Marketing in the 'New Normal' needs Innovation; Cross-device Identity Graphs can help!

The COVID outbreak has disrupted how consumers shop, businesses sell, and marketers communicate. We are all facing a pandemic of such proportions together for the first time; honestly never been real than ever and there are a lot of learnings to adopt. Considering how people and brands and their businesses are impacted, we are innovating our solutions to help marketers to navigate this new reality. We are committed to help brands make the right decisions for their business in this challenging time.​

The Connected ‘Device’ Consumer in a New Normal

In the ‘New Normal’ connected world, consumer behavior is changing drastically – indulgence in entertainment on demand, increased networking with people in their lives, adjusting to working remotely, and relying solely on shopping online amongst many other such new habits. Interestingly, the number of connected devices and the data transfer volume have increased. So has the media consumption – happening across a range of devices like the desktop to the laptop, tablet, connected TVs, albeit anchored on mobile.

According to estimates from Cisco’s Annual Internet Report (2018-2023) – the number of devices connected to IP networks is projected to climb to more than three times the global population by 2023, with 3.6 networked devices per capita. This means that brands should no longer continue to merely broadcast ads and influence consumers. A campaign put together for one media channel cannot be slapped onto another and is most likely to fail in engaging your target audience. Undoubtedly, the connected, multitasking, multimedia consumer expects a personalized communication irrespective of the device they are using at their end. Marketers need to unlock the potential to deliver personalized and consistent brand experiences across connected devices, while leveraging the potential of each device to its fullest.

Building Cross-device Identity Graphs using Mobile

Fundamentally, mobile as a medium has a transformational potential as it primarily connects the media experiences across all the digital channels. Very similar to a remote control, it can manage how an individual goes about interacting with media, content, and information throughout the day. Which makes it a uniquely compelling medium to supercharge the brand’s advertising potential. To make it real, tangible, and easy for marketers, the InMobi Audiences platform continuously tracks these user behaviors to build integrated "Cross Device Identity Graphs”, as per a privacy-first framework and unrelenting commitment to consumer transparency/ data compliance guidelines. 

Representation of an ID graph 

Cross-device identity graphs assist in better segmentation of a fragmented population, thereby building a holistic view of an individual or the household. Marketers can therefore not only ensure consistent communications across devices but also enhance the experience based on their stage in the buyer journey. For example, an automobile manufacturer might see value in targeting the household while fashion apparel brands are looking for targeting a specific audience in the age group of 25 to 40-years. Essentially, the household is often the central focus for items purchased by multiple members of a residence and the individual for impulse shopping.

The InMobi Audiences platform ingests Cross Device Identity Graphs to enrich its audience segments profile to ensure a frictionless consumer experience using mobile. These device graphs leverage machine learning to analyze and classify data from various sources and create a unified dynamic view of consumer data; tightly coupled with activation through programmatic advertising and media buying.

Leveraging InMobi Cross-device Identity Graphs for Marketing

InMobi Cross Device Identity Graphs can be valuable for a range of marketing purposes as it offers cohesive customer journeys across devices and channels, including laser-focused targeting, research, and conversion attribution as power-packed media campaign use cases under the hood -

Cookie to device id mapping allows to:

• Identify users across devices (using cookie id), and create a segment of users who had shown interest on laptop/desktop and target them on handheld devices
• Proactively reach-out to users who have shown intent in a device agnostic approach

Household level targeting enables to:

• Target households and not just unique users for higher conversions due to amplification effect 
• Track effectiveness of a campaign using cross device conversions at household level
   

High intent audience prospect ensures that you: 

• Track users through their in-app journey
• Optimize campaigns and increase conversions by targeting the right audience and improving the creative experience
• Create cohorts of users who have earlier shown interest and retarget them

Cross device attribution helps: 

• Attribute user actions across various websites. For example: If a user views an ad on a mobile and later makes a purchase via his/her laptop, the solution allows brands to understand the source campaign driving this conversion
• Close the attribution loop from seeing In-app ads to m-web actions/ conversions

Finally, the most important question to answer is “what’s in it for the consumer?” Mobile-based cross-device identity graphs can unlock the single biggest value-add for all of advertising, if the industry rises to the occasion and seeks to address the consumers’ expectation of a personalized experience, especially in a fragmented ecosystem.

Wondering how to get started with Cross Device Graphs and Household targeting? Contact us or reach out to us at partner-solutions@inmobi.com.