RPA embeds Always-On Incrementality into Media Buying. RPA Adds Always-On Incrementality to Media Buying RPA is expanding its partnership with Newton Research to integrate always-on incrementality testing into the agency's media planning and buying workflow. The capability is being delivered through RPAi, an operating system that combines Newton Research's agentic analytics with RPA's campaign workflow. The development moves incrementality measurement closer to day-to-day media operations rather than treating it as a periodic analytical exercise. RPA says the system is intended to provide a repeatable view of incremental lift as campaigns and planning cycles change, positioning the approach between conventional media reporting and more comprehensive marketing mix modeling (MMM). Market landscape. Advertisers are increasingly looking beyond delivery metrics such as impressions, clicks and conversions to determine whether media actually caused incremental business outcomes. This has made incrementality testing and causal measurement increasingly relevant as marketers manage fragmented channels and increasingly automated buying systems. MMM can provide a broader view of marketing contribution but is generally designed for strategic planning rather than continuous campaign-level decision-making. Incrementality testing can answer a different question: what additional outcome was generated because of the media exposure? RPA's expanded deployment attempts to bring that measurement process directly into the media workflow. Rather than conducting an isolated test after a campaign milestone, the agency says its implementation is designed to operate continuously across planning cycles. How RPAi changes media measurement. RPAi combines Newton's agentic analytics with RPA's proprietary campaign workflow. The new incrementality capability is designed to allow RPA teams to repeatedly assess incremental lift while campaigns evolve. That creates a feedback loop between planning, activation, measurement and optimization. For agencies, the operational significance is that measurement can become part of the workflow used to make media decisions instead of remaining a separate analytics function. Newton says its platform connects performance insights, experimentation, causal modeling, planning and campaign execution. The company's architecture runs on a client's own data warehouse in a single-tenant environment, according to the announcement. For advertisers, the potential enterprise use case is a more continuous assessment of whether media investments are producing incremental outcomes. For agencies, embedding those capabilities into planning and buying could reduce the manual effort involved in repeatedly setting up and interpreting measurement exercises. Strategic outlook. The RPA-Newton expansion reflects a broader movement toward closed-loop media decisioning, where analytics increasingly informs the next campaign decision rather than simply documenting the previous one. The distinction is particularly relevant as agentic AI becomes more involved in advertising operations. Automation can accelerate media decisions, but reliable measurement becomes more important when systems are making or recommending decisions at scale. RPA's implementation also creates a bridge between campaign-level incrementality analysis and broader MMM. The two approaches address different analytical requirements, but combining them within a common workflow could give media teams more frequent evidence while retaining broader business-level modeling. The practical test will be whether continuous measurement can produce sufficiently reliable signals without adding operational complexity. For enterprise advertisers, governance, experimental design, data quality and consistent attribution rules will remain important alongside automation. Top insights. * Always-on measurement: RPA is integrating incrementality testing directly into recurring media workflows. * Agentic analytics: Newton's technology connects analytics with planning, buying and campaign execution. * Between reporting and MMM: The approach targets a middle layer between standard performance reporting and broader marketing mix modeling. * Closed-loop optimization: Measurement results can inform subsequent planning and media decisions. * Enterprise data architecture: Newton says its platform operates on clients' own data warehouses in single-tenant environments.

RPA CEO Pete Imwalle steps down after 32 years; Jim Helberg named successor. The longtime independent agency elevates its chief media officer to the top job as it sharpens its strategic focus. RPA has named chief media officer Jim Helberg as its new CEO, succeeding Pete Imwalle, who has left the agency after more than three decades, the agency confirmed to ADWEEK. Imwalle spent 32 years at RPA, rising through the ranks to chief executive, a role he held during a period of continued independence for the Santa Monica-based agency and marked by longstanding relationships with marquee clients like American Honda. His departure marks a significant leadership shift for the largest independent advertising agency on the West Coast. Helberg, who has served as RPA's EVP and chief media officer since 2017, has nearly a decade of experience at the agency; previously, he held senior roles at Spark Foundry. He has also served on the 4A's Media Leadership Council and is an adjunct professor of media strategy at the University of Oklahoma. Helberg will work closely with agency president and COO Brett Bender to "architect an enhanced strategic approach to RPA's offering" amid ongoing shifts in the agency landscape, the agency said in a statement. "I appreciate the trust RPA has placed in me," Helberg said in a statement. "I welcome the opportunity to build upon RPA's past and recognize how well positioned our independent agency is to assist our clients in achieving greater business success." RPA's client roster also includes convenience store chain ampm, Apartments.com, Homes.com, Arco, Farmers Insurance Group, La-Z-Boy, LoopNet, Southern California Edison, and TXU Energy. Audrey Kemp is a staff reporter for Adweek based in New York City.