Skip to main content
An activation is a cohort configured for delivery to a specific ad platform. While cohorts define the audience segments users belong to, activations control which of those cohorts are sent to which platforms for targeting. Not all cohorts need to be sent to every platform. Activations give publishers control over the distribution of their audiences, enabling:
  • Platform-specific targeting — Send different cohorts to different ad platforms based on campaign requirements.
  • Data governance — Control which platforms receive which audience segments, maintaining oversight of how audience data is used.
  • Performance optimization — Only deliver relevant cohorts to each platform, reducing noise and improving targeting efficiency.

​
Cohorts vs. activations

Cohorts represent the full set of audience segments a user belongs to within Permutive. Activations are the subset of those cohorts that have been configured for a specific ad platform. A single cohort can have activations across multiple platforms, or may not be activated at all if it is used only for insights or internal analysis.

​
How activations work

Cohort membership is computed on-device by the Permutive SDK. When a user is a member of an activated cohort, the SDK delivers the relevant activation data directly to the ad platform during the ad request—typically as key-value pairs passed to the ad server. This on-device delivery ensures that activation happens in real time, on the first pageview, for 100% of users.

​
Activation types

Activations are configured per platform. Common activation types include:
  • Ad server activations — Deliver cohorts to ad servers like Google Ad Manager, Xandr, or FreeWheel for direct targeting.
  • Bidstream activations — Pass cohort data into the bidstream via integrations like Prebid, making audiences available to demand-side buyers.
  • Identity-based activations — Deliver cohort data via server-to-server integrations using identifiers such as hashed emails, advertising IDs, or IP addresses, enabling activation with DSPs, SSPs, and other partners.