SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—Cross-media measurement requires multiple tools rather than one mechanism that answers all questions, encompassing modeling, uplift analysis, testing, and experimentation applied to different use cases within a comprehensive framework.
“Cross media measurement isn’t a singular device. It’s not a panacea where one measurement mechanism will answer all of the questions that you need answered,” Jason Lim, chief media officer at Assembly Global, told Beet.TV at the Beet Retreat San Juan. “It’s a measurement framework that has everything from unique modeling to uplift analysis to testing and experimentation. So it’s a suite of tools that you should apply for different use cases.”
Media accountability depends on what aspects leaders take responsibility for, with established metrics for delivery and audience penetration versus complex outcome attribution.
Orchestration drives modern leadership
Media leadership roles have transformed substantially as orchestration becomes more prevalent due to disparate elements requiring connection for effective strategy execution, with data fluency now forming core leadership requirements.
“This idea of orchestration has been around forever, but I think it’s become much more prevalent because of all the disparate pieces that you need to connect,” Lim said. “The biggest point is data fluency. Anytime people talk about artificial intelligence, AI inclusion, it’s an extension of data fluency.”
Leaders demonstrate greater fluency in data environments, contracts, and topics than historically required.
Accountability scope varies by remit
True accountability for outcomes requires incorporating messaging, product, and distribution elements beyond media-driven perspectives, making full accountability difficult when multiple stakeholders influence results.
“You can’t really have outcomes specifically through a media driven lens. It has to incorporate the message. It has to incorporate the product. It has to incorporate the distribution just as much,” Lim said. “When we take accountability for those things, it presumes that we’re influencing those things. And sometimes we are, but sometimes we’re not.”
Media accountability for delivery, audience penetration, and reach remains well-established, but broader outcome accountability involves numerous variables beyond media control.
Intelligence over efficiency
AI application reaches massive scale, though current efficiency and speed improvements represent early stages rather than transformative potential that enables previously impossible capabilities.
“I like to reframe that question and ask back, take the AI out of that question. What can intelligence do for you? And that is limitless,” Lim said. “When we look at it through the lens of whether we can do things faster or cheaper or more efficiently, I feel like that’s just the beginning stage.”
Lim views AI as creative enabler for building solutions that previously lacked necessity or feasibility rather than just operational enhancement.
Retail media integration challenges
Retail and commerce media strategies mature through transactional data availability, but integration across media environments remains incomplete as retail emerged through non-traditional advertising approaches requiring incorporation into modern landscapes.
“That data fluidity should manifest itself across media environments, not just be limited into one,” Lim said. “The idea of retail came in through a non-traditional advertising lens. And so it’s taking some time for that to be incorporated within the modern advertising landscape.”
CMO priorities create tension
Chief marketing officers face pressure for direct revenue growth that creates positive accountability expansion but emphasizes short-term focus, potentially undermining brand building’s long-term revenue contribution.
“Most CMOs are being tasked with direct revenue growth. That’s a good and bad thing. There’s accountability that they have and the remit has been extended accordingly, but there’s been a short-term focus,” Lim said. “The acknowledgement of how brands work and how brands absolutely contribute to sales and revenue have been somewhat ignored.”
Industry inability to quantify brand contributions adequately threatens brand investment’s boardroom relevance alongside performance metrics.
“It’s not just the remit that’s changed. It’s the area that we need to improve on most meaningfully to make sure that brand still has a role in the boardroom just as much as performance,” Lim said.
You’re watching coverage from Beet Retreat San Juan 2026, presented by Alliant and TransUnion. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
