Observed Signal · Sep 2, 2026 · Other · Source: The Drum · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Bose Media Head: Attention Is Proxy, Not Result
Kelly McArdle, Global Head of Media at Bose, argues that attention metrics are a proxy for, not a measure of, business outcomes. She criticizes ROAS for rewarding channels closest to conversion while ignoring demand creation. Her approach includes evaluating reach, attention, memory, incrementality, and contribution together. She defends long-term brand investment against short-term performance pressure, referencing Ehrenberg-Bass Institute and 'The Long and the Short of It'. McArdle also discusses AI's role in accelerating media decision-making and AI discoverability's growing importance. She identifies range, curiosity, and judgment as essential traits for future media leaders. The piece is an interview published ahead of the Drum Awards Festival.
Provides insight into a major brand's media measurement strategy and AI adoption, but it's an opinion piece without new industry-wide announcements.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Kelly McArdle is Global Head of Media at Bose.
- She previously spent nearly a decade at PHD Media.
- She argues that attention is a proxy, not a result, and would not pay a premium for it unless it improves business outcomes.
- She criticizes ROAS for rewarding the channel closest to conversion rather than the one that created demand.
- She advocates measuring reach, attention, memory, incrementality, and contribution together.
- She uses AI to synthesize performance, pressure-test decisions, and connect work across media, content, commerce, and analytics.
Connected Companies & Entities
2 Entities mapped“Kelly McArdle, who leads global media at Bose”
“after nearly a decade at PHD Media”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Attention: The New Metric for Media Success by 2026
The article argues that attention, rather than traditional reach or viewability alone, will be a key media metric driving advertiser success in 2026. Ben Foster of The Kite Factory contends that optimizing for attention can yield longer-term business outcomes and positive ROI, even in a difficult economic climate that deprioritizes non-core workstreams. It counters the idea of consistently short attention spans by noting that attention windows can be very brief (as short as 1.3 seconds on TikTok) and emphasizes tailoring creative to platform specifics (e.g., LinkedIn vs. Snap) and balancing premium inventory with costs. The piece highlights that attention can be nurtured across multiple engagements and senses, and that active attention tracking can feed real-time optimization and modelled attribution. Overall, it frames attention as an investment worth testing, capable of delivering incremental uplifts beyond initial engagement and supporting full-funnel outcomes.
Carly Johnson: Performance Without Brand Demand Fails
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L'Oréal's Baryshkov: Start with the decision, not dashboard
Kirill Baryshkov, Global Media and Measurement Manager for L'Oréal's Consumer Products Division, argues that media teams should focus on decision-making rather than dashboard metrics. He leads media effectiveness across 38 markets representing over 60% of global ad spend. Baryshkov emphasizes that many metrics fail to show incremental value, and he advocates for a combination of methods, including marketing mix modeling, rather than a single master metric. He cautions against over-reliance on platform-reported outcomes and last-click attribution. While AI helps in pattern detection and forecasting, human judgment remains crucial for defining business questions and trade-offs. He also reframes the brand vs. performance budget debate, noting both serve different purposes and time horizons. For 2026, he prioritizes building measurement capability and a connected view of spend and results to enable faster, better decisions.
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