Identity in Ad Tech
Navigate the post-cookie world and understand how identity solutions affect your revenue.
The identity challenge
Traditionally, digital advertising relied on third-party cookies to:
- Track users across websites
- Build audience profiles
- Measure ad effectiveness
- Enable frequency capping
The problem: Privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) and browser changes (Safari ITP, Firefox ETP, and Google's shifting plans for Chrome) are steadily reducing the reliability of third-party cookies. Timelines have moved — Google has walked back full deprecation in Chrome — but the long-run direction toward less cookie-based identity is clear.
Why identity matters for revenue
Without identity signals, advertisers:
- Can't target specific audiences
- Can't measure conversions
- Can't cap frequency
- Value inventory less
Identified user: $3.00 CPM (advertisers bid confidently)
Anonymous user: $1.50 CPM (advertisers bid conservatively)
In this illustration the anonymous user earns about half as much — but the gap isn't a fixed number. It varies widely by market, demand, and how much first-party signal you can pass; treat "~50%" as an example, not a formula.
The identity landscape
First-party data (what you control)
Data you collect directly from your users:
| Data type | Example | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Login/registration | Email, user ID | Highest |
| Newsletter signup | High | |
| Subscription | Payment info | Highest |
| On-site behavior | Pages viewed, time spent | Medium |
| Contextual | Content topic, keywords | Medium |
Key insight: The more first-party data you have, the less you depend on third-party solutions.
Identity solutions (industry alternatives)
Solutions designed to replace third-party cookies:
| Solution | How it works | Adoption |
|---|---|---|
| Unified ID 2.0 | Hashed email-based ID | Growing |
| ID5 | Probabilistic + deterministic ID | Established |
| LiveRamp RampID | Deterministic people-based ID | Enterprise |
| SharedID | Prebid's first-party cookie ID | Common |
| Google Topics | Browser-based interest categories | Chrome only |
Contextual targeting (privacy-safe)
Instead of targeting users, target content:
Traditional: "Show this ad to sports fans"
Contextual: "Show this ad on sports articles"
Pros: Privacy-compliant, no consent needed Cons: Less precise, can't frequency cap
Impact by traffic type
| Traffic source | Identity status | CPM impact |
|---|---|---|
| Logged-in users | High identity | Premium CPM |
| Safari (ITP) | Low identity | 30-50% lower |
| Firefox (ETP) | Low identity | 30-50% lower |
| Chrome (current) | Medium identity | Baseline |
| Chrome (post-cookie) | Low identity | TBD |
The CPM impacts above are directional — the real gap depends heavily on your inventory, geography, and buyers. Treat "30–50% lower" as an example of the magnitude, not a fixed figure to plan against.
Today: ~40% of your traffic may already have limited identity (Safari + Firefox users).
What you can do
1. Grow first-party data
| Strategy | Implementation |
|---|---|
| Newsletter signup | Prominent signup forms |
| Registration walls | Require login for premium content |
| Progressive profiling | Collect data gradually |
| Preference centers | Let users share interests |
The goal: Know more about your users directly.
2. Enable identity modules
In Anima, identity modules are surfaced under Integrations in the main sidebar (not under Setup):
- Go to Integrations → identity modules
- Enable the modules you want — Unified ID 2.0, ID5, SharedID, and others as available
- Configure any required consent integration
For enabling and managing identity modules, see Integrations. Detailed per-vendor parameter reference may still be pending — check with your onboarding specialist for module-specific configuration.
- Deploy changes
3. Strengthen contextual
Ensure your content is properly categorized:
- Use clear, consistent content taxonomies
- Implement proper meta tags
- Consider contextual targeting partners
- Enable content-based segments
4. Prioritize consent
Proper consent management enables identity:
| Consent status | Identity available |
|---|---|
| Full consent | All identity solutions |
| Limited consent | First-party only |
| No consent | Contextual only |
The more users who consent, the more identity you can resolve — and resolved users tend to command higher CPMs.
Measuring identity impact
In the dashboard
Go to Dashboard → Monetization and break down by the dimensions that proxy for identity coverage:
- Compare CPM by browser (Safari vs. Chrome) — a classic proxy for cookie availability
- Compare CPM by device (iOS Safari tends to surface the cookieless tail)
- If you've wired custom dimensions for logged-in vs. anonymous users, break down by that
Key metrics
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Match rate | % of impressions with identity signal |
| CPM by match | Revenue difference with/without identity |
| Identity coverage | Which solutions are firing |
Preparing for cookieless
The near-term playbook is the same as the rest of this page: enable the identity modules you can, lift consent rates, and grow first-party data — that's what holds up as third-party cookies wind down. Longer-term bets (authenticated audiences, seller-defined audiences, data clean rooms for measurement) are worth tracking, but they're strategy calls for your team, not Anima configuration.
Common questions
Do I need to do anything right now?
Yes:
- Enable identity solutions in your setup (low effort, high impact)
- Review your consent management (affects identity availability)
- Start growing first-party data (newsletter, registration)
The publishers who prepare now will be better positioned when cookies fully disappear.
Which identity solution is best?
There's no single winner. The best approach is:
- Enable multiple solutions (they complement each other)
- Prioritize based on your geography and audience
- Monitor which solutions drive the most revenue lift
Will contextual targeting be enough?
For some inventory, yes. Contextual works well for:
- Content-aligned advertising (sports ads on sports content)
- Brand awareness campaigns
- Privacy-conscious advertisers
But it can't replace identity for:
- Performance marketing (conversions)
- Retargeting
- Frequency capping
A hybrid approach (identity where available, contextual elsewhere) is realistic.
How does consent affect identity?
Without consent, most identity solutions can't operate. This is why consent rates matter:
| Consent rate | Identity coverage | Revenue impact |
|---|---|---|
| 80%+ | Good | Minimal loss |
| 50-80% | Partial | Moderate loss |
| < 50% | Poor | Significant loss |
Invest in consent UX to maximize opt-in rates.
Related concepts
- Header Bidding 101 → — How identity fits into the auction
- Floors → — Pricing strategies as identity changes
- Custom Dimensions → — Using first-party data in reporting