Ad Alliance partners with Utiq for cookieless targeting in Germany

Ad Alliance, the marketing division of RTL Deutschland, announced on September 2, 2025, a strategic partnership with European advertising technology company Utiq to establish privacy-compliant digital targeting capabilities. The collaboration integrates Utiq's telecommunications-powered identifier solution into Ad Alliance's data infrastructure, enabling cross-device campaign delivery without relying on third-party cookies.

According to the announcement, Utiq's technology has already been deployed across the mobile websites of n-tv, RTL, and STERN, making approximately 4 million users addressable through privacy-compliant digital identification. The implementation represents the first phase of a broader integration scheduled to expand across additional RTL Deutschland digital properties in the coming months.

The partnership positions Ad Alliance as a significant player in Germany's transition toward cookieless advertising solutions. According to Martin Hoberg, Chief Technology Officer at Ad Alliance, "With Utiq, we are strengthening our data strategy with another European solution that stands for clear data protection principles. In this way, we are building a stable bridge between reach, precision, and data protection – independent of third-party cookies or closed platforms, but with a solution that gives our advertising customers planning security and sustainable impact."

Utiq operates through partnerships with telecommunications providers including Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone. The company's technology creates encrypted network signals that enable deterministic audience targeting while maintaining explicit user consent through its consenthub portal. Unlike traditional cookie-based tracking methods, Utiq's approach leverages existing telecommunications infrastructure to generate privacy-first identifiers that function across traditionally non-targetable environments such as Safari and Firefox browsers.

The technical implementation embeds Utiq's identifier into Ad Alliance's proprietary data stack, enhancing targeting profiles and strengthening the company's cross-device graph capabilities. This integration enables more reliable assignment of household devices to individual users while supporting programmatic advertising workflows. Advertisers can access Utiq's identity solution through supporting demand-side platforms and supply-side platforms, facilitating efficient campaign purchasing across Ad Alliance's media inventory.

Norman Wagner, Managing Director of Utiq DACH, emphasized the strategic importance of the German market collaboration. "Advertisers rightly demand transparency, security, and planning reliability on the open web. With the partnership between Ad Alliance and Utiq, we are creating precisely that: a stable, privacy-compliant ID solution that combines reach with relevance. This strengthens brand-safe premium environments and enables real people to be reached deterministically and consistently across devices and platforms. Together, we are contributing to making the open web a trustworthy and competitive ecosystem alongside walled gardens."

The announcement follows Ad Alliance's September 1, 2025, integration of Net ID's consent solution, demonstrating RTL Deutschland's comprehensive approach to privacy-enhanced advertising technologies. This multi-pronged strategy positions the company to maintain targeting capabilities as the digital advertising industry transitions away from third-party cookie dependence.

Utiq's European expansion strategy has accelerated throughout 2025, with operational launches in six markets including Germany, France, Spain, Austria, the United Kingdom, and Italy. The company secured partnerships with 11 major supply-side platforms in January 2025, including Adform, Equativ, Index Exchange, Magnite, and PubMatic, enabling bidstream processing of Utiq's identifiers across programmatic advertising environments.

The German partnership represents Utiq's largest market integration by reach volume, according to industry analysis. Germany constitutes the second-largest digital advertising market in Europe, with programmatic advertising growth reaching 72% as marketers shift budgets toward Connected TV and digital video platforms. The collaboration addresses specific operational challenges created by browser fragmentation and varying privacy implementations across different platforms.

Ad Alliance operates as the unified marketing division for RTL Deutschland, managing advertising sales across television channels, streaming platforms, and digital properties. The company's portfolio encompasses more than 500 media brands across television, print, digital, addressable TV, and audio formats, reaching approximately 99% of Germany's population according to best for planning 2024 data.

The Utiq integration supports Ad Alliance's convergent media strategy, which aims to simplify cross-platform campaign execution while maintaining premium content quality and targeting precision. The company's "Big Screen" approach combines linear television, streaming, addressable TV, and digital platforms into unified campaign offerings, enabling advertisers to manage Total Video campaigns through streamlined booking processes.

According to industry research, 50% of European digital advertising inventory already operates without traditional cookie-based addressability, a shift accelerated by browser restrictions and regulatory requirements. Chrome's planned implementation of privacy enhancements further reduces the effectiveness of third-party cookie targeting methods, creating demand for alternative identification solutions.

The partnership aligns with broader consolidation trends across European advertising technology, where companies seek scale to compete with global tech giants. RTL Group's digital advertising revenue increased 27% to €230 million in the first half of 2025, while traditional television advertising declined 6.9% during the same period, highlighting the strategic importance of digital revenue growth.

RTL Deutschland's parent company RTL Group has pursued aggressive expansion through strategic acquisitions, including the €150 million purchase of Sky Deutschland announced in June 2025. The deal combines RTL's streaming platform RTL+ with Sky's premium content offerings, creating a unified entertainment business with approximately 11.5 million paying subscribers across the DACH region.

Ad Alliance's technology portfolio includes the AdManager platform launched in March 2025, providing self-service advertising capabilities for agencies and brands across European markets. The platform enables Total Video campaign management with real-time performance tracking, budget control, and creative optimization tools across RTL's media portfolio.

The Utiq partnership extends Ad Alliance's data strategy beyond traditional advertising technology solutions. The integration supports the company's One Brand Strategy, which unifies linear and non-linear video content under RTL and RTL+ brands to maximize audience engagement across all video distribution channels.

Industry observers note that telecommunications-backed advertising solutions represent a fundamental shift in identity infrastructure, moving from browser-based tracking to network-level signals. This approach addresses privacy regulations while maintaining targeting effectiveness, potentially establishing a competitive advantage for European advertising technology companies against US-based platforms.

The collaboration enables Ad Alliance to offer what it describes as "authentic audiences" through privacy-compliant methodologies that support frequency management, cross-environment reach, fraud prevention, and measurement capabilities. These capabilities align with European data protection regulations while providing advertisers with planning security and campaign optimization tools.

Utiq's technology operates through what the company describes as "Authentic Consent Service," giving users control over their data through an easy-to-navigate consenthub interface where consent can be withdrawn with a single click. The system creates separate encrypted "consentpasses" that allow brands and publishers to recognize website visitors without accessing user identities.

The German implementation follows successful market entries across other European territories, where Utiq has demonstrated measurable performance improvements in cookieless environments. Publicis Media France became the first media group to earn Utiq certification in May 2025, validating the platform's technical capabilities and operational effectiveness.

Ad Alliance's integration represents the culmination of 18 months of Utiq's European expansion efforts since its mid-2023 launch. The company has established partnerships with 28 telecommunications operators across its operational markets, creating the network infrastructure necessary for its consent-based addressability system.

The strategic alliance addresses critical challenges facing digital advertisers as traditional identification methods become unreliable. Browser restrictions on Safari and Firefox, combined with regulatory pressure across European markets, have reduced the effectiveness of third-party cookie targeting while increasing demand for privacy-compliant alternatives.

For RTL Deutschland, the partnership strengthens its position in the evolving media landscape where streaming platforms and digital advertising represent growth opportunities amid declining traditional television viewership. The company's comprehensive approach to privacy-enhanced advertising technologies positions it to maintain competitive advantages as industry transformation accelerates.

The collaboration between Ad Alliance and Utiq exemplifies European efforts to establish privacy-first advertising technologies that compete with global platforms while adhering to strict data protection requirements. As the digital advertising industry continues its transition toward cookieless environments, such partnerships may become essential for maintaining targeting capabilities and advertising effectiveness.

Timeline

• September 1, 2025 - RTL Deutschland integrates Net ID consent solution
• September 2, 2025 - Ad Alliance announces strategic partnership with Utiq
• September 2025 - Utiq technology deployed on n-tv, RTL, and STERN mobile websites
• March 2025 - RTL AdAlliance launches AdManager platform for European campaigns
• May 2025 - Publicis Media France becomes first certified Utiq partner
• June 2025 - Utiq launches in UK through Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone partnerships
• July 2025 - Utiq expands to Italy with Adhub Media partnership

Summary

Who: Ad Alliance, the marketing division of RTL Deutschland, partnered with Utiq, a European advertising technology company backed by Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone.

What: A strategic partnership integrating Utiq's telecommunications-powered identifier solution into Ad Alliance's data infrastructure to enable privacy-compliant digital targeting without third-party cookies.

When: The partnership was announced on September 2, 2025, with Utiq technology already deployed on RTL's mobile properties reaching 4 million users.

Where: The collaboration operates in Germany across RTL Deutschland's digital properties including n-tv, RTL, and STERN mobile websites, with expansion planned for additional platforms.

Why: The partnership addresses the digital advertising industry's transition away from third-party cookies by providing privacy-compliant targeting capabilities that maintain advertising effectiveness while adhering to European data protection regulations.