The partnership is intended to provide more accurate attribution and better frequency control.

Tapad is a largely U.S.-focused company, so Screen6 helps Sizmek improve their offering internationally as well.

Cross-device advertising and targeting is still in its formative stages at the moment. But Alex White, Sizmek VP of product and strategy, says as more companies start to move into cross-device, basic benchmarks they need to be able to hit.

“Before you can get to cross-device, you need to be able to identify consistently and persistently devices and environments (mobile Web vs In-app). People jump over that level of understanding fairly often,” says White.

He says it’s not just about being able to understand one device in relation to another; marketers and advertisers have to be able to understand devices in relation to the user. At this point in the development of the technology, you could get it wrong and no one would really know.

“If someone goes to search a product on a mobile device, and then goes to a desktop to buy it, you need to be able to track that. That capability doesn’t exist very well today,” says White, who remains confident the technology and data know-how will be developed within the next year.