The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has just released what it calls “Mobile Identity Guide for Marketers,” which highlights the approaches to and the importance of identity management as an emerging practice for marketers, offering best practices in the use of identifiers required for user-level mobile and cross-screen marketing activities.
According to the IAB, the report in question is designed to help marketers develop a strategic approach to identity management and reap benefits that include improved targeting, campaign measurement, attribution, and ad relevancy.
The paper presents various use cases for identification data within two primary categories—targeting and measurement—and explores related applications that range from frequency management and audience amplification to attribution and predictive modeling. In addition, the report outlines the pros and cons of various methodologies used to anonymously match and map users and devices.
“The guide highlights challenges marketers face linking consumers and households across different data sets,” reads a statement provided by the IAB. “Unlike on desktop, where cookies still serve as a connective tissue for web advertising, in mobile, the persistence and acceptance of cookies can vary from device to device and across web and app environments, making them a less reliable method for identification. To compensate, marketers must become adept at mixing and matching a variety of solutions to effectively reach consumers with the right message at the right time, regardless of the device they are using.
Anna Bager, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Mobile and Video at the IAB say that today’s consumers “are juggling up to four different devices on a daily basis, making effective cross-device targeting critical for brands. This primer will help marketers develop strategic approaches to mobile identity management, so they can reach consumers with more relevant, device-specific creative. In this mobile-first, soon to be mobile-only, world, user-level identity management is now table stakes for brands and media companies.”
“Mobile Identity Guide for Marketers” is available here.
