Agencies, platforms, and marketers stand at the crossroads of transformation, as privacy regulations tighten, technology accelerates, and consumer behaviors evolve. Yet these challenges also present extraordinary opportunities.
Our 2025 Digital trends and predictions report highlights five trends that will shape 2025 and digs into:
- What’s changing in the market
- How to keep learning about your customers
- How to reach your customers in different places
- How to measure what’s really working along the way
In this blog post, we’ll give you a sneak peek of three of these trends — from cracking the code of signal loss to tapping into the buzz around connected TV (CTV) and stepping up your omnichannel game. Think of it as a taste test before the main course. Ready for the full menu? Download our report to get the lowdown on all five trends.
1. Signal loss: A rich appetizer of alternate ingredients
As traditional cookies crumble, marketers need fresh ingredients to keep the flavor coming. Already, about 40% of browser traffic doesn’t support third-party cookies, and marketers are spicing things up with first-party data, alternative identifiers like Unified I.D. 2.0 (UID2) and ID5, and contextual targeting strategies. In fact, 50% more of our clients received alternative IDs (UID2, ID5, Hadron ID) in their Digital Graph in 2024 compared to 2023. The number of alternative IDs resolved to individuals in our Digital Graph increased by 30% year-over-year – as everyone looks beyond the cookie jar.
There is no secret sauce to replace cookies. Instead, expect a multi-ID recipe that brings together different identifiers, unified by an identity graph. This approach turns a fragmented pantry of data into a cohesive meal, giving you a complete view of your customer on every plate.
2. The rising power of CTV: A hearty entrée of opportunities
CTV is quickly becoming the main dish on the streaming menu, as viewers load up on their favorite shows. While CTV is slated to make up 20% of daily U.S. media consumption by 2026, advertisers are still holding back on pouring in the ad spend. To unlock its full flavor, marketers need to whip up solutions like frequency capping and unified audience activation.
Although CTV will account for 20% of daily U.S. media consumption by 2026, it’s projected to command only 8.1% of ad spend. Frequency capping and unified audience activation solutions will be key to unlocking CTV’s full potential.
By 2025, nearly half of CTV “diners” will choose free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST). Marketers need strategies to prevent ad overexposure. With 50% of U.S. consumers avoiding products due to ad overload, and 30% of marketers willing to increase their CTV spend if frequency capping improves, unified identity solutions help ensure every impression is served just right.
3. Omnichannel: A flavorful fusion plate
No one likes a one-flavor meal. Marketers are moving beyond single-channel “side dishes” to omnichannel “fusion feasts” that blend direct mail, digital, CTV, and retail media networks (RMNs) into a truly cohesive culinary experience. Even though only 21% of global B2C professionals currently put omnichannel at the top of their shopping list, the growing demand for seamless, audience-first campaigns is heating up.
In 2025, having an audience-first approach will be like having a perfect pairing for every course. Unified identity solutions act as your master sommelier, ensuring that each channel complements the next, and every customer enjoys a well-rounded, memorable journey.
Vertical trends: A dessert sampler from four unique kitchens
Different markets have their own signature flavors.
- In Auto, crossover utility vehicles (CUVs) claim 51% of new vehicle registrations, and consumers in the 35-54 age group and families are the primary buyers. Automotive marketers should prioritize CUV advertising with a strong focus on family-oriented and income-appropriate messaging
- In Financial Services, marketers need to anticipate shifts in consumer behavior tied to economic conditions, such as increasing demand for deposit products when interest rates are high. For insurance, aligning campaigns with life events, like new home purchases or marriage, can maximize engagement.
- In Healthcare, advertisers are prioritizing personalized, regulation-compliant campaigns that address social determinants of health (SDOH).
- In Retail, advertisers are increasingly activating on both CTV and social platforms, with many managing their own in-house campaigns. While larger brands often rely on media agencies, a shift toward in-house media buying is emerging among some bigger players, offering more control over audience targeting and performance metrics.
Our report covers each vertical’s unique menu, helping you select the right “ingredients” for your customers. With the top Experian Audiences on hand, you can create feasts that delight, nourish, and convert.
Hungry for more? Download our full menu
The three “samples” you’ve just tasted are just the starters. Our 2025 Digital trends and predictions report serves up five insights, complete with strategies, data, and tools to help you adapt, scale, and thrive in 2025.
Ready for the full menu? Download our report now and discover all five trends that will shape your marketing “cookbook” in 2025. Bon appétit!
Latest posts
Tapad, a part of Experian and the future of cookies Earlier this week, Google announced plans to create “.. a path towards making third-party cookies obsolete”; which will result in the phasing out of support for third-party cookies in its Chrome browser within two years. While there has been much discussion and debate on the future of the third-party cookie, an announcement from Google has been anticipated for some time. As many have said this week, the use of cookies and other identifiers has and will continue to evolve. What will never change is the value exchange between publishers and consumers that is enabled by relevant advertising. Notably, the need for independent companies to develop solutions that enable this value exchange has never been greater to ensure that publishers, consumers, and advertisers derive the most value from their relationship. We are well-positioned for the future. From the start, Tapad, a part of Experian has led with a consumer-first, privacy-centric approach to technology as the use and proliferation of devices and global privacy regulations continue to evolve. Over the past two years, Tapad, a part of Experian has gone through a technical overhaul. Calling on almost ten years of expertise in identity resolution, we have created a modern platform that is flexible in terms of identity input as well as output. Anticipated change in the identity landscape was the driver behind our architecture decisions and what enables us to be responsive to a dynamic market. Consumer behavior and device use continue to change, bringing additional digital IDs into the equation – namely across the mobile and CTV environments. Our technology, however, is not tied to any specific type of identifier, but rather is focused on associating disparate identifiers at the individual and household level. Where do we go from here? Google’s announcement has been characterized as a conversation starter, but we see it more as a call to action. With a timeline set, there is a need to converge on one or more solutions that can scale across the web. In a post cookie world, publishers and advertisers will continue to require ways to create fair marketplaces across platforms and devices. Further, the platforms that currently power the programmatic advertising ecosystem will need to be able to invest and differentiate to bring value to their customers. Scaled privacy-safe identity solutions will be needed not only for classic targeting, attribution, measurement, and frequency capping use cases but also to carry consumer preferences and consent. Tapad, a part of Experian will continue to play a leading role here. However, we are not going to do this alone. As solutions around Google’s Chrome browser evolve, we will continue to take a leadership position and will work with Google, key industry groups, partners and customers to meet current and future needs for an independent identity solution at scale. In the meantime, we will continue to support an independent ecosystem where consumers come first and privacy standards are a priority. It’s business as usual…for now. There will not be any changes to our graph products or services as a result of Google’s announcement in the near term. Any changes related to the Chrome third-party cookie will evolve and will no doubt be subject to significant industry participation and feed-back, indeed at the invitation of Google. We will proactively communicate any changes and product updates during this time period. We look forward to the opportunities resulting from these changes and ushering in a new era of identity resolution in digital advertising. Get started with The Tapad Graph For personalized consultation on the value and benefits of The Tapad Graph for your business, email Sales@tapad.com today!
Tapad's integration with Knorex's XPO™ platform will complement cross-channel optimization capabilities for brands and agencies in the U.S. and APAC markets NEW YORK and SINGAPORE, Dec. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Tapad, part of Experian and a global leader in digital identity resolution, has partnered with Knorex, a leading provider of digital performance marketing. Knorex's self-service online advertising platform, Knorex XPO™, enables marketers to advertise globally in real-time across different media channels, formats, platforms and devices. Tapad's global, privacy-safe digital cross-device solution, The Tapad Graph, will compliment Knorex XPO™'s own device data set for enhanced marketing capabilities. For Knorex, the integration enables their brand direct and agency customers to gain a more accurate understanding of consumers across devices to reduce campaign inefficiencies and duplication, and to effectively manage frequency capping and attribution. Abhishek Kumar, VP of Engineering at Knorex commented, "Today's digital consumer is raising the bar for marketers. With increasing marketing complexities and consumer device usage, this integration enables marketers to understand the consumer decision journey with heightened ease. Our combined offering will empower agencies in the APAC and US markets, providing an improved marketing solution that will help to streamline their efforts." Abhay Doshi, Head of APAC at Tapad added: "The Tapad Graph, when integrated with the Knorex XPO platform, should not only help U.S. and APAC marketers optimize campaign performance through cross device marketing – but also increase the opportunity for brands to reach out to their target customers within a desired time." To learn more about Tapad and our digital identity resolution capabilities, visit https://www.experian.com/marketing/consumer-sync About TapadTapad, Inc. is a global leader in digital identity resolution. The Tapad Graph and its related solutions provide a transparent, privacy-safe approach connecting brands to consumers through their devices globally. Tapad is recognized across the industry for its product innovation, workplace culture, and talent, and has earned numerous awards including One World Identity's 2019 Top 100 Influencers in Identity Award. Headquartered in New York, Tapad also has offices in Chicago, London, Oslo, Singapore, and Tokyo. About KnorexKnorex provides programmatic advertising products and technologies to advertising buyers worldwide. With its cloud-based online advertising platform, Knorex XPO™ enables ad buyers to self-serve and advertise real-time across the globe regardless of the media channels (social, search, OTT/CTV, video, web/mobile etc.), ad formats (display, native, search, social, video etc) and devices (desktop, laptop, smartphones and tablets) to deliver personalized marketing messages to the target audience in an automated way, powered by machine learning/AI. Underpinned by a multi-layered data-driven approach, XPO simplifies the execution and optimization of marketing campaigns, while delivering measurable and attributable performance. Contact us today!
Tapad, now part of Experian, technology now powers Lifesight's real world intelligence platform with cross-device and reach expansion in the Asia Pacific Region SINGAPORE, Nov. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Tapad, part of Experian and a global leader in digital identity resolution, today announced a new partnership with Lifesight, a leading provider of real world intelligence for advertisers in the Asia Pacific region (APAC). With the combined offering of The Tapad Graph, Tapad's global, privacy-safe digital cross-device solution, and Lifesight's real world intelligence platform, brands and agencies across APAC can benefit from better consumer targeting, expanded reach for targeted audiences and web-to-mobile footfall attribution. Through this multi-layered offering, Lifesight's brand and agency partners can access an omnichannel view of consumers' paths to purchase, thereby enabling them to increase the reach, measurability and ROI of their advertising campaigns. Rohit Maheswaran, Co-founder of Lifesight commented, "The consumer journey is getting increasingly more complex with ever changing digital and physical world behaviours, making it difficult for marketers to make strategic marketing spend decisions. That's why it's our mission at Lifesight to empower the brands and agencies within the APAC market to achieve better targeting and measurement capabilities, and our partnership with Tapad will help further this cause." Abhay Doshi, Head of APAC at Tapad added, "The Tapad Graph, which enables a unified view of consumers across their multiple digital devices, has a reach of 1 billion devices across the APAC market today. Paired with Lifesight's consumer insights of more than 500 million unique devices, this valuable partnership will offer the market extended consumer reach and prove beneficial to brands and advertisers across APAC who have historically struggled with resolving attribution." To learn more about Tapad and our digital identity resolution capabilities, visit www.experian.com/marketing/consumer-sync About Tapad Tapad, Inc. is a global leader in digital identity resolution. The Tapad Graph, and its related solutions, provide a transparent, privacy-safe approach connecting brands to consumers through their devices globally. Our one-of-a-kind Graph Select offering enables marketers the flexibility and freedom of choice to correlate devices to varied objectives, driving campaign effectiveness and business results. Tapad is recognized across the industry for its product innovation, workplace culture and talent, and has earned numerous awards including One World Identity's 2019 Top 100 Influencers in Identity Award. Headquartered in New York, Tapad also has offices in Chicago, London, Oslo, Singapore and Tokyo. About Lifesight: Lifesight is Asia's leading real world intelligence company that helps marketers understand, target, and measure consumers based on their real world behaviour. Lifesight's robust platform and data solutions power business decisioning, audience activation, footfall measurement, and in-depth location analytics for leading brands and enterprises. The company is headquartered in Singapore with a rapidly expanding footprint in the Asia Pacific region operating in India, Malaysia, Indonesia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. To learn more, visit https://www.lifesight.io/ Contact us today!