Five considerations for the future of addressability and personalization

Brands are increasingly focused on offering personalized experiences while respecting consumer privacy. Addressability enables them to reach specific audiences with relevant messages, and personalization crafts unique content that aligns with each audience’s interests and needs. By combining these strategies, brands can create more relevant and effective marketing campaigns.

With new regulations and signal loss reshaping the landscape, alternative identifiers like the ID5 ID and The Trade Desk’s Unified I.D. 2.0 (UID2) are gaining importance. These tools give advertisers a more holistic view of consumers across channels, enhancing personalization and addressability even as traditional third-party cookies lose relevance.

To shed light on this topic, we interviewed experts from Audigent, Basis Technologies, CvE, ID5, MiQ and others. They shared insights on navigating privacy, utilizing new identifiers, and enhancing personalization with consent. Drawing from their perspectives, we’ve identified five considerations to help brands adapt and succeed in this evolving landscape.

1. Embrace a privacy-centric approach

With the increasing focus on consumer data protection, prioritizing privacy in your addressability efforts is essential. Implement strict data guidelines to protect personally identifiable information (PII) and maintain compliance with state-specific regulations.

To achieve this, empower consumers by providing clear and transparent choices about data sharing and honoring their preferences. Avoid targeting based on protected categories or sensitive information. By adopting a privacy-first mindset, you can build consumer trust while still delivering relevant advertising experiences.

“It’s important to champion consumer privacy and the free internet. We need to strike a balance between the two. This balance is essential for our jobs, the economy, news, politics, and all the valuable content and information we rely on.”

Drew Stein, Audigent

2. Personalize with consent

Consumers are more willing to share their information when they see clear benefits. In fact, over half of shoppers—and two-thirds of Gen X and Millennials—express a desire to receive holiday shopping deals directly from their preferred brands¹. By offering value through loyalty programs, special offers, or interactive platforms, you can personalize experiences without compromising privacy.

To implement this strategy, encourage consumers to share their preferences and needs by being transparent and giving them control over their data. This approach builds trust, empowers your audience, and enhances personalization.

“Building personalization based on the data consumers have consented to share should lead to a positive experience that drives better engagement because it’s relevant to them.”

April Weeks, Basis Technologies

3. Personalize with contextual targeting

Contextual targeting involves delivering ads based on the content users are currently engaging with rather than user identifiers. By focusing on personalization through contextual targeting and dynamic content, you can align your strategies with your audience’s real needs and interests. This approach allows advertisers to reach consumers on websites with more visitors matching the demographics, behaviors, or interests they want to target.

“Personalization absolutely can thrive. We have various solutions, all utilizing IDs for targeting and personalization. Beyond that, we can also personalize using context, geo-contextual data, and creative strategies.”

Georgiana Haig, MiQ

4. Use alternative identifiers

As advertisers move beyond third-party cookies, exploring alternative identifiers offers reliable means to connect with consumers. Options like email addresses or device IDs provide direct connections, improving targeting accuracy.

Utilize identity graphs to link different signals and identifiers to establish strong ties to individual users or households. This approach maintains, and can even enhance, your ability to reach the right audience and measure campaign performance.

“It’s not just about maintaining addressability. It’s about massively improving addressability. When we run tests with some of our clients, they’re seeing 30, 40, 50, 60% incremental reach by using ID5 versus cookies.”

Mathieu Roche, ID5

5. Build partnerships

Navigating the complexities of addressability doesn’t have to be a solo effort. Partnerships between brands, publishers, and tech providers can lead to innovative solutions that benefit everyone.

Consider engaging in data partnerships to access new audience segments without maintaining extensive data. Collaborations focused on your tech stack can enhance your ability to deliver personalized content effectively and at scale.

“The rise of second-party data partnerships is going to be an interesting trend over the next couple of years. And if you need mass scale across the world, I think that’s a much more cost effective and scalable way to do it.”

Paul Frampton, CvE

Steering toward success

The future of addressability and personalization hinges on your ability to adapt to the changing privacy landscape while delivering meaningful, personalized experiences. By focusing on these five key considerations, you can navigate the complexities of modern advertising, build stronger relationships with consumers, and drive sustainable growth.

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Footnote

1. Online survey conducted in June, 2024 among n=1,000 U.S. adults 18+. Sample balanced to look like the general population on key demographics (age, gender, household income, ethnicity, and region).

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