ARF Issues Identity Resolution Sector Guide

In New York, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) has issued an analysis of the current state of the identity resolution industry, to help 'demystify' solutions and practices and provide the ad and marketing sectors with information about providers.

The new guide, 'Navigating the Identity Resolution Landscape', identifies different use cases of identity resolution and examines features of the different approaches used by providers in the field. The report also seeks to clarify 'myths' surrounding identity resolution and shares perspectives on the possible evolution of the practice in the wake of changes in regulations and platform policies.

The analysis details areas such as use cases in planning, activation and measurement; current approaches to identity and privacy; how identities are connected; the difference between deterministic and probabilistic methodologies; and how identity matching conflicts are resolved. A list of questions that marketers should ask when evaluating identity resolution vendors is also provided, covering areas such as data sources, compliance, methodology, recency, validation, coverage and representation, and the extent to which solutions are future proofed.

Produced by The ARF's Identity Resolution Working Group within the Cross-Platform Measurement Council, the guide draws on interviews with executives at more than twenty 'prominent' identity resolution providers. CRO Paul Donato (pictured) comments: 'As is often the case in the deployment of new data types and techniques in marketing and advertising science, the development and adoption of the science precedes the establishment of standards, guidelines or evaluative criteria for users of the data. This paper is an effort to begin the process of 'demystifying' the identity resolution space'.

Web site: www.thearf.org .