The UK, October 5, 2020: Experian has today launched Experian Match, a new first-to-market solution, underpinned by InfoSum technology, that removes the need for third party-cookies or registration data. It helps publishers of all sizes to protect their advertising revenue regardless of which web browser people use and without the need for publishers to continually share information about their website visitors with advertisers.
The role of third-party cookies to power targeted online advertising has become increasingly marginalised. Many mainstream browsers, including Safari and Firefox, have already moved to disable the use of third-party cookies, amid privacy concerns and a lack of consumer understanding about their use.
The move, however, has had a substantial impact on publishers’ revenue. Publishers have seen a reduction in revenue of 52% on average*, and Google Chrome is set to block cookies altogether by the end of 2021, adding further pressure to the industry.
By using first-party cookies, Experian Match delivers meaningful insights about the likely characteristics of online audiences and helps move the industry away from its reliance on third-party cookies. It reduces the need for unnecessary sharing of personal information, and people can easily indicate their preferences around the sharing of their data with Experian. They will have the opportunity to opt-out at any time. The solution will help people understand online advertising and promote transparency, choice and control.
Colin Grieves, Managing Director of Marketing Services, Experian, said: “Online publishers are already facing increasing pressure on advertising revenue due to existing browsers’ limitations and the challenges associated with scaling user registration.
“This will increase further with the end of third-party cookies, Experian Match is a genuinely new direction for the industry, meeting demands for improvements in consumer transparency, data minimisation and privacy and the way information is collected online. It will also transform the digital marketing space and move it away from deterministic 1-to-1 advertising while maintaining relevant and meaningful audience insights.
“It will provide publishers with a controlled, privacy-by-design solution to understand audiences and maximise revenue, while for advertisers, it offers a scalable solution to engage the right audiences for their products and services. People will have greater confidence in how their data is used, knowing that it will not be continually shared between publishers and advertisers but will be used in a more controlled and secure way.”
Richard Foster, Chief Revenue Officer, InfoSum, said: “The entire advertising industry is on a journey to move from unknown to known audiences in order to future-proof businesses against cookie deprecation and remain relevant for marketers.
“The challenges facing publishers in trying to build authenticated first-party addressable audiences at scale, are extensive. This is why we’re thrilled to be working with Experian to provide publishers with an addressability solution that delivers a scaled solution.
“Powered by InfoSum’s decentralised identity data infrastructure, Experian Match can be a game-changer for digital advertising, enabling publishers to offer advertisers access to their entire audience for the first time, without relying on third-party cookies or requiring a logged-in audience and without physically sharing any data with the advertiser at all. We’re excited to see how this new trusted ecosystem grows in the coming weeks and months.”
One of the first publishers to use Experian Match will be VICE Media Group. Founded in 1994, with 35 offices around the world, it produces 1,700 pieces of content each day though its digital content, news and broadcasting channels.
Paul Davison, VP, Agency Development – International, VICE Media Group, said: “Across the VICE Media Group, we have a global audience of 350 million individuals. However, not all these individuals are logged-in.
“The Match solution from Experian and InfoSum will enable us to offer a greater scale of audience, ensuring we’re future-proofing our ad revenue in a post-cookie world, and help us to engage with brands to deliver tailored audience solutions.
“An important consideration for VICE Media Group was the privacy of our audience and the security of our data. By powering this new solution with InfoSum’s identity infrastructure, those concerns are solved instantly as no data has to be moved between companies.”
