Dentsu’s Cara Lewis on Data Integration, Upfront Dynamics and the State of Media (Video)

Cara shares insight on the expanding depth of data available from Merkle, which dentsu group acquired in 2016 and has since nearly doubled its revenue. "With the amount of time we've put against using Merkle data and how long ago we bought it, we are at that point where we can transact on an end-to-end basis, so we can plan, negotiate and guarantee against that data," Cara says, explaining how this works in the marketplace both with clients and those media suppliers who have "clean room" solutions.

Another topic we cover is retail media networks, which are forecast to generate $50 billion in global ad revenues this year, with $50 billion projected for U.S. revenues alone by 2025. "Probably by the end of 2023 one in every five digital dollars is going to be spent in retail media," Cara believes. "There are so many areas that are going to accelerate and others that are going to scale back. And certainly, there's an interesting amount of consolidation going on … even within companies like NBCU and Disney that are pulling their assets together under a singular bundle."

As in all Legends & Leaders Conversations, my guests share personal triumphs and challenges; stories about mentors, guides and influences; plus, perspectives on the past, present and future. To learn more about Cara Lewis and dentsu, view this week's Legends & Leaders Conversation here.