Newton Research’s Davina Kent: Marketers Don’t Need More Data. They Need a Steering Wheel
Most marketers aren’t suffering from a data shortage. They’re drowning in reports from platforms, mix models, and agency wrap decks that arrive too late to act on and point in different directions. The confidence crisis isn’t about having less information; it’s about not knowing what to do with what they already have.
“Most marketers think that the measurement is broken. The challenge is what do they focus on? There’s gaps in the data and much of the data isn’t actionable. The key is really helping these marketers figure out where to put the next dollar,” Davina Kent, global GTM lead for Brand and Agency Partnerships at Newton Research, told Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at the Beet.TV Leadership Summit with Omnicom Media during Advertising Week New York.
The answer Kent argues for is measurement that functions less like a report card and more like a steering wheel.
From report card to real-time tool
“A lot of times that report card shows up much later after the campaign had aired or at a time where they can’t make real-time decisioning. What we want to do is take measurement and not make it a report card, but turn it into a steering wheel for the marketer to really allow real-time optimization,” Kent said.
That shift from backward-looking reporting to forward-looking decisioning is where AI creates genuine value for marketers trying to move faster than their measurement has historically allowed.
Platform AI isn’t enough
Every major platform now runs its own AI to optimize spend within its walls. Kent acknowledges those systems are good at what they do. The problem is that they only see their own inventory.
“If the marketer relies just on the platforms for their decisioning, they risk optimizing to the last touch or moving too much money to one channel. And really that presents a huge issue and we’re already seeing that in action,” Kent said.
What brands need is cross-platform intelligence that surfaces insights and enables decisions across all channels simultaneously, not just within each walled garden.
Intelligence compounds over time
The most powerful capability Kent describes isn’t a single optimization. It’s a flywheel that builds on itself as AI tracks every media decision, the reasoning behind it, and what happened afterward.
“When you start to build that and you layer it on, the intelligence starts to compound and you start to create this flywheel that’s super effective for marketers to be able to do optimization of their investment,” Kent said.
Q4 scenario planning in action
A CPG client heading into the holiday season illustrates the approach. The brand had the usual mix of conflicting inputs; Amazon’s platform was recommending 70% of spend go to Amazon. Newton Research built a scenario planning tool that ingested mix model data, campaign wrap reports, and actual SKU inventory availability.
“AI was able to look across all the different mix model insights they had, the campaign wrap reports, what inventory was available and gave them a gap to goal analysis. It told them exactly what media they needed and which channels and how much budget to put there in order to meet their sales goals,” Kent said.
You’re watching “The Beet.TV Leadership Summit with Omnicom Media at Advertising Week 2026,” presented by Cuebiq, Databricks, Newton Research, Roku and Teads. For more videos from this summit, please visit this page.
Most marketers aren’t suffering from a data shortage. They’re drowning in reports from platforms, mix models, and agency wrap decks that arrive too late to act on and point in different directions. The confidence crisis isn’t about having less information; it’s about not knowing what to do with what they already have.
“Most marketers think that the measurement is broken. The challenge is what do they focus on? There’s gaps in the data and much of the data isn’t actionable. The key is really helping these marketers figure out where to put the next dollar,” Davina Kent, global GTM lead for Brand and Agency Partnerships at Newton Research, told Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at the Beet.TV Leadership Summit with Omnicom Media during Advertising Week New York.
The answer Kent argues for is measurement that functions less like a report card and more like a steering wheel.
From report card to real-time tool
“A lot of times that report card shows up much later after the campaign had aired or at a time where they can’t make real-time decisioning. What we want to do is take measurement and not make it a report card, but turn it into a steering wheel for the marketer to really allow real-time optimization,” Kent said.
That shift from backward-looking reporting to forward-looking decisioning is where AI creates genuine value for marketers trying to move faster than their measurement has historically allowed.
Platform AI isn’t enough
Every major platform now runs its own AI to optimize spend within its walls. Kent acknowledges those systems are good at what they do. The problem is that they only see their own inventory.
“If the marketer relies just on the platforms for their decisioning, they risk optimizing to the last touch or moving too much money to one channel. And really that presents a huge issue and we’re already seeing that in action,” Kent said.
What brands need is cross-platform intelligence that surfaces insights and enables decisions across all channels simultaneously, not just within each walled garden.
Intelligence compounds over time
The most powerful capability Kent describes isn’t a single optimization. It’s a flywheel that builds on itself as AI tracks every media decision, the reasoning behind it, and what happened afterward.
“When you start to build that and you layer it on, the intelligence starts to compound and you start to create this flywheel that’s super effective for marketers to be able to do optimization of their investment,” Kent said.
Q4 scenario planning in action
A CPG client heading into the holiday season illustrates the approach. The brand had the usual mix of conflicting inputs; Amazon’s platform was recommending 70% of spend go to Amazon. Newton Research built a scenario planning tool that ingested mix model data, campaign wrap reports, and actual SKU inventory availability.
“AI was able to look across all the different mix model insights they had, the campaign wrap reports, what inventory was available and gave them a gap to goal analysis. It told them exactly what media they needed and which channels and how much budget to put there in order to meet their sales goals,” Kent said.
You’re watching “The Beet.TV Leadership Summit with Omnicom Media at Advertising Week 2026,” presented by Cuebiq, Databricks, Newton Research, Roku and Teads. For more videos from this summit, please visit this page.
