The news: LiveRamp CEO Scott Howe says marketers are in a “war for signals”—a race to capture, clean, and connect data fast enough to make every ad dollar accountable.

Speaking to EMARKETER alongside the company’s fiscal Q2 earnings (revenues hit $200 million, up 8%, after last quarter’s 11%), Howe said today’s marketing environment is “defined by precision and proof,” where brands demand faster performance feedback and measurable results rather than abstract innovation.

That focus mirrors Mediaocean data showing 60% of marketers worldwide now rank performance-driven paid media as their top investment priority, followed closely by measurement and attribution (50%) and first-party data mastery (36%). The takeaway: Measurable media and data collaboration are no longer specializations; they’re the foundation of modern marketing.

Why it matters: Howe’s “war for signals” captures the real-time data activation that is reshaping the industry.

Howe said LiveRamp’s clean room infrastructure now enables brands to mix first-, second-, and third-party data to train AI models and target with near-instant precision—completing tasks that once took weeks in seconds. “Access to better data gets the flywheel going,” he said, describing how advertisers are moving from broad demographic targeting to transaction- and behavior-based activation.

That evolution ties directly to performance marketing’s rise. As budgets tighten, marketers are prioritizing channels that connect directly to sales; Howe noted that LiveRamp’s partnerships with Netflix, Uber, and PayPal are expanding access to commerce media, where attribution is clearer and outcomes are quantifiable. “The companies growing fastest are those that can connect media spend to transactions,” he said.

AI is accelerating that shift. LiveRamp now counts 17 active AI partners across search, chat, commerce, creative, and measurement, with 83 more in contracting. Howe said the goal isn’t just to plug into AI systems, but to supply the high-quality data they need to perform. “Every brand is chasing better proprietary data to power better AI,” he said. “That’s where collaboration comes in.”

Key takeaways for marketers:

• Accountability leads budgets: With 60% of marketers prioritizing performance-driven media and half focused on measurement, growth depends on quantifiable outcomes—not impressions or clicks.
• Data collaboration is key: Clean rooms and commerce media partnerships give brands the infrastructure to activate first-party data safely and effectively.
• AI thrives on data quality: As models depend on clean, structured signals, marketers who invest early in data hygiene and interoperability will outperform.
• Performance is the brand: In a world of tighter budgets, Howe’s comments underline that brand equity increasingly follows proof of impact—advertisers that can tie storytelling to measurable business results will win.