Brands Like Nestlé, Haleon, and Molson Coors Wrestle With Broken Measurement

Why It Matters

Inaccurate measurement skews budget allocation and ROI, threatening growth in a data‑driven advertising market.

Key Takeaways

• Brands cite decades‑old gaps in incrementality measurement.
• AI speeds insight extraction but doesn’t solve measurement fundamentals.
• CTV algorithms favor inventory scaling, limiting brand control.
• Human oversight remains essential for precise media planning.
• Fragmented ecosystem prevents clear attribution of ad effectiveness.

Pulse Analysis

Marketers have wrestled with incrementality for decades, yet the industry still lacks a reliable method to isolate the lift a campaign provides beyond baseline sales. The problem is amplified by fragmented data sources, opaque media ecosystems, and the sheer volume of touchpoints across digital and traditional channels. Without a clear measurement backbone, brands risk over‑investing in tactics that deliver little incremental value, eroding confidence in media spend and complicating performance reporting to senior leadership.

Artificial intelligence promises faster data aggregation and pattern detection, offering a tempting shortcut to the incrementality puzzle. AI can ingest massive datasets, surface correlations, and generate predictive models at scale, reducing the time analysts spend on manual extraction. However, AI does not magically resolve the causal inference gap; models still depend on clean inputs and robust experimental design. Brands that embrace AI must pair it with disciplined testing frameworks—such as geo‑tests or holdout groups—to translate speed into actionable, trustworthy insights.

The rise of connected‑TV (CTV) adds another layer of complexity. Programmatic algorithms prioritize inventory that can be scaled quickly, often funneling spend toward a handful of dominant publishers and leaving brands with limited control over placement fidelity. As Anna Johnson of Molson Coors noted, human oversight is essential to keep plans aligned with strategic objectives. Going forward, marketers will need hybrid solutions that blend AI‑driven analytics with manual checks, and industry standards that improve attribution transparency across fragmented channels. Only then can the advertising ecosystem deliver measurable, incremental growth for brands.