
In this article…
Digital marketers face an ongoing challenge in the form of “walled gardens,” closed online ecosystems where it is difficult to access user data. As we get ready for 2024, it’s more important than ever for marketers to evaluate the current challenges and opportunities surrounding walled gardens and to take stock of the impact of walled gardens in marketing as an industry.
What is a walled garden?
A walled garden is a closed online ecosystem controlled entirely by one tech company. Advertising on these ecosystems is fairly locked down, as major tech companies with walled gardens tend to tightly control access to the user data, content, and advertising that appears within the ecosystems.
Some examples of walled garden ecosystems include Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple. These walled gardens have particular advantages, like access to massive user bases and precise targeting within the individual ecosystems. It can also be difficult to reach said audiences outside of the ecosystems, reducing the amount of control you have over your advertising strategies.
Learn more about walled gardens.
Learn the differences between walled gardens and hedged gardens.
Integrated marketing is more important than ever
Today, it’s become more crucial to connect with consumers over multiple touchpoints, which can be done from tech like connected TV (CTV) to websites, mobile devices, and even shopping in a physical store. However, as integrated marketing gains utility, many platforms with walled garden ecosystems have increased, making a truly integrated and personalized marketing strategy more difficult in many situations. As a result, many marketers have realized the value of a more streamlined marketing approach, emphasizing the importance of fully integrated advertising strategies.
Though there are surely marketing advantages to gain from walled garden ecosystems, especially in audience size, the challenges they pose will require you to innovate and find more creative ways to engage with your audience from platform to platform.
Perspectives on walled gardens from Cannes Lions 2023
Offering a poignant view of industry trends and ideas, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity of 2023 had much to say about the significance of walled gardens in the marketing world. Let’s look at two key takeaways from this year’s festival.
Retail media
In recent years, many retail companies have started selling ad space within their own walled garden shopping platforms, dubbed “retail media.” Platforms like Amazon and Walmart have developed their own particular advertising ecosystems where they sell ads to marketers within the shopping environment itself.
Navigating the sell-side of retail media’s walled gardens
While retail media offers marketers unique opportunities, it’s not without its challenges. For one, ad space in these environments is limited, so the competition can be difficult on the sell-side, leading to higher ad costs. Additionally, this shift in dynamic also forces marketers to change how they prioritize their marketing channels, looking closer at the results of their efforts rather than focusing on particular channels within the platforms themselves.
Opportunities in the buy-side of retail media’s walled gardens
Brands on the buy-side see various benefits from advertising within retail media channels and walled gardens. By browsing in an online shopping environment, the users in these ecosystems are likely high-intent shoppers, people who are further down the sales funnel and who are ready to make a purchase soon. Shoppers can also be precisely targeted within these environments, as marketers are given the ability to access very specific audience segments based on details like shopping behavior, preferences, and even purchase history.
Omnichannel marketing
To more effectively engage audiences even among an abundance of walled garden ecosystems, speakers at the 2023 Cannes Lions Festival discussed the importance of omnichannel marketing. By emphasizing strategies that reach the consumer through multiple touchpoints, marketers can deliver a unified brand experience across channels. This allows marketers to focus more on results than specific advertising channels, including walled garden platforms.
Walled gardens aren’t going away in the near future
Though various challenges are associated with walled gardens in advertising, they aren’t going anywhere. So, what’s the current state of these environments throughout the industry?
Efforts are being made to break down walled gardens in tech
In a handful of countries, regulatory actions have been put forward to address how dominant many major tech companies are in their respective markets. One major example of this is Meta and Google’s entanglements in Canada. Currently, neither company can display news on their websites in the Canadian market. This decision was reached to give Canadian news agencies more control over their advertising revenue since, previously, the tech giants received more views and, therefore, gained the ad revenue. Though relatively small, this does indicate a certain shift in dynamic.
Why companies are resisting
Despite their challenges, walled gardens in 2023 persisted, mainly because they are particularly adept at generating revenue for the tech companies that control them. In 2022, 78 percent of global digital advertising revenue came from these closed ecosystems, and projections expect that figure to rise to 83 percent by 2027. From the viewpoint of a company that operates in a walled garden, the idea of releasing their control over their environment represents losing out on a stream of vast revenue, making letting go of a walled garden ecosystem an unattractive prospect.
The future of walled gardens
As time progresses, what can digital marketers like you expect from walled garden ecosystems in the near future?
A cookieless future
A huge element to consider is the transition to a cookieless future. Many major browsers have begun phasing out the use of third-party cookies. In the wake of this decision, many are looking for reasonable alternatives that allow for behavior tracking and more personalized advertising experiences. Solutions like Experian’s identity resolution can provide a strong alternative option, allowing marketing strategies to adapt to the current landscape.
An influx of mini gardens
You should also anticipate the proliferation of various smaller, specialized walled garden ecosystems in the future. These so-called “mini gardens” specialize in more niche audiences and industries, and they can present their own challenges and opportunities.
Alternative IDs
As you search for new identification methods outside cookies, various alternatives have presented themselves, requiring further exploration and experimentation. Among these are privacy-compliant solutions like Unified ID 2.0, which allow you to serve more personalized ads without compromising the consumer’s privacy.
Navigating the evolving landscape of walled gardens in 2024
As we begin 2024, you will continue facing opportunities and challenges regarding walled gardens. The 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity re-emphasized how important it is for marketers to stress omnichannel marketing within walled garden environments and become well acquainted with identity resolution solutions as we move into a cookie-less future. All of this requires you to become comfortable with walled gardens being here to stay and innovate to navigate an evolving and developing landscape.
We’re here to help you navigate the evolving landscape of walled gardens in 2024. Contact us today.
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As Earth Day approaches, it’s the perfect opportunity for marketers to explore innovative ways to engage with eco-conscious customers. With a strong and growing interest in sustainable business practices worldwide, green audiences are becoming increasingly influential. In addition to being good for the planet, engaging these customers is great for any brand or organization striving to become more eco-friendly and socially responsible. By taking advantage of this timely event and using appropriate tools, you can create personalized campaigns that will both promote your brand and increase customer loyalty. Eco-conscious audiences In this blog post, we'll cover three eco-conscious audiences to target this Earth Day: Solar energy GreenAwareTM Electric vehicles Solar energy Our first eco-conscious audience is Solar energy. Consumers in this audience show an inclination toward harnessing the power of the sun as a clean, renewable energy source. Our audience data can provide valuable insights into the Solar energy consumer base, including their age, education level, occupation, household income, and communication preferences. Let's explore these metrics to better understand how to reach this group effectively. Age and living situation Consumers in our Solar energy audience are more likely to live in a home with two or more adults and are between the ages of 45-74. Education level and occupation Consumers in our Solar energy audience are more likely to have graduated from college or graduate school and work in management-level occupations. Household income Consumers in our Solar energy audience have household incomes of more than $75,000 and their homes are valued at over $550,000. Preferred engagement channels Consumers in our Solar energy audience are most receptive to ads served through digital channels like digital newspapers and email. Solar energy audience pairings Consumers in our Solar energy audience also belong to three of our Mosaic® USA groups: Power Elite Flourishing Families Booming with Confidence Our consumer segmentation portal of 126 million households and 650 lifestyle and interest attributes empowers marketers like you to precisely target your ideal audience and communicate with them on a personal level. Mosaic’s data segments the U.S. into 19 overarching groups and 71 underlying types, giving you the insights needed to anticipate the behavior, attitudes, and preferences of your most profitable customers and communicate with them on their preferred channels, with messaging that resonates. Learn more about Mosaic GreenAware Our second eco-conscious audience is GreenAware. GreenAware segments the 126 million U.S. households within Consumer View into four distinct groups. Each group differs in their attitudes and behaviors toward purchasing products that are environmentally safe and working with companies that are eco-conscious. We created these groups using an enhanced application of traditional statistical clustering techniques based on environmentally relevant measurements in Simmons' National Consumer Study. Based on the distinctive mindset of consumers toward the environment, you can learn how environmental concerns fit into their lives through four major consumer segments: Eco-Friendly Enthusiasts Sustainable Spectators Passive Greenies Eco Critics Let's dive deeper into each group to understand their unique perspective on the environment and how this impacts their attitudes and behaviors. Eco-Friendly Enthusiasts This eco-conscious segment prioritizes a green lifestyle and takes pride in avoiding products that harm the planet. With traditional and liberal values, they embrace optimism and prioritize family. With their children out of the house, they take the time for some well-deserved rejuvenation and are committed to a healthy lifestyle. Some members of this group are transitioning into retirement and welcoming a new chapter in their life. Mature adults and retirees College graduate or more Above average income May be married or single Typically own their homes Sustainable Spectators This segment aspires to be more sustainable, but they struggle with translating their green ideas into action. They have a soft spot for a cozy home. While their love for interior design and taking care of their own space is evident, they're always looking for new experiences and opportunities to learn. Staying healthy and active is a top priority for this group, so it's no surprise that they're always looking for ways to stay fit and feel their best. Established and mid-life adults College graduate or more High income Typically married Likely to own their homes Passive Greenies This is the largest and one of the most youthful groups. Known for their love of exploration and self-discovery, they may not have fully embraced eco-conscious behaviors yet, but they are eager to stay current with the latest technology and trends. With their incredible ability to multitask, they're always on-the-go, and constantly seek the next best thing. Mainly young adults and diverse Education ranges from high school through some college Below average income More likely to be single or divorced Typically rent Eco Critics This group is not likely to be eco-conscious and may have negative attitudes about the environment. They are confident, driven, and focused on their personal growth. They crave instant gratification, seeking out quick and easy solutions to their everyday decisions. They place a high value on entertainment, their social life, and carefully curate their image. Young and established adults Education ranges from high school through post-graduate studies High income Married or single Typically own their homes Let's take a look at how the GreenAware segments stack up against each other in terms of age, household income, education level, and media preference. How do they compare? Let's find out. Age Consumers in the Eco-Friendly Enthusiasts segment are the oldest of the four GreenAware segments – about half of the consumers are 65 or older. Eco Critics are the youngest segment, with over half of consumers in this group between ages 25-44. Household income Sustainable Spectators and Eco Critics are the wealthiest GreenAware segments. The average household income of consumers in these segments is above $100,000. Passive Greenies have the lowest household income, with a majority below $50,000. Education level and occupation Passive Greenies are more likely to work Blue Collar jobs and have the lowest level of education. As the wealthiest segments, Sustainable Spectators and Eco Critics have the highest levels of college degrees and work in management, business, and financial operations. Eco-Friendly Enthusiasts are the most likely to be retired and out of the workforce. Preferred engagement channels Streaming TV is the preferred engagement channel for all GreenAware segments. Eco-Friendly Enthusiasts prefer digital channels like digital newspapers, mobile SMS, and email. They also engage with traditional channels like direct mail and newspaper. Passive Greenies have a high preference for digital display, mobile SMS, digital video, broadcast cable TV, and radio. Eco Critics have a high preference for digital channels like digital newspapers, mobile SMS, and digital display. Sustainable Spectators strongly prefer digital newspapers. They don't show as strong of a preference for mobile SMS and digital display as Eco Critics and Passive Greenies. GreenAware audience pairings Six of our Mosaic groups have at least one GreenAware segment with 10% or more of the population. For more precise targeting, below are suggested Mosaic audiences you can pair with each GreenAware segment: Eco-Friendly EnthusiastsSustainable SpectatorsPassive GreeniesEco CriticsBooming with ConfidencePower EliteSingles and StartersPower EliteAutumn YearsBooming with ConfidenceGolden Year GuardiansSuburban StyleGolden Year GuardiansSingles and Starters Electric vehicles Our third eco-conscious audience is electric vehicles. Electric vehicles (EVs) are having a major moment in the automotive industry. This is no surprise given that new EV models are being released and an increasing number of charging stations are popping up around the country. As EVs become more prominent, it's essential to stay up to date on relevant trends to make informed decisions about what lies ahead. The demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is on the rise Consumers are embracing the EV revolution, showing their desire for a cleaner, greener future. Automotive marketers are increasingly looking to reach in-market EV shoppers and current alternative fuel vehicle owners due to the growing availability of electric vehicles, improved infrastructure, and rising popularity. In 2022, EVs charged up the market and accounted for a remarkable 6% of new retail registrations. While Tesla continues to dominate the EV market, Ford, Chevrolet, and Hyundai are starting to compete, each holding more than 3% of the market share of new retail EV registrations. Geography Where are we seeing the most new retail EV registrations? The top designated market areas (DMAs) for new retail EV registrations are mostly located in heavily populated, coastal cities like Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY. The fastest growing DMAs, however, are in smaller cities like Tucson, AZ and Oklahoma City, OK. Generational demographics Gen X and Millennials make up the largest percentage of new retail EV buyers at 37.5% and 34.4%. Gen Z and the Silent generation represent the smallest shares at 5% and 2.1%. Boomers hover between Gen X and Millennials' share and account for 20.6% of new EV retail purchases. EV audience pairings Our top five Mosaic groups for new EV buyers include: American Royalty Cosmopolitan Achievers Philanthropic Sophisticates Couples with Clout Fast Track Couples How to target consumers in-market for electric vehicles We offer 70+ audiences that are focused on likely buyers and owners of EV and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles. We also offer a subset of 28 audiences focused on individual EV/PHEV vehicle models. Below is how you can find a few of these audiences on-the-shelf of most trusted advertising platforms: Autos, Cars, and Trucks > In Market-Fuel Type > Electric Autos, Cars, and Trucks > In Market-Fuel Type > Used Electric Autos, Cars, and Trucks > In-Market Make and Models > Tesla Autos, Cars, and Trucks > In-Market Make and Models > Chevrolet Bolt EV We can help you reach eco-conscious consumers Earth Day is a great opportunity to get creative with your marketing efforts with our three eco-conscious audiences: Solar energy, GreenAware, and electric vehicles. To find out how you can add eco-conscious audiences to your marketing plan, contact us. Get started today Latest posts

Advertisers are always looking for ways to improve the targeting and effectiveness of their campaigns. One strategy that's gaining popularity lately is using curated private marketplace (PMP) deals, allowing advertisers to buy premium ad inventory in a private auction environment. But how do data providers and PMPs work together to make PMP advertising more successful? What is a private marketplace (PMP)? Advertising PMPs, or private marketplace deals, are a type of programmatic advertising where advertisers and publishers negotiate and set up a direct deal between themselves to buy or sell advertising inventory in a private auction environment. In PMP deals, publishers can make their premium inventory available to a select group of advertisers, who can bid on it in a private auction using demand-side platforms (DSPs). These private auctions typically offer higher-quality inventory and a more targeted audience than open exchange auctions, which are accessible to all advertisers. However, traditional PMPs had their limitations, including often being limited to accessing inventory from a single publisher group. Audigent takes PMP advertising to the next level with SmartPMPs Audigent's key differentiator is that instead of activating audience data from the DSP, which is the industry standard, they integrate directly with supply-side platforms (SSPs). By taking this route, audience data and inventory from hundreds or even thousands of publishers can now be packaged together into a single deal ID / SmartPMP. SmartPMPs empower media buyers with the ability to access and buy against unique, customizable data segments on premium curated publisher inventory in combinations that otherwise would not have been available. Activating data via the supply-side also enables supply-side optimizations. This means that instead of simply being a data provider, Audigent plays an active role in the success of media buyers' programmatic campaigns by optimizing toward performance goals in coordination with demand-side buyers. The result is the full alignment of demand- and supply-side technologies for the first time in programmatic. SmartPMPs drive campaign performance Audigent performance data compared to the programmatic open exchange: How Experian and Audigent partner in PMP advertising Experian and Audigent collaborate using Consumer View audience data. By supplying valuable insights into users' interests, behaviors, and demographics, we help advertisers create more targeted and personalized ad campaigns with Audigent. This can lead to higher engagement rates, greater brand awareness, and increased conversions for Audigent and Experian clients. By activating Experian data via Audigent SmartPMPs, advertisers unlock the ability to reach highly engaged users across premium, curated inventory sources on key channels like connected TV (CTV), display, video, and more. Unlock the potential of programmatic advertising with us Our strategic collaboration with Audigent is transforming the programmatic advertising space. Our partnership enables our customers to tailor their ads directly to their desired audience. This elevated personalization results in higher conversion rates and optimized campaigns for superior ROI performance. Contact us for more information about our digital audience segments on the Audigent platform. To learn more about our partner Audigent, visit www.audigent.com. Contact us Latest posts

A successful back-to-school campaign strategy starts with identifying the key audience segments to target. Over half of all searches related to back-to-school happen within a select group of consumers – knowing which ones can go a long way in forming an effective marketing strategy. Focus on this smaller, targeted set to maximize your efforts. With over $72 billion projected in total U.S. back-to-school retail sales this year, you can capture more spend than ever before during this big shopping season by tailoring your strategy to a smaller set of targeted shoppers. Experian data can help you make the most of your back-to-school campaigns by uncovering the top five back-to-school audiences. Five audience segments for 2023 Our data provides key insights into who these shoppers are and how to reach them, allowing you to create personalized content tailored to their needs. What are the top five audiences you should add to your 2023 back-to-school campaign? High-Net-Worth Households Bilingual Multi-Generational Households Suburban Savvy Shoppers Young Suburban Families Tech-Savvy Families What do these audiences look like? Who are they? Where do they shop? Let's review each audience in a little more detail. High-Net-Worth Households This group consists of households with above-average income and education levels. They often lease luxury cars, purchase products in every channel, travel extensively, and are philanthropic supporters of the arts. Key features Wealthy Highly educated Lease luxury cars Purchase products in every channel Travelers Philanthropic supporters of the arts Bilingual Multi-Generational Households Large households in multilingual neighborhoods, filled with married parents and their kids. They are financially cautious, bilingual, and participate in team sports. Key features Bilingual Large households Married with kids Financially cautious Team sports Suburban Savvy Shoppers Middle-aged couples and families who earn above-average incomes, maintain active lifestyles, and spend their money on quality home products and furnishings. Key features Affluent Athletic activities Home products & furnishings Sporting goods High-priced children’s clothing Young Suburban Families This segment includes households in the middle child-rearing stages of life, typically with a dual income household and multiple children of school age. They typically have spacious single-family residences in suburban neighborhoods that are slightly above average in housing values. On weekends, these suburban young families often engage in activities like skateboarding, biking, and video games with their children. Key features Comfortable lifestyle Children’s games Wholesale members Family-centric activities Tech-Savvy Families Highly educated, affluent couples in their peak earning years, with a preference for both traditional and digital media, who live in upscale housing and are savvy investors and environmental philanthropists. Key features Highly educated Affluent Upscale housing Savvy investors Environmental philanthropists Tech apprentices Watch our 2024 video for tips from industry leaders for back-to-school In our new Q&A video with Experian experts, we explore changing consumer behaviors surrounding back-to-school shopping in 2024. In the video, we discuss: Anticipated shifts in consumer behaviors and shopping habits Tactics we predict marketers will employ to navigate signal loss Which channels will be the most successful And more! Watch now Latest posts