The Challenge of Cross-Media Measurement: Navigating the Shift to Digital and Connected TV

Advertisers today face increasing complexity in measuring campaigns across multiple platforms. As more brands shift their budgets to digital and Connected TV (CTV), the need for cross-media measurement has never been more critical. Traditional single-channel metrics can no longer provide the full picture—understanding the customer journey requires a more comprehensive and unified approach.

Advertisers need to determine how their investments across linear TV, CTV, digital video, social media, and other platforms contribute to overall performance. However, measurement techniques differ drastically from one channel to another. Traditional TV might still use GRPs (Gross Rating Points) to measure audience reach, while digital channels use impressions, clicks, and engagement metrics. This fragmentation creates a significant barrier to understanding how each channel plays a role in driving conversions or influencing brand lift.

Why Cross-Media Measurement is So Challenging

At the heart of cross-media measurement challenges is the consumer’s fragmented media consumption. Today, a user might see an ad on YouTube, follow up on CTV later in the day, and finally convert after seeing another ad on their smartphone. Each interaction adds value, but current measurement techniques often fail to connect these dots efficiently.

This issue becomes even more pressing when considering the rise of CTV. As CTV grows, so does its complexity. CTV operates similarly to digital platforms by offering impression-based metrics, but the way users engage with CTV ads differs significantly from traditional online platforms like YouTube or social media channels. To add another layer of complexity, many viewers interact with multiple screens simultaneously, making it difficult to isolate the effectiveness of each channel.

CTV’s Role in the Cross-Media Landscape

The shift to CTV has brought with it both opportunities and challenges. CTV allows brands to reach more targeted audiences compared to linear TV, but the measurement standards for CTV are still catching up. In Rockerbox’s analysis of OTT (Over-The-Top) advertising data, we observed that as OTT spend increases, revenue also grows, but efficiency—as measured by ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)—decreases. For example, marketers who increased their OTT spend saw 12% more revenue, but experienced a 6% decline in ROAS as their investments surpassed $1 million​. This diminishing return is key to understanding how advertisers should optimize CTV investments without sacrificing profitability.

This takeaway highlights a critical insight: it’s not just about pouring more dollars into CTV. Advertisers need real-time, ongoing measurement that tracks how each incremental dollar impacts revenue and ROI. Having visibility into when and how CTV delivers results allows marketers to tweak their strategies, ensuring they’re driving revenue while maintaining efficiency.

The Growing Demand for Standardized Cross-Media Metrics

The need for cross-media measurement is clear, but the path forward remains fraught with challenges. One of the biggest pain points for marketers today is the lack of standardization in metrics across platforms. While digital platforms have been built on impression- and click-based KPIs, traditional channels like TV continue to rely on reach-based metrics. The fragmentation makes it nearly impossible to attribute performance to a specific channel, let alone assess the contribution of each channel to a campaign’s success.

This is where the conversation around unified, cross-media metrics gains momentum. The industry is moving toward a future where marketers can compare the performance of CTV campaigns with linear TV, digital video, and social platforms using standardized KPIs. According to eMarketer, CTV ad spend is expected to hit $27 billion by 2025, representing over 18% of total digital ad spend​. As this investment grows, solving cross-media measurement challenges becomes increasingly important for marketers who want to optimize their strategies.

At Rockerbox, the triangulated approach to measurement—which leverages Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM), Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA), and Testing—helps solve these challenges. By combining these methodologies, brands can understand how different media channels contribute to long-term performance, from upper-funnel brand awareness to bottom-funnel conversions.

CTV’s Synergy in Cross-Channel Campaigns

CTV plays a pivotal role not just in driving direct results, but in working synergistically with other channels. During the holiday season, for example, 72% of marketers reported that using CTV alongside channels like social and display advertising significantly increased incremental lift according to a study conducted by tvScientific. This cross-channel synergy reinforces brand messaging, resulting in stronger recall, engagement, and ultimately, higher sales.

For advertisers, this highlights the importance of cross-channel measurement solutions that capture the full impact of CTV within the broader media mix. Understanding how each channel contributes to success enables brands to fine-tune their campaigns for maximum efficiency.

The Role of Ongoing Measurement

Ongoing measurement is critical to getting cross-media strategies right. Just as Rockerbox’s OTT data showed the importance of tracking diminishing returns​, continuous performance tracking across all channels is essential to avoid overspending in low-efficiency areas. Measurement tools like MMM and MTA provide a deeper understanding of how each media channel impacts performance over time, allowing brands to adjust their strategies dynamically.

But, those are not the only methods marketers should be thinking about when measuring these hard-to-track channels. Incrementality testing is one of the most effective tools in this process. Brands that implemented incrementality testing—such as A/B experiments or geo-experimentation—saw up to a 15% increase in overall ROI by reallocating their OTT budgets based on insights about diminishing returns. This kind of data-driven adjustment ensures that marketing investments are being used in the most impactful way possible.

Looking Ahead: A Unified Future for Cross-Media Measurement

The future of measurement lies in creating a more standardized and unified approach that enables advertisers to evaluate campaigns holistically across platforms. Rockerbox’s solutions help bridge this gap by providing advertisers with the data and insights they need to make informed decisions about how to allocate their media spend. Through a combination of MMM, MTA, and Testing, advertisers can not only improve cross-media measurement but also drive more effective, data-driven campaigns.

As the media landscape continues to evolve, advertisers must embrace comprehensive measurement strategies that account for the full customer journey. With CTV expected to play an even more prominent role in digital ad spend, cross-media measurement will be key to ensuring long-term success.

Ultimately, the goal of cross-media measurement isn’t just to track performance—it’s about understanding the entire customer journey, optimizing media investments, and ensuring that each platform plays its role in driving meaningful results.