Resources

We improve what we measure. That’s true in business, science, sports, and advertising. Measurement doesn’t just keep score; it defines the game. What we measure shapes what we value. And what we value sets the course for action.

But here’s the paradox: the most valuable and proven driver of growth in advertising — brand — is the one we measure the least.

Yet, it’s why people pay more for one bottle of water than another when both are clear, cold, and sitting side by side on the shelf. It’s the same reason brands invest millions of dollars and months of preparation into a single Super Bowl commercial. Marketers make that commitment because they know the cultural impact, loyalty, and long-term impact it creates for the brand.

Advertising, or the sum of every touchpoint, campaign, message, and signal across every channel over time, is what keeps score. It’s what makes brand choice instinctive rather than rational. And it has proven again and again, when understood, to be the most durable path to sustainable growth.

So while it’s no secret that marketers excel at measuring performance and do it often, the question is: why does measuring brand, the true engine of growth, still sit in the back seat?

Historically, it has been hard to measure, slow, and expensive. It was left off the same dashboards as performance and replaced by site visits, downloads, and signups. This made it difficult to see the very results building demand for tomorrow.

What is the brand movement?

The Brand Movement is a call to make brand the most measured signal in advertising. By scaling brand measurement across every dollar spent, marketers can see how brand and performance work in tandem to unlock the strongest ROI.

Equally, we need to, as an industry, reframe how we think about brand and performance media itself. A coupon or discount campaign at a retailer like Bed Bath & Beyond is often classified as pure performance, judged only on redemptions or sales. However, the reality is that these campaigns also shape how people feel about the brand. A shopper who redeems that coupon isn’t just lowering their basket price; their perception of the brand is being formed. This brand impact has always been there, hidden in plain sight, but until they become measured, they will not be understood.

The future of advertising depends on recognizing this dual impact. Performance campaigns drive immediate action, but they can also build brand or erode brand equity along the way. Brand campaigns create tomorrow’s buyers, while performance campaigns can and should reinforce brand meaning in the moment.

The urgency is sharper in the AI era. Automation is reshaping targeting, bidding, creative, and optimization, rewriting consumer journeys while making signals harder to track. Attribution is stacking models on top of models. In this shifting environment, brand is the anchor, the constant that guides decisions even when clicks fade.

The ripple effect of confidence and growth

When brand measurement becomes universal, confidence grows across the ecosystem. That confidence fuels reinvestment: brands scale campaigns with measurable proof, agencies stretch budgets further through sharper optimization, and media companies capture stronger commitments by demonstrating value with every dollar spent.

The result is an economic flywheel, with more effective campaigns, stronger outcomes, greater investment, and industry-wide growth.

The Brand Movement goes beyond measurement. It fills a critical gap in the marketer’s toolkit by showing how advertising drives the most important engine of growth: brand.

Once unlocked, it empowers marketers to propel their companies forward, ensuring every dollar builds lasting value and advertising becomes stronger, smarter, and more ambitious.

Winning one of advertising’s most competitive arenas using marketing benchmarks

Consumer packaged goods marketers are navigating one of the most complex media environments in advertising. Once anchored in shelf placement and mass reach, the category now contends with fragmented channels, shifting consumer behavior, and rising pressure to prove outcomes across the full funnel.

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New data shows how LGBTQ+ visibility and integrity drive Gen Z loyalty and spend

If you work in brand, media, or campaign strategy, chances are you’ve been asked lately: Is purpose-driven diversity marketing still worth it? Especially when the political climate is so volatile. In this year’s LGBTQ+ Advertising report developed in partnership with Do the WeRQ, one thing is clear: Gen Z doesn’t just respond to your brand’s “purpose”; they hold it accountable. So, if your inclusion efforts lack integrity, they disengage.

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What consumers really want from LGBTQ+ advertising in 2025 and how brands can deliver

As political pressure builds and polarizes, LGBTQ+ advertising in 2025 finds itself in a precarious position. The volume is lower and the messaging is softer, but consumers expect brands to stand with diverse communities with authenticity and integrity in their advertising. In DISQO’s 2024 LGBTQ+ Advertising & Brand Experience report, 80% of LGBTQ+ respondents said they thought more positively of brands that celebrated Pride, and 50% of the general population said year-round support for LGBTQ+ communities is important.

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Why inclusive marketing is a business strategy, not a statement

As Pride Month unfolds, brands are navigating a cultural climate that’s more polarized and high-stakes than ever. Some are scaling back their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, citing risk. Others are doubling down, investing in inclusive advertising that speaks to values and delivers measurable results.

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Mapping digital natives’ fragmented, emotional, and fast-moving path to purchase 

Over the last decade, the consumer journey has evolved from a predictable, linear process into a dynamic, omnichannel experience shaped by speed, saturation, and personalization. What once followed awareness to consideration to purchase with logical order and deliberate pacing has become something else entirely: fast, nonlinear, platform-agnostic, and culturally wired. 

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How IPG Mediabrands connects social to business outcomes across the funnel

Once an experimental line item, social media now sits at the center of modern media plans. While its creative influence and cultural reach are undisputed, its role in driving measurable business outcomes is still widely debated. Not because the outcomes aren’t there but because they’re often under-measured, misattributed, or dismissed as unprovable. 

During a recent webinar, “Driving Success with Cross-Platform Measurement,” cohosted by DISQO and Ad Age, Laura Williams, VP, Director of Tune-In Analytics at IPG Mediabrands, joined DISQO’s Stephen Jepson to unpack how her team is using DISQO’s person-level social media benchmarks, cross-platform measurement, and in-flight campaign optimization to show exactly how social moves the needle, from awareness to action.

Here’s how IPG is challenging outdated assumptions, refining client expectations, and unlocking social’s full-funnel potential.

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Helping established brands stay on top and scale ad effectiveness using benchmarks

Established brands enjoy what others are still chasing: strong name recognition, credibility, and consumer trust. With aided awareness above 66%, these brands have already secured a place in the hearts and minds of their audience. But dominance doesn’t make you immune to disruption. In fact, it makes consistency and performance optimization even more critical.

DISQO’s latest whitepaper for established brands helps category leaders protect their equity, overcome growth plateaus, and extract maximum value from every impression. Backed by DISQO’s 2025 Ad Effectiveness Benchmarks, this guide shows how top-performing brands can avoid stagnation and maintain a sharp edge in an increasingly competitive market. Because even the best-known brands can be forgotten or replaced if they fail to evolve. 

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Building brand equity and winning the next phase of growth using benchmarks

Emerging brands have cleared a critical hurdle; consumers know you exist. But now comes the harder part: earning trust, carving out a meaningful identity, and turning attention into action.

Defined by aided awareness between 34% and 66%, emerging brands are in a pivotal growth phase where they’re no longer anonymous, but not iconic yet. In a competitive middle ground, rising brands must prove they’re not just another option but the option. Here, brand equity and performance must work in lockstep, making every media dollar work harder and measuring what matters at every stage of the funnel.

DISQO’s new emerging brands Whitepaper reveals how to navigate this chapter with data-driven confidence. Based on benchmark data from more than 1,650 campaigns, it offers a rare view into what success really looks like at this critical inflection point, and how to scale smarter, not just louder.

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Benchmarking for better marketing performance from day one 

Launching a new brand is a high-stakes opportunity. More than selling a product, you’re building recognition, credibility, and trust from scratch. With no legacy, limited word-of-mouth, or baseline performance data, every marketing dollar counts. But how do you know if your advertising is working? 

DISQO’s latest whitepaper, a playbook for measuring and maximizing brand performance from day one, reveals how new brands can confidently build, measure, and optimize cross-channel advertising strategies. From awareness to purchase, grounded in data from over 1,650 campaigns published in DISQO’s 2025 Ad Effectiveness Benchmarks, the following reveals how new brands can move confidently, track what matters, and grow faster by learning from what works.

Unlike self-reported platform metrics or vague industry averages, DISQO’s Ad Effectiveness Benchmarks are a unique compass for turning early marketing investments into meaningful outcomes. As early indicators of success, they offer essential reference points for brands navigating the uncertainty of launch and early growth phases. 

Especially for marketers without a historical baseline, benchmarking offers a shortcut to insights that would otherwise take years to build. It sets the foundation for smarter decisions, sharper creative, and stronger advertising results from day one. 

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Defining the concept and its impact on advertising effectiveness and brand scaling 

Brand maturity refers to a brand’s position in its growth journey, from launch to legacy. This includes how well it’s recognized, considered, and trusted by consumers. More than a piece of marketing jargon, the term is a signal of how your brand is performing in the real world, influencing everything from awareness to loyalty to your competitive edge.

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Why generational segmentation and context are key to advertising effectiveness in 2025 

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From exposure to action, explore how IHG measures what matters most with DISQO

As undivided viewer attention becomes increasingly scarce and spread across screens, premium video offers something rare: intentionality. It’s where people go for appointment viewing, immersive storytelling, and live cultural moments that capture hearts and minds. 

This creates a powerful environment for advertisers to connect with viewers at scale, especially when paired with measurement strategies that stretch beyond views, tracking everything from shifts in consumer sentiment to bottom-of-the-funnel outcomes. 

To explore how brands can harness this opportunity, we spoke with Richard Haymore, Director of Campaign Effectiveness at IHG Hotels & Resorts, during a recent webinar cohosted by Ad Age and featuring additional panelists from Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount. Here’s what he shared about balancing brand and performance goals, the power of contextual alignment, and how IHG uses deterministic data to optimize media impact.

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Connecting the dots on campaign impact with Warner Bros. Discovery

Premium video platforms have become more than destinations for entertainment. They are cultural stages where brand stories meet consumer attention. For media publishers like Warner Bros. Discovery, that means playing a dual role: creating must-watch content and delivering measurable business outcomes for advertisers.

The rules have shifted with viewers curating their own streaming experiences and advertisers under pressure to prove performance. It’s no longer just about delivering content. It is about delivering results across every screen, format, and stage of the funnel.

As reported in DISQO’s latest Premium Video Advertising report, nearly half of consumers say they value brands more when they advertise within content they enjoy. But value is not earned by presence alone. Publishers must prove that premium placements drive awareness, intent, and action.

To explore how one of the industry’s largest media companies is adapting to this challenge, we sat down with Michele Resnick, Senior Director of Campaign Effectiveness at Warner Bros. Discovery, during a recent DISQO x Ad Age webinar. Below is what she shared on the topic of helping advertisers connect the dots between exposure and impact.

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Measuring ad content, creative, and full funnel results with Paramount 

In a streaming world defined by choice and fragmentation, the most valuable audiences are no longer found by chance. They’re earned through storytelling, scale, and strategy. For advertisers looking to drive results, premium video offers something rare: an environment where content quality meets audience intent.

But delivering reach is not enough. Brands are asking whether their campaigns truly drive business outcomes, and they expect media partners to prove it. That expectation is growing as marketing teams face more pressure to deliver both brand equity and measurable outcomes.

At Paramount, performance and impact are not separate goals. They are two sides of the same strategy. That mindset has reshaped how the company supports advertisers across streaming, live events, and traditional television.

We spoke with Jennifer Strapp, Vice President of Audience Impact and Intelligence, during a recent DISQO and Ad Age webinar to understand how Paramount is redefining what premium video can deliver. She shared how her team helps advertisers navigate data fragmentation, track outcomes across platforms, and prove that storytelling drives results. 

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How evolving consumer journeys are rewriting the rules of reach and impact

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A strategic guide to ad effectiveness and high-impact campaigns in 2025 and beyond.

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