Frequency Suppression With Identity Cuts Waste and Protects ROI

Series: Smarter Media, Real Results

Why Frequency Suppression Only Works with Real Identity

Brands that suppress audiences using identity-based signals—not cookies or devices—cut wasted spend, reduce ad fatigue, and increase ROI. In verticals like QSR, CPG, and franchise brands, identity-first suppression leads to more efficient performance and cleaner measurement.

If you’re still suppressing ad impressions by device ID or third-party segment, you’re paying to annoy your best customers.

Let’s be blunt: device IDs aren’t people. MAIDs get reset. Cookies get blocked. Shared devices confuse the picture. If you're trying to limit frequency without real identity resolution, you’re not suppressing effectively—you’re just guessing.

High-frequency waste is costing brands real money. According to a 2024 AdExchanger analysis, up to 37% of programmatic impressions in major campaigns are served to users already exposed or converted due to incomplete suppression logic.

Frequency ≠ Fatigue. It’s a Budget Problem.

There’s a big difference between message fatigue and budget waste.

Frequency suppression isn’t just about avoiding burnout. It’s about cutting unnecessary impressions that don’t drive incremental lift. This is especially critical for:

• QSR brands spending across dozens of locations

• Franchises juggling local and national buys

• CPG companies retargeting known purchasers

Without precision, you’re double-serving customers who’ve already taken action.

How Device Suppression Falls Short

Most frequency capping relies on:

• MAIDs (mobile advertising IDs)

• Cookies (when they still work)

• IP or household-level heuristics

These are easy to reset or spoof. They can’t distinguish between:

• A loyal customer vs. a one-time visitor

• A mobile device used by multiple people

• Someone who purchased yesterday vs. three months ago

When suppression fails, costs rise and effectiveness drops. That’s not optimization—that’s overspending.

Identity-Based Suppression Changes Everything

When you suppress by verified identity, not device, you can:

• Stop targeting users post-conversion

• Reduce frequency on known loyalists

• Reallocate spend to first-time or high-LTV prospects

This leads to:

• 20–40% lower CPM waste (MMA Global, April 2024)

• 15–30% higher ROAS in QSR and CPG (Avaus Research, 2024)

• Up to 60% decrease in impression overlap (CustomerLabs Benchmark Report, March 2025)

How AiOpti Clients Do It

QSR Example

A national QSR brand using AiOpti’s Super AIdentity Graph℠ saw a 27% drop in wasted impressions by suppressing previous week converters from their weekend push. They reallocated that spend to fringe audiences, boosting new foot traffic by 19%.

Franchise Example

A multi-location franchise used frequency thresholds tied to email-verified identity, not device IDs. The result? 2× the reach at the same spend, and a 21% lift in ROI by redirecting wasted impressions.

What Makes Identity Suppression Work?

To do this right, you need:

• Hashed emails tied to CRM or loyalty IDs

• Real-time impression and conversion event matching

• Persistent identity graphs across platforms

• Deterministic suppression logic—not modeled segments

If you're still relying on campaign-level frequency capping, you're missing the forest for the trees.

Beyond Paid: Frequency Impacts Owned + Earned Too

This isn’t just a programmatic or social issue. Frequency bloat affects:

• Email retargeting (are you resending to the already converted?)

• OTT/CTV campaigns (are you frequency-capping by household?)

• Influencer and affiliate lift (are you counting repeat buyers as “new”?)

Modern suppression strategies span the entire media mix, not just paid.

Let’s Talk Frequency Best Practices (2025 Edition)

Here’s how high-performing brands are doing it now:

1. Suppress past 7-day converters on all platforms

2. Lower frequency for high-LTV customers to avoid waste

3. Segment based on identity, not just behavior or lookalikes

4. Monitor overlap rates and conversion lag time

5. Tie suppression directly to spend, not just impressions

If you don’t have identity resolution, none of this is possible.

Key Takeaways

• Frequency suppression by device no longer works—identity is required

• Over 30% of programmatic impressions may be wasted due to bad suppression (AdExchanger, 2024)

• QSR and franchise brands are gaining 20–30% more efficiency by tying suppression to real identity

• The result: lower waste, higher lift, and provable ROI

👉 Coming next in this series: How CPG brands combine match rate + frequency suppression for 2× efficiency and better channel performance.