Criteo Joins Open Source Unified ID Initiative

Criteo and The Trade Desk to Collaborate on Industrywide Unified ID 2.0, An Upgraded Alternative to Third-Party Cookies

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Oct 28, 2020, 07:00 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ: CRTO), the global technology company powering the world's marketers with trusted and impactful advertising, today announced that it is collaborating with advertising technology leader, The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD), on the Unified ID 2.0 initiative. Criteo will provide the sign-on solution and codevelop the transparency portal in Unified ID 2.0. The transparency portal will enable consumers to have unprecedented control over their advertising experience. Both companies will start testing this concept with publishers and other industry partners this November and December.

With this announcement, two of the largest demand side advertising platforms are working together to help drive the future of consumer identity and privacy on the open internet.

Unified ID 2.0 is a new approach to identity that represents an upgrade to third-party cookies, preserves the value exchange of advertising on the open internet, while providing improved consumer controls. The structure of Unified ID 2.0 was outlined as part of IAB Tech Lab's Project Rearc, with The Trade Desk developing initial product code. Unified ID 2.0 will be open source, interoperable, non-commercial and administered by an independent organization.

Megan Clarken, Chief Executive Officer of Criteo said: "Our goal has always been to create a safe and viable open internet ecosystem for consumers, publishers and advertisers. We are excited to collaborate with The Trade Desk and work in lockstep with other industry partners to build a multi-faceted, united solution for scaled adoption that's truly people-first."

With this move, Criteo will be incorporating key elements of its User-Centric Ad ID solution to Unified ID 2.0. During Criteo's Q2 financial earnings call, the company announced it was working on a "revocable identification system," now called a User-Centric Ad ID. The User-Centric Ad ID includes a portal in which consumers could access their privacy profile and update their ad targeting preferences across web browsers and apps.

"This year, it has become clear that the advertising technology industry needs to come together to develop a better alternative to third-party cookies – one that's more secure, one that better explains the value exchange of the internet to consumers, and one that improves consumer controls," said Jeff Green, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Trade Desk. "This collaboration with Criteo is a major step forward in this industrywide approach, bringing two of the largest demand side players together, even as we compete in our everyday business. This partnership represents undeniable momentum as the industry collaborates on an upgrade to replace the third-party cookie."

About Criteo
Criteo (NASDAQ: CRTO) is the global technology company powering the world's marketers with trusted and impactful advertising. 2,600 Criteo team members partner with over 20,000 customers and thousands of publishers around the globe to deliver effective advertising across all channels, by applying advanced machine learning to unparalleled data sets. Criteo empowers companies of all sizes with the technology they need to better know and serve their customers. For more information, please visit www.criteo.com.

About The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk™ is a technology company that empowers buyers of advertising. Through its self-service, cloud-based platform, ad buyers can create, manage, and optimize digital advertising campaigns across ad formats and devices. Integrations with major data, inventory, and publisher partners ensure maximum reach and decisioning capabilities, and enterprise APIs enable custom development on top of the platform. Headquartered in Ventura, CA, The Trade Desk has offices across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. To learn more, visit thetradedesk.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Contact: Jessica Meyers, Director, PR, Americas, [email protected]

SOURCE Criteo