Every year, the Experian team attends the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, to immerse ourselves in the world’s most significant consumer tech showcase and stay at the forefront of the latest technological advancements and innovations that shape the AdTech industry. This year’s event was a vibrant melting pot of innovation and vision, from streamers taking a bigger bite of the advertising pie to the emergence of AI-powered solutions and drone delivery services. Amidst these advancements, the dynamic interplay of technology, media, and advertising raised important questions, especially in the context of evolving regulations and cookie deprecation.
During CES, we captured insights from various thought leaders, and in the coming months, we’ll be sharing these valuable perspectives with you. Watch the video below for full insights coming from our content studio onsite during the event.
Or, keep reading for a recap on four key trends from CES and what they mean for your business in 2024!
“My first CES was a major success. You could feel the buzz in the air as new ideas and partnerships were being created within and across industries. The intersection of the different players within retail media, connected TV, retail technology, the demand and supply-side, and agencies all in an ever-changing world of regulation and privacy begs for a solution that can maximize a successful outcome for all.”
anne passon, sr director, sales, retail & cpg
1. Audience targeting: How first- and third-party data work together
A central theme at CES was the importance of audience targeting, highlighting the crucial role of first-party data. However, it’s clear that to maximize its potential, this data needs to be augmented with sophisticated identity solutions and enriched with third-party insights, all while navigating the complexities of privacy regulations. This integrated approach is vital to understanding audiences and for creating more effective marketing strategies that comply with privacy regulations.
2. Standardizing metrics in retail media networks
The challenges around retail media networks, particularly in terms of standardizing metrics like incremental return on ad spend (iROAS), were a hot topic at CES. This complexity around this topic underscores the need for neutral, expert third parties to help bring clarity and consensus, aiding businesses in navigating this multifaceted domain.
3. The challenge of switching data solutions
Discussions covered the broader challenges associated with transitioning to new data solutions. For businesses, this involves a critical assessment of the benefits versus the costs and complexities of adopting new platforms or systems. This decision-making process is increasingly significant as data strategies become integral to marketing success.
4. Identity solutions in a cookieless future
With the industry moving toward a cookieless future, the spotlight at CES was on the importance of robust identity solutions. Understanding the functionality and necessity of various universal IDs is essential to minimize data loss and maintain effective targeting. Investing in flexible and adaptable identity solutions like the Experian Graph is essential to maintain effective targeting and audience engagement in this new landscape.
Announcements and advertising innovations at CES 2024
CES was a stage for significant announcements and innovative marketing initiatives:
- Criteo and Albertsons announced their collaboration in retail media.
- Instacart’s partnership with Google for enhanced shopping ads and AI shopping carts.
- NBCUniversal’s advancements in streamlining programmatic advertising.
Brands like Netflix, LG, Freewheel, and Amazon Ads also captured attention with their creative marketing strategies, ranging from unique collaborations to themed promotions and captivating events.
These insights from CES provide a glimpse into the future of technology, media, and advertising. They highlight the need for adaptability, innovation, and informed decision-making in these dynamic industries, especially in the context of privacy regulations. Stay tuned for our series of posts where we’ll dive deeper into these topics, sharing exclusive insights from industry thought leaders.
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It’s almost that time of the year again, the time to put away fourth of July merchandise and replace it with this year's favorite superhero backpacks. It’s almost back-to-school season, and parents and kids from kindergarten to college are preparing for school's "new normal." To navigate the challenge of 2021, Experian’s Marketing Analytics team is sharing Back-to-School shopping season insights with you. Download the eBook to learn more. Our outlook about this year's Back-to-School shopping season can help you better plan and improve your marketing effectiveness. The report covers who's actively shopping for school supplies, whether they're shopping in-person or online, and what they're buying this year. Here's a summary of what you'll learn in the report: Who (specifically) is shopping for back-to-school supplies this year? More than half of online searches related to Back-to-School were made by a small set of consumer segments. We’ve identified 4 Mosaic® groups as being in-market for back-to-school merchandise. To find these types of consumers, we used online behavioral data and filtered for households with school-age children between 5 and 15 years old. Each group, such as Flourishing Families, share similar shopping behaviors and needs. While each group of consumers has a need for Back-to-School merchandise, they have different circumstances that require more personalized marketing. Let's break down each Mosaic® group to better understand their size and key features so that you can build more personalized messaging. Contact us for segments and insights specific to your brand. Power Elite As you can see in our Mosaic® product brochure, Power Elite is categorized as Group A. This is the largest group analyzed in the report, accounting for 4.5 million U.S. households. Here are the Power Elite consumer types actively shopping for back-to-school merchandise this year: A01: American Royalty A03: Kids and Cabernet A04: Picture Perfect Families Key Features: Wealthy Highly Educated Politically conservative Purchase housewares and electronics in store Vacation and fitness retail influencers Luxury lease cars Flourishing Families Also called Group B in this report, Flourishing Families is comprised of 3.7 million U.S. households. Active consumer types: B07: Across the Ages B08: Babies and Bliss B09: Family Fun-tastic Key Features: Affluent Charitable contributors Athletic activities High-priced children’s clothing Home products & furnishings Sporting good Suburban Style Suburban Style, also Group D, is made up of 2.9 million U.S. households. Active consumer types: D15: Sport Utility Families D16: Settled in Suburbia Key Features: Comfortable lifestyle Ethnically diverse Politically diverse Instagrammers Children’s games Wholesale members Family Union The Family Union group, Group I, is the smallest of those analyzed in this report, but still a respectable size: 1.2 million U.S. households. Active consumer types: I31: Hard Working Values Key Features: Bilingual Married with kids Large households Hunting clothing Automotive tools Will they shop online or in stores? Prepare for a return to in-store shopping as the US moves post-pandemic. These consumers have shopped in-store for Back-to-School and have trended toward in-store shopping as the vaccine was distributed. Mobile location data shows these consumers actively shopped in-person during the 2019 Back-to-School season, and are shopping in-person again post-pandemic. Experian analyzed consumer mobile location data for big box retailers, department stores, malls and apparel-accessory stores since June 2019. The aggregated number of visits was indexed each month against 12-month average of that respective year. An index higher than 100 indicates shopping behavior that month was higher than the average of that year. An index less than 100 indicates shopping behavior that month was less than the average of that year. Planning store layouts and inventory will be more important this year for marketers as consumers return to the stores for Back-to-School shopping needs. What will they buy? Plan for Back-to-School product composition to be like pre-pandemic while you plan your inventory. Keep an eye on local outbreak risk which dictates whether school districts will pivot to remote learning. Product composition during the 2020 Back-to-School season was skewed away from apparel and towards virtual learning materials, such as home office supplies and technology, but should revert to pre-pandemic behaviors. Using ConsumerViewTM Transactional data, we compared consumer product composition during the 2019 and 2020 back-to-school shopping seasons. Children’s Apparel and Accessories: share was smaller in 2020, and was a more dramatic impact for Groups A, B, and D. Books: Groups B and D saw an increased share in 2020, but Groups A and I saw little change. Home Office: share was greater in 2020 for all groups, particularly Group A. Computers: share was greater in 2020 for all segments, particularly Group I Want to learn more? Improve your marketing ROI and grow your business during back-to-school season using Experian’s new Discovery Platform. No sign-up required: watch the demo to learn how retailers like you can use The Discovery Platform™ to track online versus in-store shopping and safely navigate evolving back-to-school consumer behaviors.
Third-party cookies have been a crucial component in people-based advertising and digital identity. With Google's recent announcement of delaying third-party cookie deprecation to 2024, the industry has more time to rethink how to effectively identify and communicate with consumers when the time comes. Preparing for cookie deprecation Solving for the post-cookie world is mission critical, particularly as consumer expectation for a relevant digital experience is heightened. We’ve seen a number of industry participants, including brands, publishers, data providers and technology platforms, work around the clock to find an alternative to third-party cookies—one that amasses the same scale and reach but also maintains consumer privacy. In fact, industry insights echo that sentiment. According to a white paper from Winterberry Group, Collaborative Data Solutions: The Evolution of Identity in a Privacy-First, Post-Cookie World, sponsored in part by Experian, one of the most frequently heard comments was the urgency for the industry to develop post-cookie, privacy compliant solutions that work in a more integrated manner. And if there was one overarching position regarding the research into the future of identity, it’s that collaboration is key. Participants in the white paper expressed that with the elimination of third-party cookies, there will be a surge in collaborative solutions across and within companies to accommodate changes in the digital marketplace. Collaborative data solutions must move beyond new post-cookie identity replacements and encompass more holistic approaches, including first-party data. First-party data sharing Currently, 64.3 percent of organizations in the US collaborate with other organizations to share first-party data for insights, activation, measurement or attribution, and 16.7 percent in the U.S. have plans to. Virtually all US companies surveyed were aware of the option to collaborate with other organizations and expressed openness to discussions around sharing first-party data. What is the solution to third-party cookie deprecation? The deprecation of third-party cookies is creating a shock in the marketing and advertising world because there has been an over-dependence on one type of identifier. Therefore, the solution to identify consumers across the digital ecosystem will not come from a single replacement for third-party cookies. Instead, it will rely on a combination of solutions, including collaborative data between organizations and implementation of proprietary first-party data strategies, as well as a framework that can connect all these touchpoints together. Experian can help you navigate the cookieless future Experian is focused on building a more effective advertising ecosystem that promotes the interoperability of digital touchpoints while enabling and fostering new innovations in a privacy forward way. Contact us today and get started with building connected identity in the ever-changing data landscape. To learn more, watch the recording of our webinar with The Vitamin Shoppe where we discuss identity and how you can drive more addressable audience strategies amidst diminishing data signals.
As today’s digital landscape gets more and more complicated there are more ways for brands to connect with users and drive purchases and more ways for ad tech to target and measure those touch points. As in-person shopping picks up steam due to the re-normalization of society post-COVID 19; the connection between digital ads and in-person purchases needs to be made once again. With the rise of Connected TV throughout the pandemic there are even more digital opportunities to target a user. But how do you make sure that those brand engagements are captured and correctly attributed to offline purchases and conversions? The answer lies in a holistic identity resolution strategy. Cross-device identity resolution with The Tapad Graph connects the identifiers and devices of individuals within a household to each other; enabling targeting, frequency capping, extension, segmentation and measurement or attribution between devices; including Connected TV and hashed (privacy-protected) email addresses along with Cookies, Mobile Ad Ids and IP Address. Brands can join their first-party data to The Tapad Graph to execute strategies that connect online and offline data for pre, mid and post-campaign efficiencies. Let’s imagine a scenario in which an outdoor retail brand is targeting users watching specific content on a Connected TV device. Powered by identity resolution, they start with a general ad on CTV and continue targeting down individual paths with each user. When one of them converts in store and makes a purchase; the outdoor retailer can connect that action through location and in-store traffic data with the cross-device identity resolution used to execute the digital campaign. Now the actions of the user online and offline are resolved for more accurate measurement and attribution after the campaign ends. But it doesn’t stop there– the brand's CRM data can be reactivated for the next digital campaign and leveraged to capitalize on the most effective media mix for the user who made the purchase previously. These combined insights can be invaluable in shaping up future campaign strategies with geo-contextual ads, recommended additional products and personalization to help drive more conversions and purchases in-store or online. As in-person shopping picks back up and marketers are tasked once again with balancing online and in-store KPIs, the right identity resolution strategy can unlock necessary efficiencies for retailers, ad tech vendors and agencies tasked with supporting these initiatives. 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!