The digital advertising landscape has transformed dramatically over the last decade, and at the Mind Media Day in Paris on October 15th, key experts provided insights on some of the most critical challenges and advancements in advertising measurement today. From cross-media metrics to the future of retail media, the discussions highlighted the need for unified, transparent, and reliable methodologies to meet the evolving needs of advertisers and media agencies alike.
The Evolution of Advertising Metrics
Since the explosion of digital media, the way we measure advertising effectiveness has fundamentally shifted. From KPIs like views, clicks, and impressions new ones have emerged such as Attention Metrics, but the market still struggles to develop a standardized, global measurement framework that also fits local requirements. Industry leaders discussed the growing complexity of measuring cross-device and cross-media interactions, which are now essential to understanding the full impact of advertising campaigns. Unified and certified measurement tools that are globally recognized but locally relevant are urgently needed.
The Rise of Cross-Media and Cross-Video Measurement
The event also addressed the growing focus on cross-media measurement, a major concern for advertisers looking to track user interactions across various devices and media channels. With platforms like YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon increasingly integral to the media mix, it is crucial to establish a clear and consistent way to measure audience engagement across all touchpoints. Discussions revealed that this has become a top priority for media agencies and advertisers who want a more holistic understanding of their campaign effectiveness.
While debates continue on the best approach to standardize these metrics—especially when comparing formats like a six-second bumper ad on YouTube versus a TV spot—the event underscored the necessity of collaboration across platforms, agencies, and broadcasters. Jean-Luc Chetrit, Director General of the Union des Marques, emphasized that the development of a unified cross-media measurement system is essential for optimizing media planning and the strategic allocation of advertising budgets.
Retail Media and the Need for Homogeneous Metrics
Retail media has grown rapidly, representing over 12% of online advertising spend in France—more than €1 billion in 2023. However, despite its growth, retail media lacks consistent, certified metrics to track its effectiveness. Experts called for immediate progress in creating homogeneous metrics to provide advertisers with reliable data, especially as retail media continues to expand. Initial results from pilot projects have been promising, but a lot more work needs to be done to ensure that retail media can compete with other established media types in terms of transparency and measurement.
The Shift to Attention-Based KPIs
Another hot topic was the emergence of attention as a key performance indicator (KPI) for advertising. As media consumption becomes more fragmented, traditional metrics like impressions and clicks are proving insufficient in gauging the true impact of ads. The advertising ecosystem is starting to align around attention-based metrics, which offer a more nuanced view of user engagement. The Irep and CESP have led efforts to create a common definition of attention, which will help standardize its measurement across different platforms.
Attention-based KPIs will be pivotal in optimizing ad spend and better understanding how users engage with different types of content. The move towards these new metrics could also improve sustainability in advertising, with a focus on delivering fewer but more impactful ads—a shift that many believe will benefit both brands and consumers alike.
Preparing for a Cookieless Future
With third-party cookies being phased out, the event also spotlighted the urgency for advertisers to adopt alternative solutions for tracking and targeting users. Several promising technologies are emerging, such as universal ID solutions and aggregated data models, which provide reliable alternatives for audience tracking. Contextual approaches such as C Wire offer high scale with an increasing precision on the relevance against target audiences. While many media platforms have already started integrating these solutions, advertisers have been slower to adapt, highlighting the need for more experimentation and collaboration.
As Google’s roadmap to the future of third-party cookies has fundamentally changed the landscape, the event called for brands to take a more proactive role in testing and adopting new technologies to ensure the future of addressable advertising remains viable.
The Road Ahead: Cross-Media and Beyond
The consensus among the event’s speakers was clear: the future of advertising lies in cross-media measurement, transparency, and collaboration across the ecosystem. As attention-based metrics gain traction and the industry moves beyond third-party cookies, it’s essential for brands, agencies, and media platforms to work together to establish standardized methodologies that deliver value for everyone involved. As Yannick Carriou from Médiamétrie stated, the next few years will be critical in shaping the future of advertising, and the industry’s ability to adapt to these changes will define its long-term success.
