Connect TradeDesk with or without REDS and add Northbeam UTMs so spend and click revenue line up.
When you’re done, Northbeam shows your TradeDesk spend next to the visits and revenue from TradeDesk clicks, on the same campaigns, ad groups, and creatives.
Before you start, make sure you have:
An active Northbeam account
A TradeDesk advertiser account with campaign manager access
The Northbeam pixel installed and firing on your site
For the REDS path and C+DV: REDS access with TradeDesk (a paid add-on)
For C+DV: the same order_id sent to both TradeDesk and Northbeam. See Enable C+DV.
1. Connect the account
Pick REDS or a scheduled report, then link TradeDesk to Northbeam.
2. Add Northbeam UTMs
Add the click UTMs to your ads, then turn on the integration.
3. Confirm tracking
Check that spend and clicks show up after the first data refresh.
1
Connect your TradeDesk account
TradeDesk can send data to Northbeam two ways. Both give you spend reporting and click attribution. Only REDS also supports Clicks + Deterministic Views (C+DV).
With REDS
Without REDS (scheduled report)
How data arrives
Event-level impression, click, and conversion data via TradeDesk’s Raw Event Data Stream
Aggregated daily spend sent to Northbeam as a scheduled email report
Setup time
About 1–2 weeks, including REDS provisioning
About 1–3 days
Requires
A signed REDS access letter with TradeDesk (a paid TradeDesk add-on)
A scheduled report set up in TradeDesk
Supports C+DV
Yes
No
C+DV requires REDS. The scheduled report sends daily totals, not the event-level impression data needed to match views to individual orders. You can start with the scheduled report and switch to REDS later. Just ask your TradeDesk account manager for REDS access when you’re ready.
REDS (Raw Event Data Stream) is TradeDesk’s event-level data export. Instead of daily totals, it sends individual impression, click, and conversion events. That’s the detail Northbeam needs to match views to orders for C+DV. REDS is a paid add-on through TradeDesk.
Sign the access letter. TradeDesk will ask you to sign an access letter that lets them share your advertiser data with Northbeam. A sample is below.
Wait for TradeDesk to set up the feed. Once the signed letter is in, TradeDesk configures the REDS feed to send your data to Northbeam. This usually takes a few business days. You don’t need to do anything.
Connect in Northbeam. Go to Settings → Connections, scroll down to TradeDesk, enter your TradeDesk account ID, and confirm.
Then add your UTMs and turn on the integration. With REDS live, you also have what you need to enable C+DV.
Sample REDS access letter
Customize this letter and send it to your TradeDesk account manager. If your account manager has their own version, use theirs.
To: The Trade Desk Account TeamFrom: [Your Name], [Your Company]Date: [Date]Re: Authorization for Northbeam Curated REDS AccessI, [Your Name], authorized representative of [Your Company], hereby authorize The Trade Desk to share our advertiser data with Northbeam, Inc. via the Raw Event Data Stream (REDS) for the purpose of attribution reporting and analytics.Advertiser Name: [Your Company]TTD Advertiser ID: [Your TTD Advertiser ID]REDS Type: Northbeam Curated REDSThis authorization covers event-level impression, click, and conversion data associated with the above advertiser account. This data will be delivered to Northbeam’s ingestion pipeline for use in spend reporting, click attribution, and Clicks + Deterministic Views (C+DV) attribution.Signature: [Signature]Name: [Your Name]Title: [Your Title]Company: [Your Company]
This path uses TradeDesk’s scheduled report feature to email daily spend totals to Northbeam. It covers spend reporting and click attribution, but not C+DV.Open Connections and scroll down to TradeDesk. You’ll find:
TradeDesk Channels: the TradeDesk channels you can select. View-only channels (Audio, Digital Out of Home, TV) can’t be measured for click attribution.
Click UTMs: the UTM parameters to add to your ad click-through URLs
Email for Scheduled Report: the Northbeam address your TradeDesk report should be sent to
Settings > Connections > TradeDesk
Then set up the scheduled report in TradeDesk:
Go to the reporting section in TradeDesk.
Create a scheduled report that includes spend, impressions, and clicks.
Set the delivery email to the address on your Northbeam Connections page.
Set the cadence to daily.
Northbeam reads these reports automatically to fill in your spend data. Next, add your UTMs and turn on the integration.Want C+DV later? You can switch to REDS at any time. Ask your TradeDesk account manager for Northbeam Curated REDS and follow Path 1. Your existing spend and click history stays in place.If you skip this step: TradeDesk spend won’t appear in Northbeam.
2
Add Northbeam parameters to your ads
The Northbeam click UTMs let the Northbeam pixel tie a click back to a specific TradeDesk campaign, ad group, and creative.
Copy your UTM string from Northbeam under Settings → Connections → TradeDesk.
In TradeDesk, add it to the click-through URL of every active campaign.
Your UTM must start with & or ?.
If the URL already has parameters, use &: yoursite.com?existing=param&nb_platform=tradedesk…
If the URL has no parameters, use ?: yoursite.com?nb_platform=tradedesk…
Watch a walkthrough
Then turn on the integration. Go back to Settings → Connections → TradeDesk and:
Select the TradeDesk Channels you’re actively advertising on.
Check the confirmation box for Click UTMs. On the scheduled report path, also check Scheduled Reports.
Click Connect.
Northbeam starts reporting spend and click performance on the next data refresh.If you skip this step: campaigns without UTMs get no click attribution, so spend and revenue show up on separate lines and performance is hard to read.
3
Confirm tracking
Allow one full data refresh first. That’s usually within 24 hours of turning on the integration.
Parameters captured: follow Checking UTM tracking to confirm the Northbeam parameters reach your landing pages.
Connection syncing: follow Checking platform connections to confirm the account shows as connected and data is arriving.
Then check the data in Northbeam:
TradeDesk spend appears on the Attribution page.
Click-through events appear for campaigns that have UTMs.
First Touch, Last Touch, Last Non-Direct Touch, Linear, and Clicks-Only all show TradeDesk data.
A sample campaign’s UTM parameters resolve correctly.
On the REDS path? You should also see TradeDesk impressions. If spend shows up but impressions don’t, the REDS feed may not be fully set up yet. Check with your TradeDesk account manager.If a check fails, see Troubleshooting Northbeam data.
TradeDesk click tracking works on these channels: Display, Video, Native Display, and Native Video.They support every Northbeam attribution model: First Touch, Last Touch, Last Non-Direct Touch, Linear, Clicks-Only, and Clicks + Deterministic Views (C+DV, REDS path only).
Some channels have limited attribution. TV, Digital Out of Home, and Audio rarely drive a direct website click, so you’ll see very little tracking and performance data for them. Spend still reports as normal.
C+DV adds verified view credit on top of click tracking, for TradeDesk’s impression-heavy placements. It needs the REDS path and a matching order_id in TradeDesk and Northbeam.
