Sam Bloom

CMOs Are More Focused On Growing Revenue Than Brand Awareness https://lnkd.in/g8jyVmuY Chief marketing officers are increasingly prioritizing direct revenue outcomes over traditional brand awareness efforts, influenced by economic pressures, performance measurement demands, and AI‑enabled tracking. This shift reflects a need for more measurable impact on business performance, with revenue growth becoming a leading strategic metric for modern marketing leaders. #CMOInsights #RevenueGrowth #MarketingStrategy #BrandVsPerformance #BusinessImpact #DataDrivenMarketing

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At #PortadaChicago we will learn how cultural relevance can significantly boost advertising performance across different target segments. Sonia Morales, EVP, Head of Agile Planning, Starcom, John Marson, SVP, Managing Director, Horizon Media, and Sergio Leon, SVP Group Creative Director, VML will discuss the crucial role of cultural relevance in: - Messaging (creative) - Advertising around tentpole events - Engagement provided by the media used   - Programmatic vs. non-programmatic buys  - AI: Incorporating a Predictive View into the Media Planning Process 👉 👉 👉 https://lnkd.in/ei6XY_2y

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The rise of retail media networks (RMNs) has been meteoric. By 2028, it is expected to account for almost a quarter of all U.S. media spend, according to eMarketer. As RMNs position themselves as media companies, making them both performance and brand marketing channels, advertisers are debating who holds the purse strings. The approach today is mostly trial and error. Some brands are using existing budgets, while others are testing brand awareness through retail media. Even with rapidly growing demand, RMNs still lack standardization in measurement and budget allocation. As these networks push for more brand dollars (and likewise brands increasingly concentrate spend), establishing transparency in pricing and measurement will be crucial to the success of both RMNs and brands. #Marketing #Adtech #Advertising

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Advanced measurement is moving from a “nice to have” to a requirement for brands that want to prove how marketing drives real business outcomes.✅ Nowhere is this more visible than in Retail Media Networks. RMNs like Instacart give brands access to closed-loop performance data tied to actual purchases. That data is powerful, but it also raises an important question for marketing leaders: How do we validate results beyond platform-reported metrics and understand true incremental impact? This is why third-party measurement is becoming a critical part of the RMN conversation. Circana has emerged as a leading independent measurement partner for retail media performance, including Instacart. By combining retailer point-of-sale data with broader market and category intelligence, Circana helps brands understand not just what sold, but what actually changed because of advertising. https://lnkd.in/gp4CghWf For food and beverage brands, this matters because RMN performance rarely exists in isolation. Retail media influences household penetration, repeat rates, brand switching, and category growth, not just attributed sales within a single platform. Third-party measurement helps separate signal from noise by providing a consistent view across retailers, channels, and time. The broader industry trend is clear. As RMN budgets grow, marketers are being asked to answer harder questions around incrementality, brand impact, and long-term growth. Platform dashboards alone are no longer enough. At Effective, we see advanced media performance reporting as a layered system. Platform data shows what happened. Third-party measurement helps explain why it happened and whether it was truly incremental. Together, they create a clearer connection between media investment and business results. This is how performance reporting evolves from tracking activity to proving impact. Jeff O'Shaughnessy Joelle Kaplan #MarketingMeasurement #RetailMedia #MediaPerformance #Incrementality #F&B #MarketingEffectiveness

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Only 15% of marketers are confident in their retail media measurement. The barrier isn’t data. It’s ownership. My quote in @Skai’s 2026 State of Retail Media report says the rest. 👇

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Jennifer Kattula, could not agree more -> "Generative AI is transforming marketing and how brands engage with their audiences. As much as I love AI, robots will not replace human taste, craft, curation, or nuance" What a wonderful conversation with Kristin Reagan from Annalect. Highly recommend this read.

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$ACGX Alliance Creative Group is building a shared-resources ecosystem designed to acquire, develop, and scale digital assets across multiple verticals. #ThursdayThoughts @ACGsocial @SCStocks https://lnkd.in/gPXADUib

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Until recently, channels like Roku, Paramount, Pandora, or iHeartMedia were reserved for enterprise-scale advertisers with advanced programmatic infrastructures. For emerging and mid-sized CPGs, these platforms were too complex, too fragmented, or too expensive to navigate. Some recent announcements from Kroger Precision Marketing have changed that. Service-Led Activation Model: KPM provides a managed-service approach - handling all the technical complexity of programmatic buying on behalf of the brand. This removes the barrier of entry for brands lacking in-house programmatic expertise. Data-Powered Precision: Campaigns are entirely fueled by Kroger’s massive first-party data set (over 60 million households), ensuring that ads on CTV or audio platforms are precisely targeted to verified, high-value shoppers. Closed-Loop Accountability: KPM is not just selling reach; it’s selling a measurable outcome. The managed service is tied directly to Kroger’s sales data, allowing brands to prove that an ad seen on a streaming platform led directly to a product purchase in a physical or digital store. #RetailMedia #CommerceMedia #CPGMarketing #AdTech #KrogerPrecisionMarketing #ConnectedTV

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The advertising industry is facing economic turbulence, with global ad spend forecasts dropping and consumer confidence waning. My expert colleagues at Basis share how agencies and brands can stay resilient: https://ow.ly/9A7450VLlon

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The $1.9 trillion #AANHPI consumer market is a powerful force... TODAY. This insightful ADWEEK piece by Jeremiah Abraham highlights the untapped opportunity for brands when they really understand and connect with this audience. And the potential ROI which out-delivers other segments. But, accurate #insights and #measurement are the key to unlocking the potential. Our new Nielsen #AANHPI report https://lnkd.in/g8XwFbgg shares granular insights the help craft effective engagement strategies. #AANHPIConsumers #DataDrivenMarketing #AudienceInsights #AsianAmerican https://lnkd.in/gyE7Dabt

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THE MESSAGE TODAY FROM ALL CEOs TO ALL CMOs IS CLEAR ... "SHOW ME THE MONEY". The reason why CMOs are now more focused than ever on Sales Revenue over Brand Awareness is that CEOs, CFOs, COOs, and company shareholders don't give a shit about brand awareness levels in lieu of money in the bank. Hard metrics such as Revenues, Earnings, Profits, EPS, and ROI rule the day and are all that matter to them - not soft metrics such as Brand awareness. ad recall and persuasion, likes/dislikes, etc., which, of course, are vital to the marketing process but are non-fungible and have no monetary value per se. Moreover, there are 4Ps in the classic "Marketing Mix", i.e., Product, Price, Place, and Promotion, and most CMOs today only have personal control over one of them - "Promotion". And unfortunately, that alone is not enough integrated marketing power to change the CEO's financial bottom lines. But give the MBA-educated CMOs more authority over the other 3Ps, i.e., Product, Price, and Place, and revenues will change. Because they (unlike most others) learn about all 4Ps in B-School, and things will change for CEOs if they vest those CMOs with their strategic and quantitative skills and give them the powers to affect and effect real change. Because the wrong product; at the wrong price; in the wrong place; at the wrong time; or with wrong promotion gets you nowhere and somebody has to run and be accountable for the WHOLE show before it gets to the CEO. 😎

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A strong example of how #AI is changing how #marketing decisions get made at scale, even for one of the world’s largest advertisers. Great discussion between Norm de Greve, SVP & Chief Growth Officer at General Motors, and my colleague Shelby Senzer -- who share how AI, demand-based targeting, and rapid testing are reshaping how GM focuses investment, activates more precisely, and learns faster. Worth a watch for anyone thinking about how marketing needs to operate at enterprise scale: https://lnkd.in/e5rq64wb #GrowthStrategy #MarketingLeadership #DataDrivenMarketing #MarketingTransformation

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As brands and agencies brace for economic volatility, proactive steps are essential for ensuring media investments remain effective. From scenario planning and prioritizing transparency to competitive intelligence, it’s vital to prepare for varying economic conditions. Historical insights show that brands maintaining advertising spending fare better and recover faster. Marketing leaders must keep tone sensitivity in mind as consumers become more deliberate about spending. Adaptation is key. #MarketingStrategy #EconomicUncertainty #Advertising #BrandGrowth #MediaInvestments #Leadership #ScenarioPlanning

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Today at Portada Chicago, I had the opportunity to sit in on a panel exploring what cultural relevance really means in today’s landscape, and more importantly, what it demands of us as marketers and leaders. Cultural relevance isn’t something you add on to a plan. It’s something you build from the start with intention, empathy, and a deep understanding of the communities you’re trying to serve. It’s not about chasing trends. It’s about recognizing signals, respecting context, and showing up in ways that are meaningful while still driving business outcomes. Reach gets you seen. Cultural relevance gets you chosen.

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#RetailMedia isn’t broken. The way we measure it is. After months of research with Northwestern University's Medill Spiegel Research Center, brand leaders, retailers, and platforms, our dentsu’s new paper is here! 🛒 Learn why Retail Media Measurement is lagging expectations https://lnkd.in/eWEFdJ5s 📊 This isn’t another “ROAS hot take.” 🏬 This is about how organizations actually grow in a world where shoppers move fluidly across screens, stores, and platforms A few truths we couldn’t ignore: 🔥 Attribution is fast, but it lies if you ask it the wrong questions 📊 MMM shows contribution, but only when it’s broken out by retailer and tactic 🧪 Incrementality is the referee, not the headline �� Hard outcomes (sales, profit, penetration) tell you what happened 🧠 Soft outcomes (consideration, intent, preference) tell you why it will keep happening 🗣️ When these aren’t working together, every team walks away with a different version of “the truth.” 💥 Retail media didn’t create fragmentation. It exposed it. 🧩 Trade, shopper, brand, and retail media now live in the same economy. 💸 Dollars move. 📐 Power shifts. 📊 Definitions of growth collide. Without the holistic view of brand impact and cross-retailer comparability, brands aren’t investing with clarity. They’re investing with pressure. The real unlock? ⚙️ Measurement is no longer a reporting layer. It’s an operating system. It aligns teams. It governs budgets. It determines what growth actually means. We lay out a practical, four-step framework for getting there, grounded in real execution, not theory. “This work highlights an important conversation around how marketers can better connect retail media investment with measurable business outcomes. It’s encouraging to see key industry voices leaning in and deepening the discussion. The next step is implementing these ideas through consistent, scalable frameworks that marketers and retailers can apply day-to-day.”  Collin Colburn, VP Commerce & Retail Media, IAB Huge thanks to the authors Larry DeGaris, Dustin Cochart, MBA, Kavita Cariapa, Corey Blenkarn, Santosh Lyndon Moraes, plus the brand and retailer leaders who contributed their knowledge. Consumers already move as one system 🧠 Brands that measure the same way will win the next phase of commerce. Megan Cameron and J. William Margaritis are CES this week and I will be at National Retail Federation on Saturday. #RetailMedia #CommerceMedia #Measurement #Incrementality #MMM #Analytics #MarketingLeadership #Northwestern #Dentsu #CES

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🚀 Big news out of Texas! H-E-B Retail Media launched self-service capabilities in the H-E-B Retail Media Network — giving brands more control, flexibility, and speed to activate Promoted Products campaigns across heb.com and the My H-E-B App. We are excited to be partnering with Epsilon and Skai to bring 24/7 reporting, bulk management tools, and even more ways to connect with Texans at every step of their shopping journey. Because at H-E-B, we’re not just building retail media. We’re building it the Texas way — local, tailored, and built for results. #RetailMedia #HEB #Epsilon #Skai #TexasMade #DigitalInnovation #RetailTech

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“What CMOs need is a measurement system that maps marketing activities to business impact. And they need their CFO to validate it. That’s how you get the rest of the C-suite on board. When the CFO signs off on brand investment, suddenly, people stop questioning it.” Robert Tas, McKinsey & Company https://lnkd.in/eAiijmes

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📺 Don’t overlook TV in 2026. If your PSA plan isn’t leveraging TV, you’re missing a key driver of attention and impact. The landscape keeps evolving, but TV remains a core backbone for broad awareness that digital alone can’t fully replace. TV may not be the “shiny new thing,” but this Adweek article shows why it has to be part of 2026 media plans. https://lnkd.in/g_SM8jxw A few points that jumped out at me: • 83% of advertisers say they’re confident TV will deliver strong outcomes in 2026. • 77% plan to increase their TV budgets next year. • 92% cite incremental reach and 92% cite measurable performance as the biggest benefits of TV. TV is now being held to the same accountability standards as digital. For PSAs, that’s huge. TV isn’t just “brand awareness” anymore. When it’s planned with digital, it can: 👉 Reach people who will never see your social or search ads 👉 Make your message feel familiar so other channels perform better 👉 Blend linear scale with streaming’s targeting and measurement so donated or paid impressions work harder So as you look at 2026 PSA plans, the question isn’t “TV or digital?” It’s: How do we get TV and digital working together so every spot, impression, and donated placement pushes in the same direction? I’m curious how others are approaching this: Are you leaning more into streaming, keeping linear in the mix, or re-introducing TV after focusing mostly on digital the last few years? If you’re thinking how TV and CTV fit into your PSA strategy, I’m always happy share what we’re seeing across campaigns—feel free to connect or DM me. #TVAdvertising #PSA #MediaPlanning #Streaming #LinearTV #MarketingStrategy #2026Planning #Connect360Multimedia

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