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.
Follow uson LinkedIn orsign up for our email newsletterfor more informative content on the latest industry insights and data-driven marketing.
What were the top themes at CES 2025?
Read our CES recap to find out.
Latest posts
Early successes include revenue increases, global partnerships and fundraising NEW YORK, March 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Tapad's entrepreneurial mentorship initiative, the Propeller Program, has seen extremely positive results since it began in September 2016. The five early-stage startups selected from Norway have gained momentum in establishing a U.S. presence. Tapad, now a part of Experian, is the leader in unified cross-device marketing technology. The company was acquired by the Telenor Group in 2016. Among the successes within Propeller: Xeneta, the leading ocean freight price comparison platform and contracted rate database, has raised an additional $12M in funding since beginning the Propeller Program. Before the end of 2016, the company had exceeded its revenue expectations by nearly 30 percent, proving the European-focused business could succeed in the American market. "Aside from directly impacting our revenue, the Propeller Program has provided us with incredible access to a countless number of external resources, including subject matter experts from the fields of fundraising, public speaking, corporate structuring and immigration law," said William Di Ieso, GM of North America for Xeneta. "We remain extremely grateful for the opportunity and exposure the program has provided for Xeneta." Bubbly, an in-store real-time engagement tool for non-buyers, now has clients on four continents. After only a few months in the U.S. market, Bubbly has signed deals with one major retail brand, one major toy manufacturer and a major global consulting firm. The Propeller Program has also opened doors for greater opportunities in Scandinavia and EMEA. After an introduction to Telenor Group's President and CEO Sigve Brekke, Bubbly is currently piloting its IoT kiosk with the company. "The mentoring sessions have been very valuable and have given us guidance as to how to best enter the U.S. market," said Marianne Haugland Hindsgaul, Bubbly CEO and co-founder. "Learning to do business in the U.S. is not something you can necessarily learn from a book. The most impactful lessons are based on real-world experience, and that is what the Propeller Program has given us." BylineMe, a marketplace for freelancers, publishers and brands to connect for content creation and distribution services, has built an extensive network of potential clients and investors. The company has tested its product in the U.S. market and gained valuable feedback for further development. Eventum, a property-sharing group that digitally assists in securing venues for meetings and corporate events, has closed a seed round of funding for nearly $1M. Eventum has also made key hires in the areas of business development and engineering. Socius, under the influence of Tapad, pivoted into the ad tech space, positioning itself as "a social native ad platform" for digital publishers. The company has attracted top talent to begin building out its U.S. business development and sales divisions. As a result, Socius has signed a host of premium publisher partners to validate its exciting new direction. "It is so rewarding to be able to support these Norwegian startups in a meaningful way," said Are Traasdahl, CEO and founder at Tapad. "Mentor relationships are critical for strategic growth, and I am proud to be able to pay forward the experiences I have gained as an entrepreneur. To me, the Propeller Program is a shining example of the magic that can happen when Norwegian innovation meets American opportunity." Contact us today!
Dive into previous holiday email insights to start prepping for the upcoming 2017 holiday campaigns.
Boost your marketing campaigns using kinetic email to develop interactive and dynamic content and increase unique and click-to-open click rates.