• by Ray Schultz , July 9, 2021

Maven, a media company that operates Sports Illustrated, The Street and other publishing brands, has deployed Verizon Media’s identity solution across its sites.

The goal is to help advertisers reach audiences in a cookie-free environment by using their own first-party data. 

“Just because the death of the Chrome cookie has been pushed out, doesn't mean that many of the cookies aren't already dead,” states Andrew Q. Kraft, COO at Maven. “We are leaning into solutions that enable us to maximize our first-party data, while preserving consumer value and trust.”

Verizon Media ConnectID enables advertisers to buy, measure, and optimize ads via mobile, web, connected TV, and other channels without cookies, Verizon says. 

In addition, the tool helps publishers monetize their first-party data as part of the Verizon Media Ad Platform. 

“First-party data and people-first solutions will be core to the future of identity,” states Iván Markman, Chief Business Officer at Verizon Media. 

Verizon Media today reaches 148 million deterministic logged in users across over 240 million unique profiles and 400 million unique devices, the company adds.

Two years ago, Maven announced it had reached a long-term partnership with Authentic Brands Group to license and operate the Sports Illustrated media business. That same year, it acquired TheStreet. 

Last month, Maven acquired TheSpun, a social sports brand reaching 15 million unique readers per month. Maven’s combined sports brands now reach more than 50 million fans per month.