Is your email address the new cookie?

Retargeting is successful. No one is arguing that. The .70 percent click-through rates generated by retargeted ads outdo the meager industry average of .07 percent. But the cookies that make much of this retargeting possible have severe limitations. They are a product of the mid-’90s, when we only had one device (a desktop PC) and one browser, and they have an average life of about three days.

Since then, Internet usage has increased 6 times, and over half of time spent online is through mobile devices. Cookies are notoriously device-centric, so an alternative must be found for a cross-channel, cross-platform and cross-device solution. In his presentation at the Digiday Programmatic Summit, LiveIntent’s vp of engineering Kyle Brown nominated an unlikely but well-known hero: the email address. Email addresses are considered strong IDs because they’re the same regardless of of browser or device. And a logged-in audience is much more valuable than an anonymous one.