The advertising industry loves a buzzword, and right now, "omnichannel" is the favorite. But let’s be clear—what many in the industry call omnichannel is nothing more than fragmented supply under a convenient label. The reality? True omnichannel isn’t about simply adding more channels, screens, or devices to your media mix; it’s about seamlessly reaching the right audience, wherever they are, and measuring real impact.

The Supply-Focused Fallacy

Many demand-side platforms (DSPs) have an omnichannel narrative that’s centered entirely on supply. This makes sense—CTV (for example) is a major growth area, and platforms want to capitalize on the shift in media consumption. The problem? Omnichannel doesn’t start with the advertiser’s needs; it starts with what can be sold. To me, this is a channel approach not an omnichannel approach.

Think of a sports team where every player trains in isolation. They might be individually strong, but without practicing together, they won’t execute plays smoothly in a real game. True omnichannel ensures every channel works in sync, guided by audience insights rather than disconnected tactics.

At Quantcast, we think differently. Our approach to omnichannel is truly holistic. Instead of forcing advertisers into siloed media channels, we start with the most critical asset—your audience. We build a single, custom audience model, and from there, we find new audiences across all channels—display, native, mobile web, in-app, CTV, online video, and now, audio.

Measurement That Actually Matters

A true omnichannel approach isn’t just about reach—it’s about impact. Adding CTV to your strategy means nothing if you can’t quantify its incremental contribution to performance. That’s why our measurement suite is built to track omnichannel success in one place, not as disconnected data points across different platforms. We measure cross-device engagement using our advanced household graph, ensuring advertisers can see how their audience interacts across screens. By understanding audiences across devices, we provide a unified view of performance, proving incremental brand and performance gains. No more guesswork. No more “CTV is growing, so you should be in it” sales pitches. Just transparent, measurable outcomes.

The Identifier Illusion: The Problem With Single IDs and Third-Party Data

Another common narrative is that a single proprietary ID is the key to addressability. While this might seem like a simple solution, the reality is far more complex. Many of these IDs are tied to email addresses, which assumes that users consistently log in with the same email across all publishers. But in practice, people use different emails for different purposes—one for a family streaming account, another for a news subscription, and perhaps a separate one for online shopping. Expecting a single ID to cover the full consumer journey is unrealistic and leaves significant gaps in reach and effectiveness.

Imagine trying to track your Uber ride with just one location update. You might know where the car was at a single moment, but without continuous updates, you’d have no idea if it’s stuck in traffic, taking a detour, or arriving soon. That’s how relying on a single ID works—you only see fragments of the full journey, making it impossible to get a complete picture.

Third-party data presents a similar challenge. It is often stale, updated infrequently, and based on past user behavior rather than real-time intent. In the past, this might have been sufficient, but today’s fast-moving digital landscape requires fresh, dynamic insights. Relying on outdated third-party data can lead to massive inefficiencies, wasted spend, and missed opportunities. Furthermore, third-party data is rapidly diminishing, making it an increasingly unreliable foundation for modern advertising strategies.

Taking the analogy even further (!), third-party data is like trying to use an old, outdated map to navigate a constantly evolving city. Streets have changed, new routes have opened, and construction has altered the landscape—but your map remains frozen in time. That’s exactly what happens when advertisers rely on outdated third-party data. It offers an incomplete and inaccurate picture, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities.

We take an entirely different approach. We use all identifiers, remaining agnostic to both supply and IDs. Instead of forcing a one-size-fits-all approach, our models evaluate signals in real time, adapting to the specific audience an advertiser wants to reach. The goal isn’t to push one ID or use one data set—it’s to maximize every data point available to drive better performance.

What Advertisers Actually Care About

Unlike other approaches that focus on supply or proprietary IDs, we start with what matters most to advertisers: finding and growing their audience, driving more customers, and proving the success of their campaigns. That’s the foundation of every product we build.

Advertising is evolving, and the old ways of buying media—where supply dictates strategy—are no longer enough. The future belongs to those who can connect the dots between audience, activation, and measurement. That’s why we don’t just claim to be omnichannel. We are omnichannel. And that’s a difference that matters.