More than half of mobile impressions arrive without an identifier. According to MarTech’s identity resolution trends report, citing Comscore, 54% of mobile impressions and 36% of desktop impressions lack identifiers. That gap is why marketing clouds now bundle identity resolution, and why the sales pitch is so polished. Before you sign, you need sharper questions than “what’s your match rate?”
Why every marketing cloud suddenly sells identity
Identity used to be a standalone category. Now it is a feature line on the cloud contract, sitting next to email, journeys, and analytics.
The logic is simple. Personalization, suppression, and measurement all fail when you can’t tell that three records are one person. MarTech’s buyer’s guide frames identity resolution as having moved from a niche martech category to a foundational piece of the stack. Cloud vendors want to own that foundation.
For brand teams, the upside is real: fewer integrations, one vendor to hold accountable, faster activation. The risk is just as real. A bundled feature can be a thin one. And once your profiles live inside a single cloud, leaving gets expensive.
For context on how fast the vendor side is moving, see our look at how identity vendors reshuffle leadership around match accuracy.
Ask how matching actually works
“We resolve identities with AI” tells you nothing. Push for the mechanics.
Deterministic matching links records on hard identifiers such as a hashed email or login. Probabilistic matching infers links from softer signals. Platforms use machine learning to connect records that don’t match exactly, such as “Michael Smith” and “Mike Smith.” That helps coverage, but it also creates false merges. Two customers collapsed into one profile means a wrong offer, or worse, a privacy incident.
Questions to put in writing:
- What share of matches is deterministic versus probabilistic, and can we set the confidence threshold ourselves?
- How do you measure precision (correct merges) and recall (found matches) separately? A high “match rate” alone can hide bad merges.
- Can you run a blind test on a holdout sample of our own CRM data before we commit?
- What happens when a merge is wrong? Is there an unmerge workflow, and who owns it?
A vendor that quotes only a match rate is selling you volume. Ask for precision, recall, and a test on your own data.
Is it real time, or batch with a nicer label?
Batch identity means your suppression list is stale by the time the campaign launches. That is how a customer who bought yesterday gets today’s acquisition ad.
The market is shifting. Identity resolution is moving from batch updates to real-time processing, and many vendors now offer real-time APIs that let personalization and ad systems query identity graphs on demand. But “real time” varies wildly. Ask for latency numbers under load, and ask which downstream connectors get live data versus a nightly sync.
Also ask what is native and what is a partner add-on. If the cloud resells a third-party graph, you have two contracts, two privacy postures, and a support finger-pointing problem waiting to happen.
Clean rooms, multiple IDs, and what “interoperable” means
Forget the universal ID. Multiple identity frameworks now coexist after the industry hoped a single privacy-safe identifier would replace cookies. Your cloud has to play with several of them.
Clean rooms matter here too. They let brands, publishers, and measurement partners combine datasets without exposing raw personally identifiable information. If your retail media, publisher, or creator-platform partners want to collaborate, you will likely do it in a clean room. Ask:
- Which clean rooms integrate natively (Google BigQuery, Snowflake, and Databricks offer native clean room capabilities), and which need custom work?
- Which ID frameworks are supported for activation, and at what additional fee?
- Can we export our identity graph, including link logic, in a usable format?
That last one is the exit question. Many buyers forget it until renewal.
Consent and compliance: the questions legal will ask later
Identity resolution is, by design, the act of combining data about a person. Regulators care about that.
The patchwork is growing. eMarketer notes that twenty states have enacted comprehensive data privacy laws, and each creates unique compliance requirements for how marketers collect and activate data. Your vendor’s default configuration may not match the strictest state you operate in.
Do not lean on cookie headlines to relax. Google said it won’t be deprecating third-party cookies in Chrome and would introduce new privacy options instead. That reprieve doesn’t change your first-party consent obligations, and it doesn’t make cookie-based matching more accurate.
Ask the vendor:
- How is consent status stored at the profile level, and does it travel with the record into every activation?
- How fast are deletion requests propagated across merged profiles and downstream systems?
- Where is data processed and stored, and who are the sub-processors?
- Does the contract include audit rights, breach notification timelines, and limits on using our data to improve the vendor’s own graph?
That fourth item is the quiet one. Some vendors enrich a shared graph with customer inputs. Decide whether you are comfortable contributing to it, and price that in.
Where influencer programs fit in the identity conversation
Creator marketing is often left out of identity planning, then blamed for poor attribution.
Think about the path: a viewer sees a creator post on one platform, searches on another device, and buys three days later. Without resolution across touchpoints, that sale shows up as direct traffic. Your creator program looks weaker than it is, and budgets move accordingly. We’ve argued that brands should treat creators like media in a creator measurement framework. Identity is the plumbing that makes that possible.
Practical asks for influencer teams:
- Can creator-driven touchpoints (codes, links, landing-page visits) be stitched to known profiles, with consent?
- Can the cloud feed a revenue view, such as pipeline velocity, rather than only clicks?
- Does the contract with creators allow the data collection you are now planning? Our piece on creator contract terms covers the clauses that matter.
One caution. Identity resolution can sharpen attribution, but it won’t fix a muddy brief or a weak offer. Treat it as measurement infrastructure, not a growth lever on its own.
Run the vendor like any other media partner
You wouldn’t sign a media deal without a pilot, a scorecard, and exit terms. Hold identity vendors to the same standard. The logic mirrors how brands now vet creators like vendors as budgets merge.
Build a simple scorecard before demos start:
- Accuracy: precision and recall on your holdout data.
- Speed: measured latency for the use cases you care about.
- Interoperability: supported IDs, clean rooms, and connectors.
- Governance: consent handling, deletion, audit rights.
- Portability: graph export and termination terms.
- Total cost: licensing, profile-volume pricing, partner add-ons, and services.
Who owns the decision? Typically it’s split across marketing, data, legal, and IT, which is how deals stall. Defining decision rights early helps. Our write-up on how global brands map decision rights is a useful template.
FAQs
What is identity resolution in a marketing cloud?
It is the capability that links records from different sources (email, web, app, CRM, ad platforms) into a single customer profile. Marketing clouds use it to power personalization, suppression, and measurement across channels.
What match rate should we expect from a vendor?
There is no universal benchmark, because results depend on your data quality and how the vendor defines a match. Ask for precision and recall on a blind test using your own records, and treat any headline match rate without those figures with caution.
Should we buy identity from our marketing cloud or a specialist?
The bundled option reduces integration work and simplifies accountability. A specialist may offer deeper matching, more ID frameworks, or better portability. Run a pilot of both on the same sample and compare accuracy, latency, and total cost.
Do we still need identity resolution if cookies are staying?
Yes. Cookies don’t solve cross-device, cross-channel, or consent-aware matching, and large shares of impressions still lack identifiers. First-party identity also reduces dependence on any single browser decision.
How does identity resolution affect influencer attribution?
It can connect creator-driven touchpoints to later purchases that would otherwise appear as direct or organic traffic. That gives you a fairer view of creator performance, provided you have consent and clear contract terms for data collection.
What contract terms matter most?
Prioritize graph export rights, deletion propagation timelines, audit rights, sub-processor disclosure, limits on using your data to train or enrich the vendor’s shared assets, and clear termination assistance.
Before the next demo, send every shortlisted vendor the same blind-test request and the six-point scorecard above. Then compare answers side by side before pricing enters the room.
Top Influencer Marketing Agencies
The leading agencies shaping influencer marketing in 2026
Agencies ranked by campaign performance, client diversity, platform expertise, proven ROI, industry recognition, and client satisfaction. Assessed through verified case studies, reviews, and industry consultations.
Moburst
-
2
The Shelf
Boutique Beauty & Lifestyle Influencer AgencyA data-driven boutique agency specializing exclusively in beauty, wellness, and lifestyle influencer campaigns on Instagram and TikTok. Best for brands already focused on the beauty/personal care space that need curated, aesthetic-driven content.Clients: Pepsi, The Honest Company, Hims, Elf Cosmetics, Pure LeafVisit The Shelf → -
3
Audiencly
Niche Gaming & Esports Influencer AgencyA specialized agency focused exclusively on gaming and esports creators on YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok. Ideal if your campaign is 100% gaming-focused — from game launches to hardware and esports events.Clients: Epic Games, NordVPN, Ubisoft, Wargaming, Tencent GamesVisit Audiencly → -
4
Viral Nation
Global Influencer Marketing & Talent AgencyA dual talent management and marketing agency with proprietary brand safety tools and a global creator network spanning nano-influencers to celebrities across all major platforms.Clients: Meta, Activision Blizzard, Energizer, Aston Martin, WalmartVisit Viral Nation → -
5
The Influencer Marketing Factory
TikTok, Instagram & YouTube CampaignsA full-service agency with strong TikTok expertise, offering end-to-end campaign management from influencer discovery through performance reporting with a focus on platform-native content.Clients: Google, Snapchat, Universal Music, Bumble, YelpVisit TIMF → -
6
NeoReach
Enterprise Analytics & Influencer CampaignsAn enterprise-focused agency combining managed campaigns with a powerful self-service data platform for influencer search, audience analytics, and attribution modeling.Clients: Amazon, Airbnb, Netflix, Honda, The New York TimesVisit NeoReach → -
7
Ubiquitous
Creator-First Marketing PlatformA tech-driven platform combining self-service tools with managed campaign options, emphasizing speed and scalability for brands managing multiple influencer relationships.Clients: Lyft, Disney, Target, American Eagle, NetflixVisit Ubiquitous → -
8
Obviously
Scalable Enterprise Influencer CampaignsA tech-enabled agency built for high-volume campaigns, coordinating hundreds of creators simultaneously with end-to-end logistics, content rights management, and product seeding.Clients: Google, Ulta Beauty, Converse, AmazonVisit Obviously →