While there is extensive research exploring ad wearout and wearin, there is no consensus as to when these points are reached. The research in this project includes suggestions that creative does not wear out, at one end of the spectrum, to the need for consumers to view the ad ten or more times, at the other end of the spectrum. This report synthesizes research published within the last five years on wearin and wearout, including a related section on optimal frequency.
Member Only Access
A review of the available research on media planning best practices did not reveal any published benchmarks or empirical generalizations on which specific media planning executions drove lifts in specific brand metrics. In addition, many different studies and research were not always aligned on specific guidelines or recommendations, which may be due to different research methodologies, objectives and executions. A number of studies also noted that there were too many different factors at play to determine the best media planning execution for every or most brands, and they called for custom researching what would best suit the specific brand or campaign. While this report is not prescriptive, it includes general, directional guidance.
Member Only Access
Carl Mela (Duke University) and Jason Pratt (Koddi) introduced a new way to buy and sell advertising for retail media networks. Retail media is booming; however, ad inventory on these retail platforms is currently sold through generalized second-price auctions where each impression is bundled with audience data, and advertisers bid on that combined package. A proposed auction model unbundled ad impressions from the audience data, and this model provides advertisers with an extra option to bid on an “unlabeled” impression, which is an impression not tied to any specific audience segment. This approach was developed using economic game theory and auction mechanism design. To quantify the benefits, Carl and Jason applied this model to data from nearly 10 million real ad auctions with over 1,000 advertisers in 2025, covering audience segments such as time of day, device type, past purchase history, and demographics. The analysis showed that the unbundled auction method could boost a retailer’s ad revenue by roughly 67%, significantly increase the ad fill rate with an approximate 54% lift in impressions filled, and improved overall market efficiency. They noted that an advertiser’s best strategy is still to bid on their true value.
Member Only Access
