Better Data Puts Commerce Media Signals to Work: Magnite’s Stephanie Reustle
AMENIA, NY – Commerce media is flourishing for a simple reason: Marketers can finally determine whether their advertising accomplished something beyond generating a handsome stack of impressions.
In an interview with Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at the Beet Retreat Berkshires, Stephanie Reustle, head of commerce media at Magnite, explained how deterministic data, closed-loop measurement and supply-side curation are turning customer signals into measurable results.
“Behind commerce media’s rise is really the ability now to make everything more impactful and measurable,” Reustle said.
That capability addresses a longstanding problem in advertising. Everyone wants to know whether marketing drives sales, subscriptions or store visits. Nobody wants to explain to the chief financial officer that a campaign produced 14 million impressions and a warm feeling.
Deterministic data and closed-loop measurement give advertisers a clearer view of what happened after an ad appeared. They can then use that information to improve campaigns while those campaigns are still running.
Audiences move to the supply side
Kaplan asked what happens behind the scenes as commerce data is connected with media activation.
Reustle said the industry is seeing “a pendulum shift” as audience data moves closer to publishers and is applied to supply-side decision-making. The approach can help advertisers identify their intended customers more reliably while devoting a larger share of spending to working media.
“We’re seeing upwards of four times greater ability in driving match rates when you’re layering audiences and curating on the supply side,” Reustle said.
Higher match rates can improve campaign efficiency by helping buyers reach more of the consumers they intended to target. That sounds elementary, but digital advertising has built an impressive amount of machinery around the occasional inability to recognize the same person twice.
Supply-side curation can also remove some of the intermediaries between buyers and publishers. Fewer stops along the way mean fewer opportunities for campaign dollars to wander off and begin an exciting new life as ad-tech fees.
Good curation stays close to publishers
Curation has become one of the industry’s favorite terms, though its meaning can shift depending on who is using it and what they hope to sell before lunch.
For Reustle, effective curation starts with proximity and transparency.
“Good curation looks like getting as close to the publisher as possible,” she said.
That means minimizing hops, understanding the inventory on which ads will run and maintaining control over how that inventory is selected. Commerce partners benefit when they can participate directly in those decisions instead of sending audience data into a winding supply chain and hoping for the best.
Reustle said greater involvement in curation gives commerce partners more control and has produced a meaningful impact.
Impressions face an outcomes problem
Kaplan also asked how the industry’s growing emphasis on business outcomes changes the way campaigns are planned and evaluated.
Reustle said advertisers need to optimize and measure “every single dollar spent.”
Shoppable video illustrates the opportunity. These formats historically have been measured using digital indicators such as clicks and engagement. Commerce data can connect them to more concrete outcomes, including subscriptions and store visits.
“It looks like being able to ensure that you’re optimizing and measuring every single dollar spent,” Reustle said.
Campaign data also can be passed back to partners for real-time optimization. Instead of waiting for a post-campaign report to announce that the horse left the barn three weeks ago, marketers can adjust spending while there’s still time to affect the result.
That makes commerce signals useful for more than attribution. They can help campaigns work harder while they are active.
Commerce media needs the C-suite
Access to commerce data alone won’t guarantee success. Reustle said the companies most likely to produce measurable growth will understand who their customers are, what those customers are worth and when to reach them during the purchase cycle.
They’ll also treat commerce media as a serious business investment rather than another experimental line item tossed into the marketing budget.
“Commerce media truly is an investment,” Reustle said. “It’s something that needs financial resource. It needs attention from the C-suite.”
That executive involvement matters because commerce media can span marketing, technology and sales. Companies need a clear strategy for their data, media investments and desired outcomes.
The winners won’t merely possess commerce signals like a dragon guarding a pile of first-party data. They’ll know how to activate those signals, measure the results and refine campaigns in real time.
As Reustle put it, commerce media is something companies must approach strategically “to be set apart and successful.” In an industry that has spent years counting eyeballs, the next competitive advantage may come from proving those eyeballs eventually bought something.
You’re watching coverage from Beet Retreat Berkshires 2026. For more videos from this event, please visit this page.
AMENIA, NY – Commerce media is flourishing for a simple reason: Marketers can finally determine whether their advertising accomplished something beyond generating a handsome stack of impressions.
In an interview with Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at the Beet Retreat Berkshires, Stephanie Reustle, head of commerce media at Magnite, explained how deterministic data, closed-loop measurement and supply-side curation are turning customer signals into measurable results.
“Behind commerce media’s rise is really the ability now to make everything more impactful and measurable,” Reustle said.
That capability addresses a longstanding problem in advertising. Everyone wants to know whether marketing drives sales, subscriptions or store visits. Nobody wants to explain to the chief financial officer that a campaign produced 14 million impressions and a warm feeling.
Deterministic data and closed-loop measurement give advertisers a clearer view of what happened after an ad appeared. They can then use that information to improve campaigns while those campaigns are still running.
Audiences move to the supply side
Kaplan asked what happens behind the scenes as commerce data is connected with media activation.
Reustle said the industry is seeing “a pendulum shift” as audience data moves closer to publishers and is applied to supply-side decision-making. The approach can help advertisers identify their intended customers more reliably while devoting a larger share of spending to working media.
“We’re seeing upwards of four times greater ability in driving match rates when you’re layering audiences and curating on the supply side,” Reustle said.
Higher match rates can improve campaign efficiency by helping buyers reach more of the consumers they intended to target. That sounds elementary, but digital advertising has built an impressive amount of machinery around the occasional inability to recognize the same person twice.
Supply-side curation can also remove some of the intermediaries between buyers and publishers. Fewer stops along the way mean fewer opportunities for campaign dollars to wander off and begin an exciting new life as ad-tech fees.
Good curation stays close to publishers
Curation has become one of the industry’s favorite terms, though its meaning can shift depending on who is using it and what they hope to sell before lunch.
For Reustle, effective curation starts with proximity and transparency.
“Good curation looks like getting as close to the publisher as possible,” she said.
That means minimizing hops, understanding the inventory on which ads will run and maintaining control over how that inventory is selected. Commerce partners benefit when they can participate directly in those decisions instead of sending audience data into a winding supply chain and hoping for the best.
Reustle said greater involvement in curation gives commerce partners more control and has produced a meaningful impact.
Impressions face an outcomes problem
Kaplan also asked how the industry’s growing emphasis on business outcomes changes the way campaigns are planned and evaluated.
Reustle said advertisers need to optimize and measure “every single dollar spent.”
Shoppable video illustrates the opportunity. These formats historically have been measured using digital indicators such as clicks and engagement. Commerce data can connect them to more concrete outcomes, including subscriptions and store visits.
“It looks like being able to ensure that you’re optimizing and measuring every single dollar spent,” Reustle said.
Campaign data also can be passed back to partners for real-time optimization. Instead of waiting for a post-campaign report to announce that the horse left the barn three weeks ago, marketers can adjust spending while there’s still time to affect the result.
That makes commerce signals useful for more than attribution. They can help campaigns work harder while they are active.
Commerce media needs the C-suite
Access to commerce data alone won’t guarantee success. Reustle said the companies most likely to produce measurable growth will understand who their customers are, what those customers are worth and when to reach them during the purchase cycle.
They’ll also treat commerce media as a serious business investment rather than another experimental line item tossed into the marketing budget.
“Commerce media truly is an investment,” Reustle said. “It’s something that needs financial resource. It needs attention from the C-suite.”
That executive involvement matters because commerce media can span marketing, technology and sales. Companies need a clear strategy for their data, media investments and desired outcomes.
The winners won’t merely possess commerce signals like a dragon guarding a pile of first-party data. They’ll know how to activate those signals, measure the results and refine campaigns in real time.
As Reustle put it, commerce media is something companies must approach strategically “to be set apart and successful.” In an industry that has spent years counting eyeballs, the next competitive advantage may come from proving those eyeballs eventually bought something.
You’re watching coverage from Beet Retreat Berkshires 2026. For more videos from this event, please visit this page.
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