Observed Signal · Sep 4, 2026 · Editorial / Opinion · Source: The Drum · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Mediasense's Jack Shearring: Governance Beats Gadgets in Marketing
Jack Shearring, vice president of strategy at Mediasense and Drum Awards Festival juror, emphasizes that governance, not technology, is the key to successful marketing transformation. He argues that many organizations have sophisticated tech but unclear data ownership and fragmented agency relationships. For 2026, he would invest in measurement infrastructure over flashy tools, noting that better inputs matter more than better tools in a world of platform automation. He advocates for managing brand and performance as complementary, and for a shift toward probabilistic, modelled, and judgement-driven measurement. Leadership, he says, will favor those who ask good questions and create clarity, not necessarily those with the most knowledge.
Provides strategic industry perspective on governance and measurement, but is an opinion piece without breaking news or named product/company deals.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Jack Shearring is vice president of strategy at Mediasense.
- Shearring is a juror at the 2026 Drum Awards Festival.
- He advocates investing in measurement infrastructure for 2026.
- He criticizes over-reliance on last-touch attribution and inconsistent walled garden measurement.
- He believes future measurement will be more probabilistic and judgement-driven.
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1 Entity mapped“Mediasense's vice president of strategy and Drum Awards Festival juror...”
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