While the much-vaunted depreciation of third-party cookies has been delayed, yet again, the entire advertising and media ecosystem has already been pivoting its focus to accruing first-party data, as consumer privacy and data regulation come increasingly to the fore.
As previously covered by exchange4media, in this race to first place in first-party data collection, Connected TV has emerged as a strong contender in providing publishers and advertisers with exactly that. Even as CTV penetration increases across India, having already started to dominate more developed markets, industry stakeholders are turning to this particular digital medium, and its full suite of tools.
The PAIR Up
Publisher Advertiser Identity Reconciliation (PAIR) is a CTV solution designed to help advertisers and publishers navigate the complexities of identity and data privacy in digital advertising. This technology enables publishers and brands to securely and privately reconcile their first-party data with a publisher’s and reach audiences.
Siddharth Dabhade, Global Commercial Board Member and Managing Director, MiQ India points out that organizations strengthen their first party data strategy by obtaining user consent to use cookies to store and process user information that allows them to serve personalized ads to users with accurate targeting.
“Advertisers can plan, activate, and measure audience-driven campaigns by tapping into first-party data securely using PAIR; they can target customers with relevant ads without sharing sensitive identifiers, like cookies or device IDs, with publishers, enabling clients to deliver a fully personalized and more performative campaign experience,” he says.
According to Russhabh R Thakkar, Founder and CEO, Frodoh World, in India, where data privacy regulations are tightening, PAIR can be a potential solution for targeted advertising on Connected TV platforms.
“Think of it as a middleman for advertisers and publishers. Advertisers (like travel companies) share their encrypted customer lists (think email addresses) while publishers (like sports websites) do the same. Using a complex matching process, PAIR finds overlaps without revealing personal details. This allows for sharper ad targeting – the travel company can now reach viewers on the sports website who are also on their customer list, making those viewers more likely to book a trip.”
By reconciling data with advertisers, CTV platforms can gain deeper insights into their audience’s content viewing preferences and behaviours. PAIR enables connecting user identities across multiple devices.
“By delivering more relevant ads, CTV platforms can improve the overall viewing experience. An advertiser uses PAIR to reconcile its customer email list with the anonymized data from a popular CTV platform. This enables the advertiser to serve highly targeted ads to its existing customers while they watch content on the CTV platform,” adds Dabhade.
Exclusive PAIR?
As Shrenik Gandhi, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, White Rivers Media, points out, as the curtain falls on cookies in 2025, Google’s PAIR (Publisher Advertiser Identity Reconciliation) is getting ready to emerge as a game-changer in the advertising industry. PAIR is designed to match first-party data from both advertisers and publishers using Google’s DV360 platform, delivering personalised ads without cookies or device IDs.
The key phrase here being that this particular PAIR is from Google’s orchards, thereby potentially raising the height of the walled gardens that the industry is looking to move beyond.
“There are certain limitations. PAIR currently functions within Google's Display and Video 360 (DV360) platform and requires both advertiser and publisher participation. While specific Indian adoption data is scarce, the future looks promising. India's Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB) emphasizes responsible data practices, and PAIR's focus on first-party data aligns perfectly with this regulatory landscape,” says Thakkar.
As the value of personal data rises, the onus is on advertisers and platforms to demonstrate responsible data practices. True success will depend on building a future where targeted advertising and user privacy coexist.
However, Siddharth Devnani, Co-Founder & Director, SoCheers, says that as the dependency on first party data is growing higher, PAIR helps overcome some gaps. “However, till now, connected TV (CTV) has barely been able to leverage first party data, beyond the OTT apps themselves. With the opening up of PAIR and similar tools, it's just a matter of time where CTV as a media channel is able to deliver highly personalised ads.”
PAIR Today, for tomorrow
What sets PAIR apart from third-party cookies is that it eliminates the chances of data leakage. For advertisers, PAIR brings sharper targeting and cross-platform insights, boosting ROI.
By reconciling privacy-compliant data, PAIR enables precise audience segmentation and improves ad performance metrics. It helps brands forge deeper connections with their audiences, building long-term loyalty and effectively re-engaging cart abandoners in the post-cookie era. And while focus turns increasingly towards device interoperability to truly address the cookie conundrum (as in, how can you replace cookies, which have been the digital ecosystem in which we have all operated since the internet hit ubiquity), tools like PAIR are a stopgap.
“CTV platforms reap the benefits of PAIR by monetizing content with relevant ads, enhancing user experience, and optimising data utilisation. PAIR turns first-party data into actionable insights, fueling growth and innovation. In the ever-evolving advertising landscape, PAIR isn't just a tool—it’s potentially a game-changer,” says Gandhi.
