Adobe launches data collaboration tool for privacy-first advertising
New platform enables advertisers and publishers to work with first-party data as industry moves away from third-party cookies.
Adobe has unveiled a new data collaboration platform that enables advertisers and publishers to work together using first-party data, marking a shift in digital advertising strategies. The announcement, made three days ago on February 20, 2025, introduces Real-Time CDP Collaboration, a tool designed to address changes in the advertising landscape as third-party data becomes less viable.
According to Ryan Gould, president of U.S. advertising sales at Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the partnership with Adobe will allow advertisers to discover new audiences based on consumer preferences within WBD properties. "Leveraging these dynamic tools will empower advertisers to maximize their campaigns' success across our premium content portfolio by delivering curated brand experiences to consumers in privacy-centric, contextually relevant ways," Gould stated.
The platform operates through Adobe Experience Platform, which consolidates customer data across multiple channels. The system enables brands to identify relevant audiences and deliver personalized advertising campaigns without exposing directly identifiable customer information. This approach aligns with increasing consumer control over privacy preferences and the diminishing role of third-party data in digital advertising.
Giuseppe Cagliostro, Global Client Lead at GroupM Wavemaker, highlighted the platform's practical benefits. "Real-Time CDP Collaboration eliminates hours of time we usually spend on creating a data clean room, with an intuitive user interface that delivers meaningful audience insights used to plan campaigns, execute with greater speed and measure the impact of media buys," Cagliostro explained.
The technical architecture of Real-Time CDP Collaboration includes integration capabilities with various ecosystem partners. Adobe has established connections with data infrastructure providers such as Snowflake and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Identity partnerships extend to companies including Acxiom, LiveRamp, TransUnion and The Trade Desk.
Sundeep Parsa, vice president of product at Adobe Experience Cloud, emphasized the strategic timing of the release. "The move away from third-party signals such as Internet cookies has presented an opportunity for brands to make better use of their first-party data, driving more relevant ad experiences based on direct customer relationships," Parsa noted.
The platform's functionality spans three core areas: partner connectivity, audience activation, and performance measurement. Through centralized dashboards, advertisers and publishers can analyze audience overlap and identify opportunities for customer acquisition or retargeting. The system includes privacy controls that prevent exposure of proprietary customer information while maintaining data utility.
NBCUniversal joins Warner Bros. Discovery as a publishing partner on the platform. Adobe has indicated that artificial intelligence capabilities for audience expansion through lookalike modeling will be added to the system, with experimentation features planned for rapid deployment.
Campaign measurement capabilities include on-demand dashboards providing metrics on active and historical campaigns. These tools track impressions, reach, and frequency across publisher networks. Adobe plans to introduce secure integration of audience and conversion data for outcomes-based measurement.
Timeline of key developments
- February 20, 2025: General availability announcement of Real-Time CDP Collaboration in the U.S.
- Partnership announcement with Warner Bros. Discovery
- Integration established with NBCUniversal
- Partnerships confirmed with data infrastructure providers including Snowflake and AWS
- Identity partnerships announced with Acxiom, LiveRamp, TransUnion and The Trade Desk
- Future capabilities announced: AI-powered lookalike modeling and conversion data integration
The platform's release reflects broader changes in digital advertising as the industry adapts to increasing privacy concerns and regulatory requirements. Adobe's approach emphasizes secure collaboration between advertisers and publishers while maintaining consumer privacy protections.