StackAdapt links with Experian to power UK ad targeting

StackAdapt has signed a strategic partnership with Experian that brings Experian's identity resolution and audience data into StackAdapt's UK advertising platform.

The tie-up centres on first-party data activation. Brands and agencies can onboard their customer data into StackAdapt and match it to media channels using Experian's ID Resolution. Advertisers will also gain access to Experian's UK audience segments, including Mosaic groups.

UK rollout

The integration is available immediately for UK-based advertisers and agencies, extending an existing relationship between the two firms in North America.

First-party data has become more important for marketers as privacy rules tighten, consumer expectations change, and major platforms adjust their tracking and targeting approaches. Many advertising teams now combine their own customer data with external datasets, aiming to stay privacy-compliant while still reaching audiences at scale.

Experian's ID Resolution is designed to connect data signals across different environments and identifiers. Experian describes the system as "signal-agnostic" and says it covers 80% of UK households. In practice, tools like this aim to improve match rates when an advertiser uploads customer records and wants to find those people, or similar groups, across ad channels.

StackAdapt says the combined offer will deliver richer audience insights for advertisers using its platform, and support improved targeting and measurement. Those priorities have become more pressing as measurement signals fragment.

Audience segments

Alongside identity matching, the partnership makes Experian's third-party UK audience segments available within StackAdapt. The companies say these segments include demographic, behavioural and transactional spend insights. Mosaic, one of Experian's best-known segmentation products in the UK, categorises consumers into groups based on socio-demographic characteristics and other data points.

Third-party segments are typically used for prospecting, audience enrichment and planning. They also help brands test creative and channel mixes across display, video and other digital formats. StackAdapt positions itself as an advertising and orchestration platform spanning multiple channels, with programmatic buying among its core functions.

Michael Shang, SVP, Advertising Technologies at StackAdapt, linked the deal to the company's UK expansion plans.

"This marks a major milestone for our UK growth strategy," said Michael Shang, SVP, Advertising Technologies, StackAdapt. "Combining Experian's unmatched consumer data footprint with StackAdapt's programmatic capabilities gives our clients a powerful advantage in reaching and engaging their most valuable audiences with precision and accountability."

Experian's marketing services unit said the UK launch builds on work with StackAdapt in the US and Canada.

"Experian's relationship with StackAdapt in the US and Canada has been instrumental in enabling marketers in North America to unlock the full potential of their first-party data, and we're excited to bring that momentum to the UK," said Colin Grieves, Managing Director, Experian Marketing Services, UK&I. "By combining our powerful audience database-which reaches the vast majority of UK households-with StackAdapt's innovative platform, we're enabling advertisers to harness both first-party and third-party data to deliver smarter, more personalised campaigns at scale."

Competitive context

The announcement comes as ad tech vendors push alternatives to legacy third-party cookie-based approaches, and agencies seek more consistent ways to identify audiences across devices and channels. Identity resolution and data onboarding services have become central to those efforts, particularly for brands with substantial customer databases.

For Experian, the partnership adds another route to market for its UK marketing datasets. For StackAdapt, it strengthens its UK proposition for advertisers that want to use first-party data and standardised third-party segments within a single workflow.

Both companies say UK clients will be able to onboard first-party data, access Experian audiences within StackAdapt, and run media activations using those datasets.