How Segment Builder Calculates Segment Size
During segment building with the Segment Builder, you can see the size of each segment rule you create and can calculate the total size of the segment before building.
Size Metrics Used
There are two possible metrics that might be used in segment and segment rule sizes: records and RampIDs. See the sections below for more information on each metric.
When all of the assets in a rule or segment are from the same dataset, the size is expressed in records.
When the rule or segment contains assets from multiple datasets, the size is expressed in RampIDs.
For more information on how we determine which metric to use, see the “How We Determine Which Size Metric to Use” section below.
Records
When size is given in records, the size represents the number of unique (deduplicated) records in the segment or asset. Records are deduplicated by the dataset key that’s used for the dataset that contains the segment or asset (such as CIDs or email addresses). This most closely corresponds to the number of consumers contained in the segment or asset.
Note
When you use an existing segment as a rule, Segment Builder can only display that rule’s size after the referenced segment has finished the processing needed to make a size available. If the underlying segment is still being created, materialized, or having its size calculated, the builder might show Calculating instead of a number.
RampIDs
The number of unique (deduplicated) RampIDs in the segment or asset. A RampID is LiveRamp's universal, pseudonymous identifier that is tied to devices in the LiveRamp Identity Graph. This more closely corresponds to the number of devices for the consumers contained in the segment or asset.
RampID counts are usually larger than record counts, because one source record can match to multiple RampIDs (for more information, see the “Why Records Might Have Multiple RampIDs” section below).
Note
RampID size can be either exact or estimated, depending on the status of the segment or rule. If the exact RampID count is not available yet, Segment Builder might show an estimated size (with a tilde (~)) in front of the number) so you can still understand the likely scale of the audience while processing continues. After the necessary processing is complete, the estimated size is replaced by the exact RampID count.
Why Records Might Have Multiple RampIDs
In an ideal marketing world, LiveRamp would always have all PII touchpoints merged into a single individual. In reality, LiveRamp often manages multiple RampIDs for an individual.
This is because people are dynamic: they move houses, change jobs, switch phones, share computers, and upgrade their tech. In the U.S., in 2018 alone, there were 36 M residential moves, 4 M births, 2.2 M marriages, and almost 800 K divorces. Each of these events might create a new PII touchpoint. When we observe a new piece of PII, we create a RampID for that touchpoint.
Over time, each of these events builds a more complete picture of that person’s identity. But until we are able to confidently recognize and prove that these new PII touchpoints are tied to that one individual, we might associate multiple RampIDs with that individual’s data. Once we have a high degree of confidence that the new touchpoints are tied to that individual, we merge those RampIDs into a single maintained RampID.
Thanks to our massive online and offline footprint, we are able to successfully do this more accurately and faster than any alternative.
Multiple RampID Example
For example, say you’re targeting men in Boulder, CO with an email campaign. Email addresses for Bill Jenkins, Billy Jenkins, and William Jenkins appear separately in your targeting file.
Within our graph, each email address has its own RampID (example: XY123, XY456, Xi789). As we observe some common linkages across the three RampIDs (e.g., name and postal address, phone), over time, LiveRamp will learn that Bill, Billy, and William are the same person.
How We Determine Which Size Metric to Use
If all the data in the segment or rule comes from one dataset, the calculated size is shown as the number of deduplicated segment members (rows/records). This is possible because all of the data is keyed off of the same identifier (the dataset key for that dataset) which makes it possible to express the size in terms of the number of unique records in the segment or rule.
However, when a segment or rule contains assets from multiple datasets, no shared dataset key exists. Each dataset has its own key and its own definition of a deduplicated record, so a “record” in one dataset cannot be directly matched to a “record” in another dataset in a consistent way.
To combine data across datasets, Segment Builder has to join those assets on a common identifier. Within LiveRamp, that common identifier is RampID. Because RampID is the shared identity layer across datasets in LiveRamp, it provides a consistent way to determine which people or devices are represented in the combined segment.
For this reason, you might have a segment where the size for some of the rules is expressed in terms of records but the size for the overall segment is expressed in terms of RampIDs.
How Size is Handled When Data Marketplace Data is Used
In the Segment Builder, a requested Data Marketplace segment appears as a prebuilt segment asset, with its size shown in maintained RampIDs next to the segment name, and with a Purchased Data icon in the rule row. However, if the segment you are building contains Data Marketplace data, the builder cannot calculate the overall segment size during building. Segment size will be calculated once the segment has been built.