Spotlight Series: Caitlin Borgman, Chief Commercial Officer at ID5

In this exclusive Q&A, Caitlin Borgman, Chief Commercial Officer at ID5, sheds light on the digital advertising ecosystem and what a strategic partnership with OpenX means for the future. Read on to discover how this collaboration is set to drive innovation and value for both publishers and advertisers.

Quick-fire start

• What did you want to be when you grew up? Psychologist
• If you could see one movie again for the first time, what would you choose? “Return of the Jedi”
• If you could instantly become an expert on one topic, what would it be? Botany
• What book has had the biggest impact on you? “Cosmicomics” by Italo Calvino

Can you provide an introduction to ID5?

ID5 provides identity infrastructure that empowers the adtech community to connect advertisers with consumers in cookieless environments. Compliance and data protection are at the heart of our technology. We only identify users who have consented to be advertised to and encrypt our ID to ensure that it can only be used by authorized parties. According to Sincera, the ID5 ID is the most widely distributed universal ID in online advertising today.

What changes is the industry currently experiencing?

The digital media industry is going through a fundamental transformation driven by technical, regulatory, and behavioral changes. The cornerstone of digital advertising’s rapid ascent into a multi-billion dollar industry lies in its foundation on two pivotal pillars: addressability and measurability. 

Today, adtech providers have the opportunity to support the development of a new identity infrastructure that supports publishers and advertisers. It’s through partnerships with identity partners like ID5 that ad tech providers can better protect and grow their revenue.

How does ID5 empower brands to engage with audiences effectively and safely?

Our partners use the ID5 ID for a variety of targeting and measurement use cases. Publishers use the ID5 ID to communicate the identity of both authenticated and unauthenticated users to their SSP partners. This enables them to effectively monetize their audiences even as they navigate signal loss. On average ID5 has helped publishers increase reach by 23%, increased bid CPMs in cookieless environments by 3x, and increased bid CPMs by 10% overall.

Advertisers use the ID5 ID to increase reach and apply campaign strategies such as targeting, frequency capping, measurement and attribution regardless of the presence of conventional identifiers. On average, ID5 has helped advertisers increase their reach by 77%, reduce their CPA by 23%, and increase their win rate by 5%.

What should buyers consider when evaluating identity solutions?

There are many identity solutions in the market today, yet they can vary significantly by methodology, coverage, and neutrality. A few basic criteria to consider when evaluating a universal ID solution are distribution footprint, data protection standards, and identity reconciliation methodologies. 

For example, when it comes to distribution footprint, the effectiveness of an ID correlates with its rate of supply-side adoption. Despite the availability of many universal IDs today, only a handful have achieved enough scale to bring value to their clients. Connected to ID adoption is geographic availability. Not all IDs have a large footprint in all markets and might be more or less effective in some regions. It’s important to check if the identity partner has a large enough footprint to be able to drive value in the regions where you operate.

And what about the other two criteria you mentioned?

Strict data protection standards are non-negotiable. Does the identity partner have explicit consent and security-minded encryption mechanisms in place to ensure that users’ data is collected with permission and privacy preferences are respected? Surprisingly, many solutions do not. This is crucial as data protection regulations become more demanding across the globe. 

Finally, companies should consider whether the partner’s identity reconciliation methodologies are suitable for their needs. Some IDs rely on deterministic methods and persistent signals such as hashed email addresses. This method is more accurate but lacks scale. Other IDs use probabilistic algorithms to process less persistent signals. This method is less accurate but more scalable. Publishers who lack a significant logged-in user base should consider an ID partner that is not heavily reliant on persistent signals to generate a unique ID.

What makes ID5 different from other identity solutions?

At ID5, we think that the most effective approach to identity resolution is to work with both probabilistic and deterministic methods. To provide the optimum balance between accuracy and scale, we use deterministic signals to reconcile users across domains and devices. This information is then fed to our machine-learning algorithms that probabilistically resolve user identity. All signals ID5 uses are collected with consent and used to generate an encrypted ID. Furthermore, our technology has been certified by independent data privacy certification company, Neutronian.

What makes Openx and ID5’s partnership unique?

By leveraging the ID5 ID, OpenX is enhancing buyers’ ability to reach audiences across devices, particularly within cookieless environments. Working with ID5 enables more effective campaign targeting and measurement. Acting as a crucial link between publishers and buyers, OpenX supports publishers’ addressability and inventory monetization. Additionally, through OpenX’s supply, buyers can gain even greater access to diverse audiences, further overcoming the challenges posed by signal loss.