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AI, personalization, and commerce media networks are key to advancing offers and rewards

Published: January 9, 2026 

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TL;DR — What marketers need to know:

  • Brands are facing rising costs, fragmentation of their own data and the need for more measurable campaigns.
  • Mastercard-commissioned research by Forrester Consulting identifies three critical levers for overcoming these challenges: AI, personalization and commerce media networks (CMNs).
  • CMNs stand out by providing trusted environments and transparent attribution — helping brands better reach their own high-intent audiences and prove real results across each brand’s own channels.
  • These capabilities unlock a powerful opportunity: a new channel that improves return on ad spend, reduces acquisition costs and increases customer lifetime value.

For brands focused on consumer acquisition, engagement and retention, offers and rewards have long been a reliable part of the promotional toolkit. Yet, as the digital landscape evolves at breakneck speed, brands face mounting challenges — fragmented consumer attention, rising acquisition costs and the demand for measurable outcomes.

New Mastercard-commissioned research conducted by Forrester Consulting reveals that while nearly every marketing leader faces barriers to improving their initiatives, these leaders believe that there are clear pathways to drive growth and measurable outcomes.

The challenges marketing leaders must overcome to drive growth

In the study, Growth Priorities for Marketing Leaders in Offers and Loyalty Programs Heading into 2026, 99% of marketing leaders reported experiencing hurdles improving offers, rewards and loyalty programs, and every major priority — from AI and personalization to measurement — was rated as challenging by at least half of respondents.

Key obstacles include:

  • Resource constraints: 72% say limited resources prevent them from fully capitalizing on campaigns.
  • Rising costs: Paid media channels are increasingly expensive, eroding margins without driving incremental sales.
  • Fragmentation of brands’ own data: 57% report difficulty measuring ad effectiveness due to their own siloed systems and unclear attribution.
  • Personalization hurdles: 60% struggle to use their own customer data effectively, despite its critical role in reaching high-intent audiences.
  • AI complexity: 76% stated leveraging AI to expedite workflows was challenging or very challenging.

This creates a paradox: the priorities marketers know they must act on — AI and personalization — are also the hardest to execute.

AI and personalization — critical but complex

Brands overwhelmingly recognize AI and personalization as essential for improving campaign performance and delivering relevant offers. The research shows that 77% of respondents ranked leveraging AI capabilities as a top tactical priority, and 82% agree that delivering the right offer at the right time is critical for influencing purchases.

These priorities reflect a clear ambition: brands want to move beyond generic campaigns toward experiences that are timely, relevant and maximized for impact. To achieve that, brands are looking for channels that deliver precision, reach and transparency — and commerce media networks (CMNs) are emerging as a leading option, combining AI-driven personalization and measurable outcomes in a scalable way.

Commerce media networks — the growth channel marketers can’t ignore

CMNs have rapidly gained visibility and interest among marketing leaders as a viable growth channel. The Forrester study found that 84% of respondents are actively seeking new acquisition channels, and CMNs stand out because they deliver attributes brands value most: trusted environments, leveraging each organization’s own first-party data and measurable outcomes.

When evaluating new media channels, respondents rated audience quality and brand safety as among the most critical features, with other top considerations being the ability to manage each organization’s own first-party data and integration with measurement tools. CMNs meet these criteria by enabling brands to reach high-intent audiences within the brand’s own channel, supported by advanced analytics and transparent attribution.

The impact marketers expect from CMNs is significant:

77%

cited improved return on ad spend (ROAS)

75%

cited reduced acquisition costs

72%

cited increased customer lifetime value (CLV)

These findings underscore why CMNs like Mastercard Commerce Media are gaining traction: they offer differentiated capabilities that help brands overcome rising acquisition costs and declining performance from traditional channels — while delivering measurable, full-funnel outcomes. In today’s environment, brands must prove that every marketing dollar drives real results by linking ad exposure to actual purchases, both online and in-store, for true, cross-channel attribution.

Turning marketing challenges into measurable results

Marketers are grappling with rising acquisition costs, fragmentation of their own data and the complexity of delivering personalized experiences at scale.  

Commerce media networks (CMNs) are emerging as the solution. They don’t just offer access to high-intent audiences in a brand’s own environment — they bring personalization, scalable reach and transparent measurement to the table. This combination unlocks a powerful opportunity: a new channel that improves return on ad spend, reduces acquisition costs and increases customer lifetime value.

As priorities shift toward performance and accountability, CMNs stand out as a differentiated solution for growth.

Access the 2025 full study for deeper insights and strategies for growth. 

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