CANNES – With a network of 130 million customer connections across the U.S., T-Mobile Advertising Solutions operates from a uniquely scaled vantage point, one that its data chief calls a “privileged position” that demands serious responsibility.
“We’re a third of the country,” Andrea Zapata, VP of Advertising Data, Measurement, and Partnerships at T-Mobile Advertising Solutions, told Beet TV’s Andy Plesser at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. “What we’re able to see from a data perspective is
signals that are mobility in their focus.”
These signals—app usage, web activity, and real-world foot traffic—help connect digital behaviors with physical movement. But for Zapata, transparency comes first. “Privacy is at the very beginning,” she said, emphasizing the company’s consent-driven approach built into its T-
Life app. “No one’s surprised and everybody’s engaged.”
Building the omnichannel future
T-Mobile’s recent acquisitions of Blis, an advanced omnichannel advertising platform, and Vistar Media, the leading global provider of technology solutions for out-of-home (OOH) media, represent strategic moves toward an omnichannel advertising platform powered by mobility data.
“As we integrate… you want to reach people wherever they are—out of home, mobile, CTV, PC,” said Zapata. “We want it to be more accurate.”
The focus isn’t just on reach—it’s on outcomes. T-Ads aims to demonstrate real-world impact, proving when audiences not only saw an ad but acted on it.
The measurement challenge
“Measurement’s tricky,” Zapata acknowledged. “I don’t think anybody’s solved how to make it turnkey.” The challenge, she said, lies in varying success metrics across brands. “Every advertiser has their own definition of what success looks like.”
Still, T-Ads is pushing forward by leveraging smart, consented data. “We have app engagement and app ownership down pretty well,” she said, noting the ambition to expand into a fuller measurement suite.
Early days, big ambitions
For Zapata, what sets T-Mobile’s data apart is its mobility focus. It’s about understanding not just what people do on their devices, but where they go and how they move through the world. This creates opportunities for measurement beyond traditional digital metrics.
Despite bold moves and a unique data advantage, Zapata is clear-eyed about where the company stands. “We’re in the early days and still learning,” she said. But with customer trust, robust privacy governance, and unparalleled first-party data, the path forward is promising.
“We’re just getting started,” Zapata said.
You’re watching “Dispatches from Cannes Lions 2025: Interviews on Innovation”, a Beet.TV Leadership Series at Cannes Lions 2025, presented by DirectTV, EXTE, Fandom, Future USA, Jivox, Kroger, New Tradition, Ogury, Pentaleap, Perion, Topsort, VuePlanner, and Walmart Connect. For more videos from this series, visit this page. You can find all of our coverage from Cannes Lions 2025 here.
