Nielsen Adds ID Resolution for Attribution Measurement

Nielsen today rolled out an ID resolution system that moves away from third-party cookies to privacy-centric, people-based identifiers for advertising attribution.

The Nielsen ID resolution system uses persistent, device-agnostic identifiers, enabling Nielsen to verify demographic characteristics and media exposure over time across all media.

As part of this rollout, Nielsen is introducing the Identity Sync, a non-campaign specific tag that doesn't depend on device IDs or the browser ecosystem. This enables always-on, real-time collection of advertiser data associated with individuals, the devices they use over time, and the online actions they take. In addition, it allows Nielsen to build deterministic matches between consumers and their ad exposures using persistent identifiers as the connector to each conversion event.

Nielsen's ID System and modernized attribution approach are backed by internal assets, direct integrations with publishers and advertisers, and a comprehensive measurement graph. The Nielsen ID System will also use Nielsen’s panels to validate the graph and combine data across various data sources in a privacy-centric manner to map consumer journeys.

"At Nielsen, we're committed to helping our clients navigate the cookieless world and unlock the next generation of metrics that enable them to drive outcomes, maximize reach, and optimize their budgets," said Matt Krepsik, general manager of planning and outcomes products at Nielsen, in a statement. "With our transformed approach to Attribution, we're turning data into actionable insights so advertisers can understand the impact of their marketing efforts and publishers can continue to prove the impact of advertising on their platforms."

Barceló Hotel Group piloted Nielsen Identity Sync, which provided a significant view of the customer journey, with 96 percent of conversions attributed to actual marketing touch points. Barceló also analyzed customer media touch points that led to bookings and sales, unlocking 9 percent of potential savings in key areas like paid search by shifting away from keywords not leading to conversions.

"Barceló tapped Nielsen for their expertise in attribution measurement to fulfill the gap of insights that were preventing us from fully optimizing our media activation. With Nielsen's innovative approach, we were able to take into account all measurable interactions along our customers' journeys and uncover waste to better allocate spend in the future," said Johanna Álvarez, adtech, analytics, and attribution manager at Barceló, in a statement. "The level of accuracy that Nielsen was able to produce using persistent identifiers was unmatched, and we feel more empowered than ever to make better marketing decisions as the industry moves away from cookies."