Every year, the Experian team attends the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas to study the latest technological advancements and innovations that shape the AdTech industry. The energy at CES 2025 was palpable, with a whirlwind of conversations around artificial intelligence (AI), connected TV (CTV), privacy-first solutions, and sustainability in advertising. Here are four standout themes from this year’s event.
1. The AI evolution: More buzzwords, but growing potential
AI dominated discussions this year, but the gap between hype and practical application was still evident. While some vendors showcased innovative tools for campaign optimization and audience creation, much of the buzz felt aspirational.
The use of AI to generate audiences based on new types of data is a promising sign of things to come. Data providers, including those collaborating with Experian, are beginning to test AI tools to enhance audience accuracy and scale. The AI space still feels frenetic, but the potential for transformative change is undeniable.
“AI was a hot topic, with discussions ranging from campaign optimization tools to audience selection. While many leaned on buzzwords, there were glimpses of legitimate use cases.”
Brooke Logan, VP of Data Strategy and Partnerships
2. CTV: A race for quality and curation
CTV remained a popular topic at CES, particularly around the challenges of fragmentation and scale. Sellers are grappling with an oversupply of inventory, leading to a renewed focus on curation. Conversations highlighted the importance of premium audiences, brand safety, and identity resolution. In the fragmented CTV landscape, advertisers want to be able to define an audience once, have that audience be highly addressable, and then activate everywhere.
One standout theme was the shift in CTV monetization strategies. With linear TV revenues declining, major publishers are exploring ways to maximize yields on streaming platforms. Direct-sold premium inventory still reigns, but programmatic is gaining traction—a trend we’re seeing driven by publishers seeking scalable solutions.
“CTV remains fragmented. While premium inventory is largely direct-sold, big publishers are exploring ways to boost yield on streaming as linear revenue declines.”
Lauren Portell, Sr. Account Executive, Advanced TV
3. Privacy-first solutions
The regulatory landscape continues to evolve, and advertisers are responding with innovative, privacy-centric methodologies. For industries like healthcare, privacy-first solutions are being developed from the ground up to comply with current and future regulations. The emphasis on cookieless and contextual advertising remains strong, with data providers utilizing first-party data to enrich audience targeting strategies.
“Providers across verticals that are typically more sensitive are developing methodologies from the ground up based on current and future potential privacy regulations.”
Adam Kobus, Director of Data Partnerships
4. Eco-conscious advertising: Building a sustainable future
Sustainability emerged as a growing focus, as indicated by initiatives like Scope3 and Experian’s own carbon reduction goals. Companies are exploring ways to reduce the environmental impact of ad serving and data management. For example, platforms like AdGood are transforming unused CTV inventory into opportunities for non-profit initiatives. While not strictly eco-focused, these efforts signal a shift toward more conscientious advertising practices.
“Sustainability is gaining attention, with efforts to reduce the carbon footprint through eco-conscious advertising, data management practices, and ad serving.”
Erin Wolf, Sr. Account Executive, Demand Partnerships
The buzz around Experian
The launch of the Experian marketplace and the Audigent acquisition were major talking points, underscoring Experian’s commitment to innovation in AdTech. Together, Experian and Audigent will be an end-to-end solution where publishers big and small can empower marketers to better understand their customers, create precise audience segments, and activate those audiences across the best inventory.
Likewise, Experian’s new data marketplace connects TV operators, programmers, supply partners, and demand platforms with top-tier third-party audiences across retail, CPG, health, B2B, and location intelligence. All audiences delivered from our marketplace benefit from our best-in-class offline and digital identity graphs, which ensure addressability across all channels like display, mobile, and CTV.
An exciting year ahead
CES 2025 underscored the rapid evolution of the advertising ecosystem. From AI to CTV and privacy-first solutions, the industry is adapting to new challenges and opportunities. As Experian continues to lean into these trends, our role in powering data-driven advertising through connectivity remains more focused than ever.
We’re excited to see how these themes will evolve throughout the year and look forward to collaborating with our partners to shape the future of digital advertising. Follow us on LinkedIn or sign up for our email newsletter for more informative content on the latest industry insights and data-driven marketing.
Latest posts
Tapad expands linear TV analytics solution, enabling optimal reach and frequency across TV and digital platforms NEW YORK, Jan. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Tapad, now a part of Experian, has partnered with WideOrbit, the leading provider of advertising management software for media companies, to develop the industry's first programmatic TV-buying platform powered by a device graph. Tapad is the leading provider of unified, cross-screen marketing technology solutions and was first to market with a device graph, the Tapad Device Graph™. WideOrbit's robust supply platform and industry-leading footprint offers access to premium TV inventory on top networks, reaching more than 99 million households across local affiliates. The partnership pairs Tapad's demand-side technology with WideOrbit's supply-side inventory. As a result, marketers can leverage cross-device audiences in their TV buys for the first time. Additionally, integrating the Tapad Device Graph™ with digital feedback loops and audiences both accelerates optimization and enables precise audience discovery for TV marketers. "The integration of WideOrbit's quality TV supply takes orchestrated cross-screen media buys to the next level," said Marshall Wong, Tapad's SVP of TV market development. "Marketers can now optimize TV campaigns within days instead of weeks. This also untethers them from buying against generic demographics like age and gender. By allowing brands to employ their own CRM or third-party data, we can move them much closer to audiences who will take action." "Integrating Tapad's device graph with WideOrbit's programmatic marketplace delivers enormous value to marketers looking to add TV to cross-device campaigns," said Ian Ferreira, EVP of programmatic at WideOrbit. "Television still delivers the most efficient reach of any medium, and Tapad's platform now allows marketers to purchase premium broadcast inventory that extends the power of cross-screen campaigns to TV with a single, unified solution." "Our clients build lasting relationships with consumers through thoughtful and pioneering marketing," said Jeff Giacchetti, VP of digital at Mediavest Spark. "The strategic partnership of demand-side technology and supply-side inventory makes it easier for brands to find efficient, incremental reach and are critical in this endeavor." For more information about Tapad's cross-platform advertising solutions, please visit https://www.experian.com/marketing/consumer-sync Contact us today!
The top of the year is always a great time of reflection. As our team has been excitedly preparing for our first webinar of 2017, I’ve been able to reflect on the many changes I’ve seen happen internally and externally in the digital marketing landscape, especially those related to shifting roles and breadth of knowledge. Nearly twenty years ago, when I was first getting started, most marketers knew the four Ps (price, product, promotion and place). We used to be able to come up with ideas, execute in a couple of channels, pop a bottle, and celebrate success. Tech folks tended to develop software based on requirements developed by project managers and engineers, and congratulated themselves when a project was fully tested, and delivered on time and under budget (with few, if any, bugs). Then came the big disruption of the digital age. And the lines between marketing and technology became blurred. The marriage of marketing and technology increasingly requires shared responsibilities and deeper knowledge of both areas. Marketers must be much more versed in technology and how it exists to provide support in reaching distracted and elusive customers. Developers must understand fundamental marketing concepts and be open to approaching enhancements based on how a new feature would solve real-life marketing challenges. If either of these stakeholders say “that’s not my job”, and refuses to learn, the brand’s ability to provide a consistent, customer-centric experience will suffer. Ultimately, no matter how many systems are in place, human beings—from your internal team to your audience—guide programs. That being said, personal development—from classes to reading books and blogs to networking—is critical and something you MUST make time for, whether you’re the email marketing manager or the director of product development. But let’s be real: in the busyness of daily life, you probably can’t get away from your desk for lunch most days. However, even if you have to slot time on your Outlook calendar, it is worth it in order to foster a broader and more accurate view of your program and the industry. This curious and thirsty mindset is also a top predictor of success (assuming you aren’t born into a dynasty). Don’t believe me? The greatest minds of our time, from Warren Buffett to Oprah Winfrey spend a LOT of time on personal growth through a very simple activity…reading[i]. So how can you be a lifelong learner, build your skills and stand out from the crowd professionally? Take your growth by the reins and do the following: Attend webinars: There are webinars related to everything from how to give webinars, to specific areas including contextual marketing and testing. Tip: Try not to multi-task during the webinar, to be sure you are fully immersed in the content. Attend industry conferences: Get around likeminded people who speak your language. Be inspired and challenged by learning what they do in their own verticals, and repurposing it to fit your audience, as appropriate. Blogs, whitepapers: At least bi-weekly, take time to expose yourself to thought leadership. I get a lot of great ideas and industry knowledge from what others talk about—not that I always agree, but that’s the point: surround yourself with other ideas. But remember, you only get to know those ideas by purposefully exposing yourself to them. Internal relationship building – My mother’s example at work became my template once I joined corporate America. She got to know everyone on campus at Loyola Marymount, from professors to nuns, staff and students. It gave her a great idea of who did what outside of her wheelhouse, and expanded her overall knowledge. It has served me well to get to know everyone in my organization – in speaking with tech folks, I gain a deeper understanding of how our software works and what the plans are, and vice versa (they get more insight as to how we are actually using our technology, and what would truly be helpful on a daily basis). In your own organization, you’ll learn to navigate personalities and roles when you seek out colleagues who are communicating with your audience across other channels. Ideally, you’ll be able to share resources, gain inspiration, and build efficiencies all around. Don’t forget – you are an important part of your company’s success and, just like your marketing programs and technology enhancements, you must also be continually developed. I dug more into personal development and how it fits into your overall campaign strategy in our January webinar, Trends are Dead Ends: Create a clear road to success with our 2017 planning tips. My co-host was Justin Foster, co-Founder of Liveclicker, and we took a deep dive into tried and true strategic and tactical tips to help make you and your marketing programs successful in the coming year. Our webinar definitely steered away from trends and towards the basics, and being a lifelong learner is a basic for success. If you didn't get a chance to catch it, you can view it here! [i] Observer article, “Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Oprah Winfrey All Use the 5-Hour Rule” by Michael Simmons
Global Engineering Team Staffing Up New Oslo Hub; Nordic Operational Team Also Slated for Q1'17 NEW YORK, Jan. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Tapad, now a part of Experian, the leader in cross-device marketing technology, is opening an office in downtown Oslo, Norway, effective January 16, 2017. This development reflects Tapad's continued growth following its acquisition by the Telenor Group in early 2016. Tapad Oslo will be comprised of a globally-focused engineering team as well as an upcoming operational headquarters for the region. Jeff Olchovy, a senior Tapad developer and one of its earliest employees, will forge the company's Nordic engineering presence by supporting the build-out of the team. The initial hiring plan of more than 20 open positions includes roles such as Head of Engineering, Senior Software Engineers and Solution Engineers. Plans for Tapad's Nordic Region business line, including its leadership, will be announced within the first quarter of 2017. "Given the caliber of technical talent and our extensive network in the region, Oslowas the logical choice at this stage of our growth," says Dag Liodden, Tapad CTO and co-founder. "This enables us to continue building out our innovative team on a global scale in a region that is close to our hearts and minds." In collaboration with its New York-based developers, Tapad's Oslo-based engineers will continue to advance the company's renowned product portfolio, such as the Tapad Device Graph™. An early adopter of Scala and big data processing technologies, Tapad has long been an influencer in U.S. tech. "As the head of our platform group, which daily processes several petabytes of data and is the foundation for all of our real-time systems, Jeff is a highly respected engineer," said Pål Høye, Tapad's senior vice president of engineering. "Given his experience and skillset, he is ideally suited to find and lead an innovative team focused on building the industry-leading products we are known for." Tapad has 15 offices in six countries with more than 200 employees worldwide. For more information on Tapad and to explore open positions, visit www.experian.com/careers/ In 2016, Tapad launched an entrepreneurial mentorship initiative, the Propeller Program, which selected five Norwegian startups to share Tapad's New York Cityworkspace, receive C-level guidance and help establish a U.S. presence. To learn more about the Propeller Program, visit www.tapad.com/propeller-program. About TapadTapad Inc. is a marketing technology firm renowned for its breakthrough, unified, cross-device solutions. With 91.2% data accuracy confirmed by Nielsen, the company offers the largest in-market opportunity for marketers and technologies to address the ever-evolving reality of media consumption on smartphones, tablets, home computers and smart TVs. Deployed by agency trading desks, publishers and numerous Fortune 500 brands, Tapad provides an accurate, unified approach to connecting with consumers across screens. In 2015, Tapad began aggressively licensing its identity management solution, the Tapad Device Graph™, and swiftly became the established gold-standard throughout the ad tech ecosystem. Tapad is based in New York and has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit,Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Toronto. Tapad's numerous awards include: EY Entrepreneur of The Year (East Coast) 2014, among Forbes' Most Promising Companies two year's running, Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, Crain's Fast 50, Entrepreneur 360, Digiday Signal Award, iMedia ASPY Award and a MarCom Gold Award.