Retail media has largely been built on trust: retailers measure their own performance, brands accept the results, and budgets continue to grow. But as the market matures, is that enough?

Scott Cunningham, Fractional Chief Product Officer at the Alliance for Audited Media and one of the founders of the IAB Tech Lab, joins The Middlemen to discuss why transparency, third-party verification, and incrementality have become some of the industry's biggest debates.

The conversation explores whether retailers should simply disclose how they measure incrementality or whether independent verification is becoming a prerequisite for long-term confidence from advertisers. Scott also explains the four major approaches to incrementality measurement and why they shouldn't be treated as interchangeable.

The discussion goes beyond measurement. Scott argues that every major advertising market eventually reaches a point where trust becomes essential for continued growth. Retail media, he believes, may be approaching that moment.

Finally, we look ahead to AI, where publishers, retailers, and brands may soon need entirely new standards as autonomous agents begin consuming content and influencing commerce in ways today's measurement frameworks were never designed to capture.

Topics Covered

• The four approaches to incrementality measurement
• Transparency vs. third-party verification
• Why brands often hesitate to challenge retailer measurement
• MRC accreditation versus lighter-weight audit frameworks
• Lessons from the evolution of digital advertising standards
• How AI agents could redefine advertising measurement

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