CIMM, WFA Take Crack At Cross-Media Measurement

Cross-media measurement is hard. For every measurement company that announces that it’s cracked the code, there are media buyers and advertisers who say they still don’t know the reach and frequency for their multi-screen campaigns, let alone how effective they’ve been.

The problem is not just an American one. The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) is teaming up with the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) on a strategic review of cross-media measurement in Europe.

As in the U.S., a number of ways of tackling cross-platform measurement have presented themselves in Europe, but advertisers, broadcasters, platforms, agencies and vendors haven’t reached a consensus on what really works.

The review aims to identify which systems and methodologies could deliver scalable, high-quality data while working within European privacy regulations. It will also try to lay out steps for implementing promising solutions.

“While significant progress has been made, data silos, varying methodologies and regulatory constraints continue to create challenges for the industry. The commercial sustainability of different solutions is unclear,” said Jon Watts, Managing Director of CIMM. “This new study aims to facilitate alignment and understanding about the prospects for cross-media measurement in Europe, the meaningful differences between the available solutions, and the challenges and priorities ahead – which will also be relevant to buyers and sellers in every market.”

The study is being led by industry consultants Andy Brown, Paul Goode and Sarah Mansfield.

CIMM, the WFA and the authors of the study will be supported by a cross-industry steering committee of senior executives.

The steering committee includes Yannick Carriou of Mediametrie, Davide Crestani, Auditell; Ben Hovaness, Omnicom; George Ivie, MRC; Helen Katz, Publicis Media; Chris Mundy, RSMB; Valérie Morrisson, CESP; Neha Sharma, Unilever; Norman Wagner, Uta; Mark Stephenson, WPP Media, and Zeman Bhunnoo, formerly with the Sazerac Co. and Nestle.

Final analysis and conclusions will remain those of CIMM, WFA and the study authors, the groups said.

According to CIMM and WFA, generating useful cross-platform metrics is technically and operationally complex, requiring the integration of disparate measurement approaches and datasets, reconciliation of exposures across devices and households, access to data from both local media owners and global platforms, and compliance with evolving privacy and regulatory frameworks.

A variety of solutions are being developed in Europe, including Origin in the UK, which partially relies on WFA’s industry developed Halo open-source cross-media measurement framework, based upon the incorporation of single-source panel and digital census data, the groups said. There are also extensions being made to panel-based Joint Industry Committee (JIC) systems, and the introduction of agency or vendor-led technical frameworks often involving various data fusion techniques.

Though each of these solutions reflects meaningful progress and investment, it remains uncertain which can meet the needs of marketers and secure broad, cross-industry support at scale, they said.

“Halo is now being brought to life through pioneering prototypes in the U.K. and U.S. and the WFA is encouraged by the momentum behind the approach. At the same time, local JIC and broadcaster-led solutions continue to evolve. With this study, we hope to help the industry understand how these efforts can complement one another and what practical steps are needed for scalable, future-ready CMM that works for advertisers and the wider ecosystem,” said Matt Green, Director of Global Media and Measurement at WFA.

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JWX, which helps publishers distribute content in multiple digital formats, said it acquired Aug X Labs, the startup behind Augie Studio.

Augie Studio’s AI-assisted commercial video capabilities will be incorporated into JWX Studios, extending content value, improving operational efficiency and unlocking monetization opportunities, JWX said.

“Augie strengthens our publisher platform by enabling media companies to transform existing content into multi-format experiences optimized for modern distribution, engagement, and monetization. This acquisition is part of JWX’s broader mission to help publishers operate more efficiently and compete in an increasingly fragmented ecosystem,” said JWX CEO John Nardone.

All Aug X Labs employees will now join JWX. CEO and co-founder Jeremy Toeman will take on the role of SVP of AI Innovation. Augie CPO and co-founder JT White will assume the role of VP, Head of Content Studio.

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The Interactive Advertising Bureau released its first guidelines for disclosing the uses of artificial intelligence in marketing. The AI Transparency and Disclosure Framework is designed to build consumer trust and reduce regulatory risk for brands, agencies, publishers and platforms.

The types of things that the IAB is encouraging advertisers to disclose include the use of AI-generated voices and images of deceased individuals, digital twins of living people shown in circumstances that never occurred and synthetic avatars, chatbots and conversational agents in ads the simulate human interaction.

The disclosures are to be made to consumers using labels, visual causes or interactive elements. There should also be machine-readable metadata for technical compliance.

“The digital industry is embracing AI in all of its splendor at breathtaking speed. We are certainly at a critical inflection point with generative AI,” said IAB CEO David Cohen. “While AI is transforming how we work from ideation to execution and measurement, we must get transparency and disclosure right, or we risk losing the trust that underpins the entire value exchange. We’re giving the ecosystem tools it needs to drive responsible innovation.”

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Madhive said it hired two industry veterans to senior posts.

Nicki Harkrider-Probey was named chief revenue officer, a vacant post at Madhive. Harkrider-Probey had been chief revenue officer of News-Press & Gazette Co.

Mindy Buckalew was named senior VP of operations. Buckalew had been VP of digital business operations at Cox Media Group. She succeeds Steve Han, who was a co-founder of Frequence, which was acquired by Madhive.

“Nicki and Mindy bring deep experience in revenue transformation and digital operations at a critical moment for local media,” said Jim Wilson, CEO of Madhive. “They don’t just understand the landscape; they’ve spent their careers reshaping and innovating it. These trusted leaders will be instrumental in helping our local media partners further transform how they sell, operate, and deliver measurable results for advertisers.”