Acxiom vs Comscore

PebblePost Names Adam Soroca CEO, Expands to CTV

PebblePost, a marketing technology company specializing in purchase-powered multichannel marketing, announced the appointment of Adam Soroca as Chief Executive Officer. Soroca, a veteran ad-tech innovator who previously served as Chief Product Officer at Magnite, will lead PebblePost's expansion from its programmatic direct mail roots into connected TV (CTV) and a broader offering powered by verified first-party purchase behavior. The company also brought on Melanie Samson as Chief Marketing Officer. PebblePost leverages billions of intent signals and over $100 billion in annual transaction data to help brands identify future buyers and measure incremental impact. Clients include Carter's, Michael Kors, and Virgin Voyages. Soroca's appointment underscores PebblePost's focus on data-driven, performance-oriented advertising across channels.

• PebblePost appointed Adam Soroca as CEO, effective September 15, 2026.
• Adam Soroca previously served as Chief Product Officer at Magnite.
• PebblePost also hired Melanie Samson as Chief Marketing Officer; she previously was VP of Growth Marketing at Acxiom.

Acxiom and HAWK Partner for Omnichannel Audience Intelligence

Acxiom, a data and identity company, has announced a partnership with HAWK, an audience intelligence provider. The collaboration aims to deliver trusted audience intelligence for omnichannel advertising. By combining Acxiom's data and identity capabilities with HAWK's audience insights, the two companies intend to enable marketers to better understand and reach their target audiences across various channels and devices. The partnership is designed to help advertisers improve campaign effectiveness and personalization while navigating the evolving privacy landscape. The companies emphasize the importance of trusted, first-party data and responsible data usage in today's cookie-less environment.

• Acxiom and HAWK announced a partnership for omnichannel advertising.
• The partnership aims to deliver trusted audience intelligence for omnichannel campaigns.
• Acxiom brings data and identity capabilities to the collaboration.

Neutrality has two tests, but vendors keep answering the easy one

Erin Lutenski, Head of Marketing at Decentriq, discusses the industry's conflation of two distinct neutrality questions following data platform acquisitions. The first question concerns data exposure, which technical measures like encryption and trusted execution environments can address. The second, harder question concerns incentives: who decides product roadmaps, measurement standards, and partner integrations, and whether a parent company's commercial interests will compromise the platform's neutrality. Using LiveRamp's acquisition by Publicis and the earlier case of Acxiom's acquisition by IPG, Lutenski argues that vendors often provide technical reassurances that do not resolve the underlying incentive concerns. She contends that governance policies are reversible and architecture alone cannot ensure neutrality. The article concludes by urging stakeholders to identify which question a neutrality statement actually answers.

• LiveRamp filed neutrality commitments with the SEC ahead of its acquisition by Publicis.
• Publicis is acquiring LiveRamp.
• LiveRamp was formed in 2018 after Acxiom split and IPG acquired Acxiom Marketing Solutions.

FAST Channels Need Data Transparency to Prove Value

An industry opinion column argues that FAST platforms are hindering the growth of ad-supported TV by withholding crucial audience data from channel operators and advertisers. Despite significant growth in FAST viewership, the lack of independent measurement and transparency undermines advertiser trust and suppresses CPMs. The piece cites specific statistics on viewing hours and revenue declines, and calls for baseline device-level verification to restore confidence in the category.

• FAST viewing hours in the US grew 43% year-over-year through August 2025, reaching 1.8 billion hours (ComScore).
• Global FAST viewing hours grew 55% year-over-year through mid-2026 (Amagi).
• EMarketer estimates US FAST users will reach 131 million in 2026, representing 54% of all CTV users.

Comscore Measures Performance Impact of AI Chat Advertising

Comscore has expanded its AI Intelligence suite to measure sponsored placements within AI-powered chat interfaces, linking them to downstream user behavior for attribution. The company reports that sponsored ads appeared in 24% of hotel-related ChatGPT queries by May 2026, up from 6% in March. This development addresses the challenge of measuring advertising effectiveness in conversational AI, where traditional click-through metrics may be insufficient. The move comes as OpenAI's advertising business reportedly reached an annualized revenue run rate of $1 billion. Comscore's approach involves tracking prompt-response pairs, cited domains, and subsequent website visits to assess business impact. The initiative highlights the growing importance of AI chat as an advertising channel and the need for new measurement standards.

• Comscore expanded its AI Intelligence to measure sponsored chat advertising and its business impact.
• Sponsored ads appeared in 24% of hotel-related ChatGPT queries in May 2026, up from 6% in March.
• OpenAI reached an annualized revenue run rate of $1 billion from its advertising business.

Comscore Expands Its AI Intelligence to Measure Sponsored Chat Advertising and Its Business Impact

Comscore (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms, today announced new capabilities from Comscore AI Intelligence, enabling brands an...