Retail Media Networks (RMNs) have become a cornerstone of modern advertising, but measurement practices across networks remain inconsistent and difficult to compare. This new ARF study examines 16 major RMNs to uncover how advertising assets, attribution systems, incrementality testing and closed-loop measurement are actually implemented in practice. The findings reveal that while reporting dashboards may appear unified, the underlying measurement systems often rely on disparate sources of retailer data, platform reporting, modeling and privacy-safe integrations. The report offers practical guidance for advertisers evaluating retail media investments and highlights the growing need for industry-wide measurement transparency and standards.
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Marketing effectiveness analytics is undergoing a profound transformation. As marketers face growing complexity across channels, data sources and consumer journeys, artificial intelligence is accelerating the shift from retrospective measurement toward dynamic, decision-oriented systems. This paper examines a decade of innovation in marketing analytics, highlighting the rise of integrated measurement frameworks, experimentation, machine learning and emerging AI-powered modeling approaches that promise to reshape how organizations understand and optimize marketing performance.
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As brands increasingly experiment with virtual influencers, new research, published in the Journal of Advertising Research, offers one of the most comprehensive examinations of the virtual influencer landscape to date. Through a systematic review of 117 academic articles, the authors introduce a formal “virtual influencer ecosystem” framework that maps the relationships among creators, brands, consumers, AI technologies and social platforms. The study explores how authenticity, credibility, autonomy, emotional connection and consumer unease shape audience responses to virtual influencers—and what these dynamics mean for marketers navigating the future of AI-driven influence.
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Can facial expressions reliably reveal emotional responses to advertising across cultures? A new study published in the Journal of Advertising Research suggests the answer is yes. Drawing on a massive global database of more than 70,000 advertising studies and nearly 3.8 million frames of viewer facial responses, the authors found remarkably consistent facial expression patterns across 12 world regions. The study provides evidence that certain expressions linked to happiness, disgust, surprise and awe appear universally in response to advertising and entertainment content—supporting the use of automated facial coding as a valuable tool in global advertising research and creative testing.
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