Industry Collaboration Results in First IAB Identity Solutions Guide

IAB Tech Lab’s Rearc Addressability Working Group announced the release of the first-ever Identity Solutions Guidance document, with Lotame recognized as a significant contributor. This comprehensive guide is a significant milestone in the programmatic advertising ecosystem, addressing the evolving challenges of consumer identification amid regulatory changes and actions taken by major platforms, operating systems, and web browsers. 

Eli Heath, Lotame’s Head of Identity, played a critical role in helping shape this document, which aims to unravel the complexities of emerging identity solutions in a transforming digital advertising landscape. 

“We are delighted to have been part of this collaborative endeavor, contributing our insights to empower stakeholders in understanding and navigating the evolving realm of identity solutions,” Heath emphasized. 

The Identity Solutions Guidance document focuses on the vital role of identity solutions in the programmatic ecosystem, providing guidance on:

• Different types of ID solutions and their differentiation
• Attributes of these ID solutions
• A high-level view of how ID solutions function
• A suggested framework for choosing and evaluating ID solutions

What’s Inside: 

Identity solutions utilize various signals to create a detailed understanding of the digital consumer. These signals include deterministic data, which identifies individuals with high certainty, as well as browser and device data, which infer identities through predictive patterns and correlations. Whether dealing with hashed emails, device IDs, or probabilistic identifiers, the IAB’s Identity Solutions Guide is designed to clarify the latest advancements in identity solutions.

• Use cases: How does a solution enable advertising use cases? What problem does it solve?
• Methodology: Which signals inform the solution? What methods are used to reconcile the identity of a user?
• Scale: How widespread is the ID solution’s publisher adoption? How does it increase match rates? Which buy side platforms have adopted?
• Quality:  How accurately can the ID solution reconcile the identity of a user?
• Interoperability: Is the solution compatible with other technology platforms in your tech stack?
• Cost: What’s the price tag?
• Approach to Privacy: How does the solution or vendor handle consumer privacy and adhere to regulations?
• Data Leakage: How does the solution contain data leakage and ensure security?

As the industry grapples with the diminishing availability of traditional consumer identifiers like third-party cookies and mobile ad identifiers, the document offers valuable insights into the landscape of ID solutions and can aid in informed decision-making.

The ID Solutions Guide can be downloaded here.