For as many years, marketing measurement has been fundamentally flawed.

It is time to face the music: we got lazy. We took advantage of readily available attribution measurement and it has blinded us. But attribution measurement has a colossal flaw. 

Attribution is the process of assigning conversion credit to a marketing intervention. But here’s the thing: what if the conversion would have happened anyway, without the intervention in question? 

Attribution measurement alone cannot answer this. It has never been an indicator of marketing effectiveness or causality, and never will be. Yet, we have treated attribution measurement as the holy grail, making strategic decisions based on data that only tells part of the story.

While there is still an important role for attribution measurement in optimising marketing performance, it is high time we expanded our measurement capabilities to include solutions that offer deeper insights into incrementality, effectiveness, and causality. 

Expanding your measurement toolkit

Expanding your measurement toolkit is easier said than done. It’s something we’ve tackled head-on by developing a measurement strategy called Connected Measurement. 

Connected Measurement is designed to evolve brand measurement, expanding capabilities from attribution measurement to effectiveness measurement. It combines statistics and technology, empowering brands to understand the true impact and causality of marketing activities, driving long term growth, efficiency and competitive advantage.

Included in this evolved measurement journey is incrementality testing and marketing mix modelling. These solutions go beyond optimising performance — they dig deep, uncovering the true impact of our marketing efforts without a huge reliance on cookie-based data.

Incrementality testing helps us understand the additional value driven by our marketing activities. It answers the critical question: did our marketing intervention generate incremental conversions, or would those conversions have happened anyway? This is the kind of insight that attribution measurement simply cannot provide.

Marketing Mix Modelling, on the other hand, offers a more holistic view. It looks at the interplay of various marketing channels and external factors, providing a comprehensive picture of what is driving performance. This isn’t just about assigning credit; it’s about understanding the effectiveness and causality of marketing efforts.

A hybrid of cookie and cookieless solutions

The shift towards these connected effectiveness measurement solutions is no longer a nice-to-have — it is a necessity. 

With the shrinking volume of cookie-based data, we are entering an exciting new era of marketing measurement. An era where data privacy and consumer trust take centre stage, forcing our hand to stop being lazy and to stop relying on attribution measurement in isolation.

Businesses that move quickly and embrace these connected measurement solutions will gain a significant competitive advantage. They will be the businesses who truly understand their marketing impact, the businesses who can make data-driven decisions with confidence, and the businesses who will lead the way in this new era of marketing measurement.

It is not just about adapting to change; it’s about thriving in it. By leveraging effectiveness measurement solutions, brands can  unlock new levels of insight, drive greater effectiveness, better understand the causality of marketing interventions and, ultimately, achieve better outcomes.

The time has come to move beyond the flawed legacy of attribution measurement. It is time to expand our measurement capabilities to drive long term growth and competitive advantage, all whilst future-proofing and connecting measurement capabilities in an increasingly privacy-centric and cookie-restricted world.

To assess your current measurement approach and to see the pros and cons of what you’re currently doing vs. what you could be doing, contact us or download our latest ebook.