Recommendation follows study to assess the viability of a universal solution to benefit measurement and activation
New York, NY June 25, 2025 – Today, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) announced guidance that the US market would benefit from widespread adoption of an open, universal watermark to support improved measurement, creative identity, as well as the deployment of standardized activation triggers, and unveiled an industry action plan to support accelerated adoption. The collaborative study, authored by industry experts Caroline Horner, Howard Fiderer, and Myles Parker, is based on interviews, discussions and technical reviews with more than 20 executives from brands, agencies and publishers.
“Although measurement solutions are improving steadily, our industry still faces a stark challenge to provide comprehensive, advertising measurement with unduplicated reach and frequency in a multi-platform world,” said Jon Watts, Managing Director, CIMM. “Driven by continued innovation across areas like AI, advertising content and formats will continue to proliferate. And while inconsistent and fragmented measurement approaches remain, we can expect significant measurement barriers across platforms including linear, streaming, and the walled gardens–unless the industry can align and collaborate on a universal solution.”
Specifically, the report suggests that widespread adoption leveraging existing standards and creative identifiers (e.g., ATSC 3.0, ACIF, AD-ID, VAST, SCTE 224) could help to deliver consistent, robust full-spectrum measurement of content and advertising across TV and streaming platforms, as well as standardized activation tools. To facilitate this, the next step would be to establish a Stewardship Group that will define the overall vision, guide technical design, align stakeholders, and oversee implementation of a Proof of Concept (POC).
The recommendation is to initially focus on advertising measurement, with future phases addressing activation and content measurement. Key aspects of the infrastructure would include developing a shared system of identifiers, registries, repositories, file formats, and privacy-compliant data transfer protocols. The POC–ideally involving at least two OEMs–would validate technical components such as watermark readers and develop an incentive model, laying the groundwork for broader industry deployment.
To learn more, download the executive summary. CIMM will also host a dedicated Deep Dive on the report and its findings on July 31. To pre-register, click here.
About CIMM
The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) is a non-partisan, pan-industry coalition focused on cultivating improvements, best practices and innovations in measurement and currency, new metrics and approaches to understanding the value of media, and data collaboration and enablement. CIMM’s members include leading networks, studios, streamers and programmers, MVPDs, TV OEMs and OS providers, major digital businesses, agencies, measurement and data providers, trade bodies and consultants. CIMM is a subsidiary of the Advertising Research Foundation and adheres to the ARF’s principles of scientific rigor, objectivity and evidence-based research.
