On Device brings independent brand-lift into programmatic auctions

Where the measurement actually sits

On 21 September 2026, On Device Research and Index Exchange announced a partnership that places independent brand-lift measurement directly inside Index Marketplaces, the supply-side platform (SSP, the technology sellers use to make ad inventory available to buyers) run by Index Exchange.^[1] The distinction matters: the measurement code runs at the impression level, inside Index Exchange's containerised on-device infrastructure, without touching auction latency.^[1]

That is a different architecture from bolt-on verification tools applied after a campaign has already run. The measurement application runs inside the auction infrastructure itself, at the moment an impression is served, rather than being applied by the seller after the fact. Advertisers, agencies and publishers can all access the service through the platform.

How On Device's passive panel works

On Device Research built its methodology around passive, single-source exposure measurement.^[3] Rather than asking consumers to recall whether they saw an ad, a method prone to memory bias, the system matches actual ad exposures back to an ID-verified first-party consumer panel and measures lift in brand awareness, consideration and purchase intent from there.^[2]

On Device's approach relies on passive, single-source exposure measurement matched to an ID-verified first-party consumer panel, delivering lift analytics without self-reported ad recall. The company has argued publicly for this model since at least mid-2024, when it published its Measurement Manifesto calling on the industry to move away from fragmented, self-reported methods.^[2]

The homework problem this does and does not solve

Programmatic buyers have criticised viewability and click-through rates as poor proxies for real consumer attitude change for years. The deeper frustration, though, is structural: when a platform measures the performance of its own inventory, it is marking its own homework. Alistair Hill, Co-Founder and CEO of On Device Research, addressed that directly. According to Hill, the partnership aims to bring truly independent, panel-based brand-lift measurement to programmatic buyers, removing any question of neutrality in campaign measurement.^[1]

Andrew Casale, President and CEO of Index Exchange, said the integration reflects a broader commitment to supply-side transparency. According to Casale, the partnership underscores a commitment to transparency and ensures that brands can measure real outcomes, beyond proxies, directly within Index Exchange's supply-side infrastructure.^[1]

What the partnership does not resolve is the question of whether a third party embedded inside one SSP's infrastructure can claim true independence from that SSP's commercial interests. On Device is a global independent brand-lift measurement company serving advertisers, agencies and publishers;^[5] the structural answer is that it brings its own verified panel and its own methodology, neither of which relies on Index Exchange data.

Where this fits Index Exchange's strategy

In January 2026, Index Exchange announced a separate integration with inPowered AI and Kantar exclusively through Index Marketplaces, suggesting a deliberate strategy to embed third-party measurement tools at the supply-side level.^[4] The On Device partnership, announced eight months later, adds a passive panel methodology to that roster. The pattern points to Index Exchange treating its SSP as a platform for third-party measurement integrations, rather than leaving that work to individual buyers or sellers.

Prompt the Market could not independently verify performance figures for the integration, which had launched only on the day of announcement. The figures and mechanism details cited here come from the companies' own releases.