Ad Fontes Media vs Kantar

Topic of the Week: Pentagon Announces Hasan Execution by Firing Squad to be Livestreamed

Ad Fontes Media published a new Topic of the Week analysis on media coverage of the Pentagon's announcement that Hasan's execution by firing squad will be livestreamed.

Ad Fontes Media Releases Simple Media Bias Chart® of TV/Video Shows

Chart features 25 sources, including seven networks

Ad Fontes Media Releases New Charts and Topic Analyses

New featured post on Trump banning CNN, MSNBC, and Politico from the White House; new Simple Media Bias Chart for Podcasts featuring 24 shows; annual Simple Chart for Websites with 3000th website rated; new Topic of the Week on Jimmy Kimmel moving interview to YouTube.

Inside YouTube's Shoppability Push and Creator Commerce Strategy

In an interview with VideoWeek, Sophie Neary, Google's Managing Director for Retail and FMCG, detailed YouTube's shoppable commerce push. She highlighted the scale of shopping content on the platform, with over 40 billion views globally last year. The YouTube Shopping Affiliate Programme, launched in the UK, lets creators earn commission on products tagged in their organic videos, and has expanded to include Amazon joining in the US. The programme runs across screens including connected TV, where Google saw over a billion conversions in the last year. YouTube also introduced a 'Creator Partnership Boost' product, allowing retailers to co-fund and boost organic creator content. Neary emphasized the trust creators have with audiences, citing Kantar research from the UK, and the positive halo effect of combining brand and creator assets in Demand Gen campaigns, which drove over 15% more conversions.

• YouTube Shopping Affiliate Programme launched in the UK and expanded to the US, with Amazon joining.
• 40 billion views of shopping content were watched on YouTube globally last year.
• Google saw over 1 billion conversions from Connected TV ads in the past year.

Target bets on TikTok brand Mellow Sleep to revive home sales

Target is revamping its home category by partnering with social-media-driven brands as part of its multi-year turnaround strategy. Mellow Sleep, a TikTok-famous brand launched in 2025, generated $130 million in its first year and over $300 million in its second. Its products will debut in 550 Target stores starting October 18, with a nationwide rollout by year's end. Target also reintroduced Simply Shabby Chic, launched a collaboration with Annie Meyers-Shyer, and cut private-label bedding prices by 15%. These efforts aim to reverse a three-year decline in home sales, which fell by $1.09 billion (6.5%) in fiscal 2025. Industry experts, including Kantar's Barry Thomas, emphasize the importance of maintaining brand presence in AI and social media results to influence consumer decisions.

• Mellow Sleep will be available in 550 Target stores starting October 18, with nationwide expansion by year's end.
• Mellow Sleep generated $130 million in revenue in its first year and over $300 million in its second.
• Target's home sales dropped by $1.09 billion (6.5%) in fiscal year 2025, the third consecutive year of declines.

Brand Measurement Needs a New Source of Truth

The article argues that traditional brand measurement, relying on surveys and panels from firms like Kantar, Ipsos, and NielsenIQ, suffers from information loss and unreliable human responses. It proposes augmenting these metrics with real-world behavioral signals, such as consumer search data, social media sentiment, e-commerce interactions, and even AI discovery responses. The author describes a model that uses AI to analyze unstructured data in real time, providing mental availability, perception, and commercial power metrics. An example client campaign shows how these augmented metrics provide near-real-time feedback, making brand budgets defensible sooner. The article concludes that brand measurement should move towards a multisource approach, integrating both traditional surveys and new AI-driven signals.

• Article published on MARTECH on October 8, 2026.
• Traditional brand measurement relies on firms like Kantar, Ipsos, and NielsenIQ using surveys.
• The article proposes augmenting brand metrics with AI-driven behavioral signals, such as search data, social sentiment, and e-commerce interactions.