This article is a WTF explainer, in which we break down media and marketing’s most confusing terms. More from the series →
The IAB Tech Lab’s seller-defined audiences specification is one of many, many digital ad industry efforts to replace the third-party cookie with purportedly privacy-friendly alternatives. It’s effectively a cohort-based targeting method packaged with a nutrition label for the corresponding ad targeting data.
Instead of a publisher sharing person-specific identifiers like cookie-based IDs or email addresses with advertisers, audiences are organized into groups based on categories like demographics, interests and purchase intents using IAB Tech Lab’s Audience Taxonomy standard. And advertisers can check the makeup of these seller-defined audiences by referencing the corresponding data transparency label that outlines who provided the audience data, what the audience segment is, how the segment was compiled and what the underlying data source is.
However, as the name “seller-defined audiences” implies, publishers are in charge of establishing these audience segments. This has become a cause of consternation among advertisers and agencies because some publishers might define the same audience differently than others or differently than a marketer, as outlined in the video skit above.
More in Media
Google’s AI opt-out leaves publishers with a choice they can’t safely use
The CMA has, on paper, given publishers a right to refuse AI in search. But because it’s opt-out, and Google is slow-walking the data needed to judge the impact, that right is barely usable, publishers say.
YouTube’s AI remix push exposes a looming reckoning for the creator economy
YouTube’s Gemini Omni integration has highlighted some of the major problems generative AI poses in the creator economy.
Why creator Lola Torres prefers the stability of affiliate marketing over brand partnerships
Creator Lola Torres on the hustle of building her career in affiliate marketing, the challenge of creator programs, and more.