CES 2025 will be an exciting opportunity to explore how we can work together to shape the year ahead. Here are four themes we expect to take center stage at the event.
“There is no better way to kick off the calendar year than with clients and industry peers that are excited to collaborate on new business opportunities. People come straight off the holidays energized by CES and with a pipeline of deals to work on for the coming month. In-person meetings always trump virtual calls and everyone in the industry comes together to make it a fruitful week.”
Crystal Jacques, Head of Enterprise Partnerships
1. Addressability in a signal-loss world
Addressability has become a cornerstone in AdTech as brands aim to deliver personalized experiences while navigating evolving privacy regulations and signal loss. This shift has prompted advertisers to rethink how they reach and engage audiences. In this environment, alternative identifiers such as UID2 and ID5 have gained traction, offering brands new avenues to target consumers across platforms while respecting privacy. Addressability has shifted from a straightforward tracking mechanism to a multifaceted strategy that combines identity solutions, contextual insights, and collaboration across the ecosystem.
ID Bridging and the new OpenRTB 2.6 specs
As the industry loses identity signals, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify audiences on the supply-side and make them reachable for the demand-side.
The supply-side has used the practice of ID bridging to do just that. ID bridging is the supply-side practice of connecting the dots between available signals to infer a user’s identity and communicate it to prospective buyers. This practicesparked debate, as buyers want full transparency into the use of a deterministic identifier versus an inferred one.
“The OpenRTB 2.6 specifications are a critical step forward in ensuring transparency and trust in programmatic advertising. By aligning with these standards, we empower our partners with the tools needed to navigate a cookieless future and drive measurable results.”
Michael Connolly, CEO, Sonobi
The industry needs widely accepted standards, and that’s what we believe the industry has with the IAB Tech Lab’s OpenRTB 2.6. The specifications dictate the data the supply-side needs to include in the Primary ID and Enhanced Identifier (EID) fields. In doing so, the demand-side receives more transparent information on when bids have inferred IDs and where they came from.
As authenticated signals decrease due to cookie deprecation and other consumer privacy measures, we will continue to see a rise in inferred identifiers. Experian’s industry-leading Digital Graph has long supported both authenticated and inferred identifiers, providing the ecosystem with connections that are accurate, scalable, and addressable. Experian will continue to support the industry with its identity resolution products and is very supportive of IAB’s efforts to bring transparency to the industry around the usage of identity signals.
2. Commerce media consolidation
As the world of commerce media expands beyond traditional retail media, we’re seeing a surge of networks across various verticals—financial, travel, and beyond—all competing to capture shoppers’ attention. With each company independently building its own media network, the need for strategic partnerships has never been more evident. Key players face challenges in scaling these networks and meeting growth targets due to infrastructure and funding limitations. In response, the industry is shifting toward partnerships – and potentially consolidation – to create networks that allow advertisers to reach customers across the entire shopping journey – from digital to in-store.
To succeed, commerce media networks must form strategic partnerships to enhance their data and identity capabilities and provide advertisers with a complete view of their customer.
“With annual growth in billions of dollars, the revenue potential for RMNs is massive. Organizing customer data, segmenting customers, generating insights, creating addressable audiences, and activating campaigns are all critical steps for a RMN to realize that revenue potential. RMNs should select a partner that provides the data, identity and analytical resources to create the winning formula for marketers, customers and retailers.”
Steve Zimmerman, Director of Analytics
With Experian’s expertise in data and identity solutions, commerce media networks can overcome data fragmentation, create high-quality audiences, and maximize addressability across their entire customer base. This collaborative, partner-led approach empowers retailers to utilize their first-party customer data but not be limited by in-house resources. As the commerce media space matures, those who embrace these partnerships and data-driven solutions will be well-positioned to capture the full potential of this expanding market.
3. Navigating complex privacy regulations
With privacy concerns intensifying, consumers are more conscious about data usage, and a series of state-level privacy laws are poised to take effect across the U.S. Multiple state-level laws makes compliance more challenging for marketers since no two laws are the same. While a federal privacy law remains unlikely for 2025, discussions around data ethics, compliance, and transparency will be prominent at CES, especially as a new administration assumes office.
Our privacy-forward audience solutions
Our Geo-Indexed and Contextually-Indexed Audiences help marketers reach the right consumers while prioritizing data privacy. Created without sensitive personal information, these audiences utilize geographic and contextual signals – not personal identifiers — to offer relevant targeting. These new tools provide both privacy and accuracy, giving advertisers and publishers a competitive edge.
“By embracing innovations in geo-based targeting and adhering to responsible data strategies, you can not only comply with these laws but continue to reach your intended audiences effectively.”
Jeremy Meade, VP, Marketing Data & Operations
As privacy regulations evolve, marketers need trusted allies who can provide transparent, compliant solutions. With deep roots in data protection and security, you can confidently partner with Experian as we proactively stay ahead of regulations and strictly follow all consumer privacy laws.
4. Rise of curation
As privacy regulations and signal loss reshape the AdTech ecosystem, curation can optimize programmatic campaigns by connecting advertisers with valuable audiences. This emerging trend utilizes audience, contextual, and supply chain signals to curate high-quality inventory packages for advertisers. By blending insights with inventory, curation ensures greater addressability, efficiency, and performance for both advertisers and publishers.
Supply-side platforms (SSPs) are taking a more active role in curating audiences and inventory. SSPs now collaborate with data providers to match buyer and publisher first-party data in real-time, creating curated private marketplaces (PMPs) that deliver transparency, efficiency, and improved match rates. SSPs can send deal IDs to multiple DSPs, which allows advertisers to deploy audience-based campaigns without restrictions on which DSPs or identifiers can be used.
However, curation isn’t without challenges. It can add complexity, lead to redundant buys, and even reduce publisher control over inventory. Transparency, quality benchmarks, and strategic partnerships will be critical for maximizing the benefits of curation in 2025.
Experian, in partnership with Audigent and others, is at the forefront of enabling privacy-forward curation strategies. Experian and Audigent’s combined capabilities bring together first-party publisher data, contextual signals, and advanced identity resolution to create curated PMPs that empower marketers to deliver precise, impactful campaigns.
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Even though most kids haven’t even completed their current school year, now is the time for retailers to start preparing their 2012-2013 back-to-school marketing strategies. I remember growing up as a kid in rural Massachusetts thinking about how “back-to-school” TV ads were so irritating. Back-to-school? In July? I’m not even half way through my summer vacation! Little did I know back then that marketers like to get an early start to the back-to-school sales season by planting seeds with their target audience and hoping those seeds grow into a healthy crop of new customers. This remains true today and planting season starts even earlier. The back-to-school sales season represents a huge opportunity for marketers. Here are some facts and figures that help quantify the size of the market: According to the National Retail Federation, consumers will spend approximately $70 billion on back-to-school merchandise. About $23 billion of this is spending by parents of children in kindergarten through 12th grade. The remainder represents spending by students starting or returning to college. All told, the back-to-school season is the second largest consumer spending event for retailers outside of the winter holidays. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, this year there will be over 55 million students enrolled in schools from pre-kindergarten through high school. About 56% of these students are in grades one through eight, 28% are in high school and 15% are enrolled in preschool or kindergarten. About one-third of households contain children under age 18. That translates to roughly 38 million households. The vast majority of these contain school-age children. The back-to-school season is not just about reaching kids in elementary school, middle school, junior high school and high school. Another 20 million students are expected to be attending college. That’s a huge opportunity to sell things like dorm room furnishings, electronic gadgets and computers, just to name a few. With every marketing opportunity come certain marketing challenges. It’s never easy. Marketers of back-to-school products face their own set of challenges when vying for the attention of parents of school-age children. Here are some specific examples: Who are my key targets and how can I differentiate my marketing message? Targeting a market that includes a vast array of families with contrasting attitudes, opinions, motivations, lifestyles and shopping behaviors is incredibly challenging. Not all of these families are working from the same shopping list. And not all of these families will respond to the same marketing message. Segmenting your market into finer target audiences is highly recommended. How should my marketing budget be allocated across multiple online and offline channels? You have multiple sales and marketing channels to consider. You don’t want to build a marketing plan without a well-defined strategy for reaching your best targets. For instance, moms have a greater propensity to have a smartphone compared to the overall adult population. Thus, marketers should then be thinking about integrating mobile applications into their overall strategy. What can I do to make my message stand out above the crowd? Put yourself in the consumer’s shoes. I’m sure some of you are parents with children in school or in college. It’s a very crowded and cluttered back-to-school marketplace with many, many retailers clamoring for attention. One idea for standing above the crowd is to start by identifying your existing customers who are most likely to have families with children. Then send them an email early in the summer with suggestions for fun things to do this summer season. This can be followed up later with an email campaign containing some tips about getting ready for back-to-school. The key is to grab their attention and start engaging early. What variety of offers and promotions will enable me to capture a significant share of back-to-school expenditures? To capture your fair share of the back-to-school market you’ll need to develop offers and promotions that are both enticing and relevant. This requires learning as much as you can about your prospects and what motivates them to buy. For instance, a typical mom with elementary school-age children might enter the back-to-school season with the following thoughts: “I want to buy him the cool gear to go back to school with: new clothes, shoes, backpack and lunch box. And I don’t mind, I actually LOVE back to school shopping.”* That mom may quickly respond to your marketing message. Or, you could have a mom with these thoughts: “I’m not upper class – we’re in the lower/middle income bracket and money is tight for us. I budget for school expenses as I would anything else…and I won’t have my son miss out because ‘we can’t afford’ something… I’d give up something else first.”* She loves shopping for back-to-school, she has budget limitations, and she’s willing to make certain adjustments to her budget with the best interests of her child in mind. If you knew what she was most likely to be thinking, do you think it would influence the messaging and offers you would use to attract her? Well, of course. Attitudes shape shopping behavior. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Watch our recent webinar about planning your back-to-school marketing campaigns in style. And stay tuned for part two of my blog series on the topic in a few days. *Feedback was compiled from PHD in Parenting: http://www.phdinparenting.com/2011/08/22/who-should-pay-for-school-supplies/
Facebook has become a cultural phenomenon over the years and an object of affection for marketers to connect with its users. Experian Simmons has put together 10 consumer behavioral stats based on their National Consumer Study and New Media Study about the social networking site leading up to its Friday IPO launch: 39% of Facebook users say “this website gives me something to talk about.” Top 3 reasons Facebook users visit social networking sites: 86% to keep in touch with friends 72% for fun 66% to reconnect with/find people they’ve lost touch with 78% of Facebook users have shown support for a group or business on a social networking site. 34% of Facebook users have played games on a social networking site. Among those: 73% play social games (like Farmville, SIMS social, etc) 68% play casual games (like Bejeweled, etc) 73% play games on a social networking site once or more a day 28% of Facebook users with cell phones and 42% of Facebook users with a tablet computer have downloaded a social networking app for the device Adult residents of the following Designated Market Areas (DMAs) with 1,000,000 or more adult residents are the most likely to have visited Facebook in the last 7 days: ) Seattle-Tacoma, WA Austin, TX Salt Lake City, UT Portland, OR Washington, DC 15% of Facebook visitors follow a musical group on a social networking site, 14% follow a TV show, 11% follow a newspaper or news outlet and 4% follow a magazine. The average Facebook user is 39.3 years old. The average Facebook user claims an annual household income of $69,900 with annual household spending on discretionary goods and services of $15,500. Hispanic users of Facebook are 55% more likely than non-Hispanic users to say they like to follow their favorite brands or companies on social networking sites. Don’t miss 15 stats about Facebook, previously posted on the Experian Marketing services blog. . For more information like the data provided above please download the Experian Marketing Services 2012 Digital Marketer report.
Today, it costs more than $40 to send a five pound package from the U.S. to Canada or Mexico. The cost to Europe or South America is even more expensive. For U.S. companies operating on a global scale, such as retail specialists or ecommerce organizations, address accuracy is crucial. Organizations can’t afford undeliverable mail and packages due to a wrong address – the total cost would be unmanageable. Mistakes happen frequently, whether it is an error by the company or the customer. If a mistake is made, companies can’t ask the customer to cover delivery fees, leaving the organization with the bill. Retailers must also consider potential delays due to long distances and custom checks. Altogether, address errors result in a poor customer experience and a decrease in efficiency. Implementing international address verification will save money, time and improve the customer experience. By combining primary address data from national postal authorities with partner-supplied data, businesses can verify international addresses from countries all around the world.