CIMM, WFA to review cross-media measurement in Europe
January 15, 2026
The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) have announced a strategic review of cross-media measurement in Europe. The study will assess the potential of emerging approaches across the region and examine the differing motivations and incentives among advertisers, broadcasters, platforms, agencies and vendors.
The review will identify which approaches have the potential to deliver scalable, privacy-compliant, advertiser-grade solutions, and the practical steps required to achieve them.
Led by industry consultants Andy Brown, Paul Goode and Sarah Mansfield, the study will provide an objective, non-partisan assessment of cross-media measurement initiatives emerging across Europe – evaluating their methodological strengths and limitations, requirements for scale and adoption, and the roles advertisers, agencies, media owners and measurement providers must play to ensure long-term viability.
The analysis will also outline the practical steps needed to move from experimentation toward solutions that can deliver consistent, deduplicated and comparable measurement of advertising exposure, reach and effectiveness across media channels, while meeting European privacy, regulatory and governance standards. It will not seek to mandate a single solution or currency, instead providing a clear decision framework that each market can use to achieve greater alignment and collaboration across the ecosystem.
CIMM, WFA and its authors will be supported by a cross-industry steering committee of senior players to ensure the review reflects technical complexity, political sensitivity, commercial competition and regulatory challenges. Final analysis and conclusions will remain those of CIMM, WFA and the study authors.
The Steering Committee includes:
- Zeman Bhunnoo, independent
- Yannick Carriou, Mediametrie
- Davide Crestani, Auditel
- Ben Hovaness, Omnicom
- George Ivie, MRC
- Helen Katz, Publicis Media
- Chris Mundy, RSMB
- Valérie Morrisson, CESP
- Neha Sharma, Unilever
- Norman Wagner, Utiq
- Mark Stephenson, WPP Media
A pivotal moment for cross-media measurement
Cross-media measurement is critical for advertisers seeking to understand how different channels contribute to campaign performance and business outcomes. Yet delivering consistent, deduplicated measurement across TV, CTV, streaming, digital and social media remains a challenge.
The commercial model for sustaining cross-media measurement remains unsolved, given the significant costs associated with development, data access and system operation. It is also technically and operationally complex, requiring the integration of disparate measurement approaches and datasets, reconciliation of exposures across devices and households, access to data from both local media owners and global platforms, and compliance with evolving privacy and regulatory frameworks.
A variety of solutions are being developed in Europe, including Origin in the UK, which partially relies on WFA’s industry developed Halo open-source cross-media measurement framework, based upon the incorporation of single-source panel and digital census data. There are also extensions being made to panel-based Joint Industry Committee (JIC) systems, and the introduction of agency or vendor-led technical frameworks often involving various data fusion techniques. Though each of these solutions reflects meaningful progress and investment, it remains uncertain which can meet the needs of marketers and secure broad, cross-industry support at scale.
“While significant progress has been made, data silos, varying methodologies and regulatory constraints continue to create challenges for the industry. The commercial sustainability of different solutions is unclear. This new study aims to facilitate alignment and understanding about the prospects for cross-media measurement in Europe, the meaningful differences between the available solutions, and the challenges and priorities ahead – which will also be relevant to buyers and sellers in every market,” said Jon Watts, Managing Director, CIMM.
“Halo is now being brought to life through pioneering prototypes in the UK and US and the WFA is encouraged by the momentum behind the approach. At the same time, local JIC and broadcaster-led solutions continue to evolve. With this study, we hope to help the industry understand how these efforts can complement one another and what practical steps are needed for scalable, future-ready CMM that works for advertisers and the wider ecosystem,” added Matt Green, Director of Global Media and Measurement at WFA.
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