer enough. A single IP could represent an entire household—or a public setting like a coffee shop. It’s not precise. Forward-thinking platforms are moving beyond IP-based targeting by integrating identity resolution technologies that combine household-level data with device-level intelligence. These solutions help distinguish between shared devices and individual listeners, allowing advertisers to serve more relevant messages without over-reliance on a single signal like an IP address. This layered approach improves precision—especially in dynamic listening environments like vehicles or communal spaces. Experian’s solution Our identity spine links home IPs to households, then connects them to specific devices and individuals. This helps platforms move beyond basic IPs and target real people based on accurate signals—even in shared listening environments like smart speakers and cars. We also help platforms and advertisers integrate alternative IDs—like Unified I.D. 2.0 (UID2)—into their programmatic audio campaigns. That means more reach, without compromising consumer trust. Challenge 3: Audio buying is fragmented From podcasts to streaming to radio, audio lacks consistency in how inventory is packaged and bought. It’s hard for advertisers to run scaled campaigns across channels—and harder still to measure performance. Plus, advertisers don’t think in silos—they think in strategies. If audio can’t connect to their display, connected TV (CTV), and social buys, it loses ground. What they need is a way to define audiences once and activate everywhere. To reduce friction in audio ad buying, platforms are investing in infrastructure that unifies audience insights across formats. By building a centralized view of the listener—regardless of whether they\’re tuning in via podcast, stream, or radio—publishers can offer advertisers consistent targeting parameters, clearer reporting, and better campaign orchestration. Identity graphs and audiences are playing a growing role in streamlining this complexity and unlocking scale. Experian’s solution Experian helps simplify audio buying. Experian audiences are built on top of our identity graph and are expanded to a deep set of digital identifiers, ensuring accuracy, scale and maximum addressability across channels. Platforms can blend their first-party data with advertiser data and our audiences—then deploy those audiences onsite or activate programmatically across open web and CTV. DAX is doing just that. DAX\’s partnership with Experian combines Experian’s 2,400+ audiences for targeting and activation with DAX’s innovative audio advertising approach. We’re helping advertisers connect with passionate and engaged listeners nationwide. \”Through our partnership with Experian Marketing Services, advertisers can unlock deeper audience insights and execute more impactful digital audio campaigns. By combining our shared market presence, knowledge, and forward-thinking approach, we’re strengthening our digital audio network offering and delivering value to all our advertising partners.\” Brian Conlan, President of DAX United States In addition to integrating Experian’s Digital Graph, Audacy is also integrating Experian\’s syndicated audiences to unlock accurate insights like demographics, shopping behavior, and interests – providing listeners with a more personalized advertising experience and advertisers with a higher return on investment. “Historically, audio advertising lacked precise targeting capabilities, making it challenging for advertisers to reach specific audiences. By integrating our digital identity graph and syndicated audiences with Audacy’s platform, we’re transforming how advertisers connect with listeners. This collaboration enables more effective audience targeting and delivers personalized, impactful audio experiences across all channels.”Chris Feo, Chief Business Officer, Experian Privacy is non-negotiable Everything we do is privacy-forward by design. Backed by Experian’s Global Data Principles and decades as a regulated institution, we rigorously vet every data source to ensure compliance with all federal and state laws. Build an audio strategy that performs with Experian Your advertisers want more from their audio investments. With Experian, you can give it to them. We help you: Expand digital addressability to maximize reach for marketers and drive revenue growth for your platform. Create and activate addressable audiences across all channels. Enhance the listening experience with relevant content and personalized ads. Audio has always been a powerful way to connect. Now, it’s ready to perform. Let\’s connect Latest posts

When we launched our data marketplace earlier this year, we set out to transform how the industry discovers and activates privacy-safe audiences and maintains addressability across display, mobile, and connected TV (CTV). Yieldmo was one of the first adopters and their story speaks volumes about what’s possible when flexible tech meets premium data. Large retail brand boosts in-store traffic with Yieldmo and Experian Yieldmo, an advertising platform known for its inventive, AI-powered creative formats and privacy-first inventory, partnered with Experian to support a leading athletic retailer’s campaign focused on driving in-store traffic. The goal? Attract in-store shoppers likely to purchase from competitors, particularly during key sales windows. Using Experian’s Audience Engine platform, which includes our proprietary and third-party data marketplace, Yieldmo built a high-performing, self-serve targeting strategy that included both conquesting and in-store shopper segments. With the ability to easily combine Experian Audiences and Partner Audiences, like those from Alliant, Circana, Webbula, and Sports Innovation Lab, Yieldmo quickly built precise apparel and footwear audiences. Using Experian’s identity graphs in Audience Engine, Yieldmo increased cross-channel addressability to maximize campaign scale and impact. “Experian’s data marketplace in Audience Engine fills a critical gap, letting us quickly search by brand, build smarter conquest segments, and activate custom audiences fast. The platform is flexible and the support is hands-on and reliable.”Abby Littlejohn, Director of Sales Planning at Yieldmo With self-serve setup that cut down manual work, the ability to build highly tailored audiences, and expected lift in store visits, Experian helped the team achieve standout results. \”We selected Experian as our primary third-party data partner based on contract ease, audience quality, and speed. Through Experian, we can find high-performing audiences from multiple providers that meet our client’s targeting objectives. We include Experian audience segments in 80% of formal RFP proposals and are in active discussions on how to optimize for future campaigns—making Experian a go-to partner for third-party targeting.”Nelson Montouchet, AVP, Strategic Partnerships, Yieldmo More data, more reach: Experian’s data marketplace fuels smarter targeting across ad platforms Today, just months after launch, Experian’s data marketplace is gaining traction across the ecosystem. Over 10 platforms, including leading supply-side platforms (SSPs) and TV platforms such as Madhive, OpenAP, and Optimum, are now actively utilizing our data marketplace to enhance their activation capabilities. As privacy rules tighten and many identity signals start to fade, a lot of activation platforms are finding it tougher to reach their audiences. This is where our data marketplace shines, with one of the most comprehensive identity graphs out there, 126 million households, 250 million individuals, and over four billion active digital IDs, we make it easy to activate audiences while keeping addressability high across channels. We preserve accuracy when scaling to digital IDs via our identity graphs since Experian is rooted in offline data, which provides better connections and smarter targeting. “Our long-standing partnership with Experian and breadth of Experian\’s data marketplace, combined with the interoperable, direct matching methodology of our Open Identity solution, make it possible for OpenAP to enable advertisers and agencies to use best-in-class data partners to build audiences with the highest fidelity and consistently reach audiences at scale wherever they are consuming content across premium video.”Chris LoRusso, Chief Business Officer at OpenAP Experian’s data marketplace has grown to include over 20 premium data providers, such as: “We’re thrilled to bring PlaceIQ’s privacy-first, visit-based audiences to Experian’s marketplace, giving brands quick and easy access to high-intent shoppers. From recent big-box customers to yoga-studio regulars, advertisers can add real-world relevance to campaigns across every channel.”Brian Bradtke, Head of Partner Development, Precisely PlaceIQ These partnerships bring unique value to platforms looking to understand and engage audiences more effectively, whether through physical location intelligence, sports and fandom insights, or behavioral intent signals. What’s next As we head into one of the industry’s key events this summer at Cannes, the excitement around our data marketplace continues to build. We\’re focused on expanding our data ecosystem and helping platforms and marketers turn fragmented data strategies into a unified competitive advantage. If Yieldmo’s story is any indication, this is just the beginning. Let’s connect and explore how Experian’s data marketplace can help you drive more revenue, scale your audience reach, and stay ahead of privacy shifts. Connect with us Latest posts

Gaming companies sit at a unique crossroads: they’re part entertainment powerhouse, part tech platform, part media company. Whether you’re publishing blockbuster titles, running a mobile game network, or building immersive in-game ad experiences, you have access to vast amounts of player data—and massive potential for growth. What\’s standing in the way of growth and loyalty Video game publishers and platforms are increasingly turning to data to understand, engage, and retain their players. But that’s easier said than done. Here are the top challenges they face: Data lives in silos. Gaming companies often collect data across multiple platforms—console, PC, mobile—but can’t stitch together a full view of the player across devices and titles. Identity is hard to resolve. Players interact across games, apps, websites, and platforms. It’s tough to connect all those signals and create a consistent, personalized experience. Privacy is non-negotiable. Regulations are tightening. Any solution must not only be powerful—it must be privacy-safe. Ad performance is difficult to measure. It’s often unclear which campaigns are driving engagement, conversions, or purchases—especially across fragmented digital touchpoints. How Experian can help you win with data and identity Experian helps gaming companies stop leaving value on the table. We turn scattered player data into a single, unified view—giving you the foundation to better understand and engage your players. Our approach: Organize, enrich, activate 1. We clean and unify your data We help you build a solid identity foundation by resolving messy, duplicate, or outdated records across systems. That means your player data from mobile, console, PC, and web all connects—giving you a clear view of how your users engage across games and platforms. 💡 How it’s working: A global interactive gaming company is partnering with Experian to unify and enrich player profiles across systems—boosting the performance of both player engagement campaigns and in-game monetization strategies. 2. We deliver deep customer insights With Experian, you go beyond surface-level data. We help you understand player behaviors, financial attributes, interests, and lifestyle factors—fueling more personalized experiences, smarter segmentation, and better monetization strategies. 💡 How it’s working: A major game developer used Experian’s data enrichment tools to gain deeper insights into player behavior and financial attributes—enabling more personalized in-game offers, smarter audience segmentation, and stronger player retention. 3. We enrich profiles and help you activate across channels We enhance your player records with hundreds of attributes—so you can create custom segments that work. Then, we help you activate those audiences in real-time across digital, social, and programmatic platforms. 💡 How it’s working: A global gaming publisher used Experian to build custom audiences and activate across programmatic channels, driving higher in-game engagement and ad ROI. Turning audiences into ad revenue In addition to improving their own player marketing, gaming companies are unlocking a second growth engine: ad revenue from non-endemic brands. Much like retail media networks, game publishers and platforms are realizing the value of their audience data. From airlines and automakers to QSR and CPG brands, advertisers are taking notice of the high-value, high-intent audiences inside game environments. But to attract that ad spend, publishers need to offer more than impressions—they need precise audience targeting, cross-device identity, and reliable measurement. How Experian helps drive better ad performance To appear authentically to a gamer, you need to know who they are and what they care about. Experian helps marketers understand a person’s behaviors and preferences to enable relevant, personalized advertising. And since nobody wants to see the same ad ten times during a session, we help manage ad frequency across devices and placements to protect the player experience. Our approach: Extend reach, measure results 1. We expand your digital reach Experian makes it easier to find and connect with your players wherever they are—across devices, platforms, and publishers. We help you build scalable audiences you can reach programmatically and with precision. 💡 How it’s working: Unity, a leading gaming platform, is redefining the way marketers reach their audiences across major and emerging channels. They’ve tapped into Experian’s syndicated audiences to gain player insights and help advertisers connect with gaming audiences across mobile, web, and connected TV (CTV) based on behaviors and preferences. 2. We help you measure what matters Whether your goal is app installs, in-game purchases, ad engagement, or player retention, we help connect the dots. You’ll know which campaigns are driving action—and where to double down. 💡 How it’s working: A leading global game publisher is working with Experian to enrich player profiles, build and activate audience segments, and measure how campaigns drive in-game engagement and purchases—giving them a clearer view of ROI across digital channels. Why choose Experian Whether you’re trying to build stronger player relationships or turn your audience into a high-performing advertising engine, Experian gives you the data and identity foundation to make it happen. We help you: Organize and clean your player data Resolve identities across digital touchpoints Enrich your data with deep, actionable insights Build and activate target audiences Measure impact across the player journey Let\’s power up together We’re already supporting leading brands across the gaming ecosystem—from global game publishers and mobile app developers to in-game ad networks and gaming platforms. And we’re ready to help more companies harness the full power of their data. Get in the game with us 🎮 Latest posts