• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, November 29, 2024

GroupM and Accenture Song have become the first agencies certified by European ad-tech developer Utiq to utilize its telco-powered first-party consumer identifier, the companies announced Thursday.

Eighteen-month-old Utiq -- which is backed by Eruope's Vodafone, Orange, Telefónica, and Deutsche Telekom -- initially launched the capability in Spain and currently is in the process of expanding to Germany, France, the U.K., Italy and Austria.

It claims its goal is to "create a trusted and responsible ad-funded internet with privacy and data protection at its heart" by enabling consumers to control and make choices over their privacy when entering into digital marketing offers.

"This innovative technology brings tremendous value to our advertisers, taking marketing optimization and personalization to the next level while always keeping user privacy at the core," states GroupM Spain Data Strategy & Martech Director Miguel Ángel Miguélez.