Marketing confidence is being tested
Marketers feel effective, until growth and complexity expose a gap.
As marketing organizations balance growth and accountability, the ability to understand and reach audiences has become increasingly difficult.
Channels have multiplied. Customer journeys have fragmented. The volume of available data has exploded. At the same time, marketers are being asked to deliver greater relevance, prove performance and create continuity across more touchpoints.
This is where identity resolution becomes foundational. It connects data into a complete customer view, recognizes individuals and helps reach audiences across channels. As a result, brands can better activate their data, measure performance and understand where marketing is delivering value.
As expectations for marketing performance grow, brands need a more connected view of their customers—one that brings data, activation and measurement together.
The foundation
What is identity resolution?
Identity resolution is the process of recognizing an individual by connecting identifiers and interactions across channels into a single, unified profile.
That connected understanding helps marketers move beyond fragmented data and create greater continuity across audience recognition, activation and measurement.
Connect
Bring signals and identifiers together across data sources.
Recognize
Understand when different interactions belong to the same individual.
Activate
Use a more consistent audience understanding across marketing touchpoints.
Under closer scrutiny
Effectiveness depends on more than whether identity exists.
We conducted research, in partnership with the American Marketing Association, to understand how marketers are using identity resolution today and whether having the capability in their marketing technology stack makes a difference in driving impact. The research shows that identity resolution is associated with stronger performance across prospecting, personalization, digital campaigns, measurement and learning. But access alone does not determine impact. How effectively identity is applied—and how deeply it connects data, activation and measurement—shapes the value marketers receive.
Identity improves performance. Integration determines how far that performance can go.
Explore the research
Where the identity gap appears
The research follows the identity gap across four moments where marketing confidence is increasingly tested.
About the research
A view into how marketers are using identity today
The American Marketing Association, in partnership with Epsilon, conducted an online survey of 203 U.S. business-to-consumer marketers at organizations with more than 500 employees. All respondents were manager level or above. The survey was conducted in April 2026.
Percentages shown in charts may not total 100% due to rounding.
©2026 Epsilon Data Management, LLC. All rights reserved. All names and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.