Identity Graph

Map connecting identifiers to people/households A working definition from the RGM marketing glossary.

Schematic — Identity Graph

Map connecting identifiers to people/households

Term: Identity Graph
Field: Audience & Privacy
Category: Audience & Privacy

A working definition

Worth a slow read.Treat Identity Graph as an audience or privacy concept with a clear scope. Two people using the term should mean the same thing.

Map connecting identifiers to people/households

Identity Graph sits in Audience & Privacy; it is an audience or privacy concept. Define it once and the reporting holds together.

How it operates

Keep this in mind.Identity Graph is no fixed dial. How it behaves depends on your audience, your channel mix, and the strategy around it.

Think of Identity Graph as context-bound. A small shop reads it simply; an enterprise reads it with more nuance. That is normal -- Identity Graph is shaped by audience and channel mix. Read Identity Graph without care and the plan wobbles; be precise and the read holds.

One rule always holds. Settle the scope of Identity Graph up front, then build the plan. Get it backwards and Identity Graph becomes a word everyone uses and no one shares. One idea, plainly put.

Where it shows up

Read that twice.Use Identity Graph when it changes a choice. If it is not driving a decision, it is vocabulary, not leverage.

Identity Graph matters at the point of a decision. In audience & privacy, three moments come up again and again. Outside them, Identity Graph is reference material.

Setting budget. Identity Graph points to where the next dollar should go.
Choosing a metric. Identity Graph shows whether the report will hold up.
Comparing options. Identity Graph adjusts a compare so the gap is honest.

Worked example

Worth a slow read.Below, Identity Graph is put inside a Nike setting -- real trade-offs, a clear baseline, and a figure to test it.

Consider Nike. Running a clean-room measurement setup, the team put Identity Graph at the center of the call. With a clean baseline and one fixed definition of Identity Graph, they read what moved: cross-channel reach stayed within 5% of truth. The discipline is the lesson.

Example walk-through for Identity Graph -- figures illustrative, RGM analysis
Stage	What the team did	Why it mattered
Baseline	Logged where Identity Graph stood before the test.	A fixed point of truth.
Define	Agreed a single definition of Identity Graph.	Two people, one meaning.
Act	A clean-room measurement setup — one variable.	Cause and effect, isolated.
Result	Cross-channel reach stayed within 5% of truth	A call backed by the read.

These Identity Graph numbers are illustrative -- RGM analysis. The structure travels; the specific figures do not.

Where teams go wrong

Pick one definition.Teams slip on Identity Graph in four familiar ways. Each makes a soft assumption look like a precise number.

One blanket rule. Applying Identity Graph the same way everywhere. Split it by audience, channel, and business model.
No anchor. Quoting Identity Graph without a starting point. Always pair it with a baseline.
Chasing the word. Optimizing Identity Graph for its own sake. Check it tracks a real outcome.
Bad compares. Benchmarking Identity Graph with no adjustment. Account for the model differences first.

Common questions

What is Identity Graph?

Map connecting identifiers to people/households Settle what Identity Graph covers first; the strategy follows from there.

What makes Identity Graph worth knowing?

Identity Graph shows up in budget reviews and channel reporting. Use it loosely and teams pull apart; use it precisely and the numbers line up.

Where does Identity Graph get used?

Teams put Identity Graph to work on a spend split, a metric, or a head-to-head call. See the Nike walk-through above.

What goes wrong with Identity Graph most often?

Treating Identity Graph as one blanket rule and reporting it with no baseline. Both hide a soft assumption.

Where can I learn more about Identity Graph?

Browse the related terms below, then dig into Apple's App Tracking Transparency, plus audience arbitrage.

What is Identity Graph?: Map connecting identifiers to people/households Settle what Identity Graph covers first; the strategy follows from there.
What makes Identity Graph worth knowing?: Identity Graph shows up in budget reviews and channel reporting. Use it loosely and teams pull apart; use it precisely and the numbers line up.
Where does Identity Graph get used?: Teams put Identity Graph to work on a spend split, a metric, or a head-to-head call. See the Nike walk-through above.