• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, June 21, 2023

The Trade Desk (TTD), which developed the Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) solution, has partnered with Walmart Connect, the retailer’s retail media platform, to test the integration of UID2 in the Walmart DSP. 

Walmart’s custom-built DSP combines The Trade Desk’s technology with Walmart’s first-party, omnichannel customer insights.

UID2 is an industry-backed identity solution that uses authenticated, encrypted  email and phone data. With full UID2 integration, Walmart Connect advertising clients will be able to continue targeting Walmart audiences after the sunsetting of third-party cookies to inform decisions across the internet, including connected TV.

"The shopper journey is increasingly fragmented, and by partnering with various industry identity solutions such as Unified ID 2.0, we are working on ways for our advertisers to safely expand their reach of Walmart's customers across the open internet without relying on third-party cookies," said Jeff Clark, VP of Product, Walmart Connect.

Separately, Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that it will integrate UID2 across the entertainment, sports, news and lifestyle brands within its suite of digital platforms, including the Max and Discovery+ streaming services. 

“Offering new capabilities such as Unified ID 2.0 within our inventory means that our advertisers will be able to leverage their first-party data to target the audiences they want,” said Jim Keller, executive vice president of digital advertising sales and advanced advertising at WBD. 

According to TTD, for advertisers, the benefits of using UID2 include enabling use of a privacy-conscious form of CRM data in media-buying platforms; simplifying identity resolution at the household and individual level; managing frequency and suppressing audiences across channels and devices; supporting identity use cases on CTV and mobile apps where cookies don’t exist; targeting and measuring campaigns more holistically; and the ability to offer opt-out as part of improving consumer privacy controls.

For publishers, the benefits can include addressable audience targeting on desktop, mobile and CTV with a single identifier; frequency management across devices; more relevant content recommendations; and the abilities to provide personalized ad experiences with relevant content, as well as offer opt-out.