Acxiom, now part of Omnicom, pairs InfoBase consumer data with Real ID identity resolution that runs in a brand's own cloud. Consider an alternative if you want consumer, property, auto and B2B files from one supplier under one license, delivered to your warehouse, or if you would rather not tie your customer data to one agency holding company.
TL;DR
- Pick GSDSI when you want consumer attributes and adjacent files (property, vehicle, B2B, device linkages) licensed to you and delivered to your own systems.
- Pick Acxiom when you want a managed identity resolution service in your Snowflake or Databricks account, connected to Omnicom media through Omni.
- Before switching, run one customer file through each vendor and compare fill rates, recency and what you may keep after the contract ends.
What Acxiom does well
Acxiom has sold consumer data for close to six decades and lists locations in the US, the UK, Germany, Poland, the UAE and Mexico. Its ownership has changed twice in seven years. Interpublic bought Acxiom in October 2018 in a deal that left out LiveRamp, which carried on as a separate public company. Omnicom then completed its purchase of Interpublic in November 2025, so Acxiom now sits inside Omnicom.
Two products carry most of its reputation. InfoBase is its third-party file of attributes on US people and households, which Acxiom sells for data enhancement, analytics and audience building. Real ID is its identity resolution product. In June 2026 Acxiom described Real ID as cloud native, built so a brand can own its customer identity graph without moving directly identifiable personal information, and named it the identity and data layer of Omni, the Omnicom marketing platform. Acxiom has also announced Real ID work with Snowflake and Databricks.
So Acxiom suits a large brand that wants one partner to clean, resolve and enrich its customer file, keep that identity work inside the brand's own cloud account, and connect the result to Omnicom media buying. If your agency of record is already an Omnicom shop, much of that wiring may exist before you sign anything.
Sources: About Acxiom; Acxiom locations; The Drum on IPG completing its Acxiom acquisition (2018); Omnicom on completing its acquisition of Interpublic; Acxiom InfoBase overview; Acxiom Real ID announcement, June 2026; Acxiom Real ID product page; Acxiom on its Snowflake work; Acxiom on its Databricks integration
Why teams shop for an Acxiom alternative
Buyers rarely leave Acxiom over the quality of its consumer data. The reasons for looking around are about fit and control:
- Agency independence. After two holding company deals in seven years, some brands, and some agencies outside Omnicom, want a data supplier with no media business attached.
- A narrow first purchase. An analytics team may only need a consumer append or a property file it can store and model, and wants to compare several suppliers for that one job.
- The project reaches past the consumer record. Home ownership, vehicles, business contacts, mobile devices and TV viewing often come from different vendors, and someone has to join them.
- A smaller first step. A test on a few thousand of your own records with written pass criteria gets approved faster than an enterprise platform contract.
- The use is not advertising. Lead scoring, market sizing and CRM cleanup rarely need a media platform on the other end.
Acxiom and GSDSI compared
The Acxiom column draws on Acxiom's own pages and the press coverage cited above. The GSDSI column draws on our product pages.
| Topic | Acxiom | GSDSI |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Part of Omnicom since its November 2025 purchase of Interpublic | Independent company founded in 2018 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| Consumer data | InfoBase, sold for enhancement, analytics and audiences | Consumer Data File with demographics, lifestyle segments, propensity models and life-event signals |
| Identity | Real ID resolution run in the client cloud and used as the identity layer of Omnicom Omni | Linkages such as mobile device to hashed email, delivered as data for your own graph |
| Other files in the same contract | Set per engagement; Acxiom can confirm how its catalog covers your use case | Property, vehicle, B2B contact, POI, mobility, CTV/ACR and clickstream feeds |
| Where the data sits | Real ID runs in your own cloud account; Acxiom names Snowflake and Databricks | Delivered to you by S3, SFTP, Snowflake share or API |
| A fair first test | Match and append results on your own customer file | Matched sample on your seed, with go or no-go criteria agreed up front |
When GSDSI is the better call
- You want consumer attributes appended to your file and delivered for you to keep and model, under license terms you negotiate for that purpose.
- The same project needs property records, vehicle ownership or business contacts, and one agreement beats three.
- Your agency roster is mixed or changing, and you want a supplier that sells no media.
- The use is direct mail, CRM hygiene, suppression or modeling rather than programmatic buying.
When Acxiom is the better call
Plenty of buyers should stay where they are. It is worth being honest about that.
- You want the vendor to do the matching, hygiene and identity work for you, inside your own Snowflake or Databricks account.
- Your media runs through an Omnicom agency and you want your identity graph connected to Omni.
- You run consumer data programs in countries where Acxiom has local teams.
- GSDSI does not run identity resolution inside your cloud and does not host a clean room. We license and deliver data, and that is the whole offer.
Other Acxiom alternatives
A short list. Which one fits depends on the part of Acxiom you are replacing.
- Epsilon: the Publicis Groupe counterpart, built around the CORE ID person-level identifier. We compare it on its own page.
- LiveRamp: once part of Acxiom Corporation and now a separate public company focused on identity connectivity and collaboration. A fit when the need is onboarding, not the data.
- Experian and TransUnion: credit bureaus that also run marketing data and identity businesses. Each has its own comparison page here.
Sources: The Drum on IPG completing its Acxiom acquisition (2018)
Checklist for comparing Acxiom with other providers
Score every vendor on one sheet so the decision holds up in procurement.
- Append rate on your own customer file, split by age band and region, and which fields come back filled rather than blank.
- How often attributes are rebuilt, and how movers and deceased records are handled.
- Whether modeled fields are labeled as modeled, and how the models were validated.
- Rights after the contract: can you keep appended fields, and can you build your own scores from them?
- Where identity processing runs, who holds the keys, and what leaves your environment.
- Whether price or access depends on which agency you use.
- Sensitive attribute handling and state privacy law duties, written into the agreement.
FAQ
- Who owns Acxiom?
- Omnicom. Interpublic bought Acxiom in 2018, and Omnicom completed its acquisition of Interpublic in November 2025. Acxiom now provides the data and identity layer for Omni, Omnicom's marketing platform.
- What is Acxiom Real ID?
- Acxiom's identity resolution product. Acxiom describes it as cloud native, running in the client's own environment so a brand can own its customer identity graph without moving directly identifiable personal information.
- Is GSDSI an Acxiom alternative for consumer data?
- Yes, especially for buyers who want consumer attributes licensed together with property, auto or B2B data under one agreement. The GSDSI Consumer Data File carries demographics, lifestyle segments, propensity models and life-event signals for non-FCRA marketing use.
- Can we use GSDSI if our agency is part of Omnicom?
- Yes. Licensed files come to you by S3, SFTP, Snowflake share or API, and your license terms govern how they are used, whichever agency runs your media.
- What should we test before moving away from InfoBase?
- Run the same customer file through each vendor. Compare fill rates field by field, how recent the values are, how modeled fields are flagged, and what you are allowed to keep once the contract ends.