The martech world is full of jargon, overlapping platforms and tech hype – but most marketers just want to know what works, what’s worth investing in and what they can safely ignore.
The Drum’s Jenni Baker with Comscore CMO Jackelyn Keller
At Possible 2025, The Drum’s Jenni Baker got together with Comscore CMO Jackelyn Keller to help shine a light on the opaque world of martech. Here’s what they had to say…
The myth: You need more data to make smarter decisions.
The truth: You need better direction.
Action points:
Audit the data you already have – are you actually using it?
Build cross-functional dashboards that prioritize decision-ready insights over vanity metrics.
Ask, “What decisions will this data help me make?” If none, ditch it.
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The myth: You need every hot new tool to stay competitive.
The truth: Tech should solve your problem, not become it.
Action points:
Map tech investments to core marketing objectives. Are they improving performance, efficiency, or insight?
Create a “keep, kill, explore” list for your current tools.
Focus on interoperability. Does your stack work together or are you just collecting silos?
The myth: You can measure success with one simple standard.
The truth: Today’s media landscape needs a cross-platform lens.
Action points:
Embrace unified measurement tools that connect linear, digital, and social.
Consider custom KPIs for each channel, but ensure consistency in overarching goals.
Use third-party verification partners where bias or lack of access skews internal data.
The myth: Emotion drives campaigns; data is cold.
The truth: The best work uses both.
Action points:
Let data shape audience insights and platform strategy, then hand it over to creatives to craft the message.
Review your creative briefs: are they informed by recent engagement trends or intuition alone?
Encourage performance testing (A/B/C) on creative variations early in campaign cycles.
The myth: Retail media is just shopper marketing, rebranded.
The truth: It’s a data-rich ecosystem with real strategic muscle.
Action points:
Think audience-first, not placement-first. Where is your consumer within a retail partner’s ecosystem?
Don’t assume retail media equals endemic brands. Non-retail brands (like Canva) are finding success, too.
Insist on transparency around attribution and closed-loop reporting.
The myth: Martech is all screen-based and digital-only.
The truth: Your home (TVs, speakers, even fridges) is a data hub.
Action points:
Explore CTV and smart device data for deeper household-level targeting.
Look for intent signals from cross-device behavior to shape retargeting.
Don’t just target where people are; consider how they’re consuming content.
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The myth: AI is either going to steal your job or magically fix everything.
The truth: It’s a co-pilot, not the pilot.
Action points:
Use AI for ideation, scenario planning, and performance optimization – not final decisions.
Train your teams on tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or TextMe – then layer in human oversight.
Implement AI guidelines so everyone knows when (and when not) to use it.
The myth: The more tools and channels you add, the better your results.
The truth: Growth comes from focus, not volume.
Action points:
Define your brand’s “North Star metric” and align all activity to it.
Build a clear framework for saying no to misaligned tactics – even if they’re trending.
Regularly sunset platforms or strategies that don’t deliver against core KPIs.
The myth: Martech complexity is unavoidable.
The truth: Simplicity drives adoption and action.
Action points:
Visualize data stories – use creative tactics like Comscore’s artist activation to bring abstract metrics to life.
Create internal cheat sheets or toolkits for non-technical stakeholders.
Make martech part of culture, not just operations.
The myth: You need to figure it out solo.
The truth: Shared experiences and peer validation are essential.
Action points:
Set up informal martech roundtables with peers or industry Slack groups.
Ask vendors for peer case studies – not just product demos.
Learn from others’ mistakes and wins to speed up your own decision-making.
The most successful brands aren’t those with the biggest stacks or the noisiest campaigns – they’re the ones who make sense of it all. They align strategy, simplify tools, build community and let data guide creativity, not replace it.
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