The Expansion of Marketing Measurement

We recently facilitated a conversation between Ron Jacobson, Matt Bahr and Jim Gianoglio where they discussed the expanding marketing measurement landscape. The below is an organized presentation of their thoughts and recommendations. 

Expanding Marketing Measurement: Why Marketers Need to Expand Their Measurement Strategies 

Marketers today are grappling with the challenge of understanding how their media investments truly drive performance. The old ways of measuring marketing impact—such as last-click attribution or even early iterations of multi-touch attribution (MTA)—are no longer sufficient to capture the complexity of today's consumer journey. To stay competitive, marketers must evolve their measurement strategies and adopt a more layered approach that includes MTA, marketing mix modeling (MMM), and testing.

The Shifting Landscape of Attribution

Attribution has long been a cornerstone of digital marketing. For years, the rise of digital platforms and the availability of detailed user data led marketers to rely on deterministic, one-to-one attribution models. Multi-touch attribution (MTA) became a key method for tracking the consumer journey across channels, giving marketers granular insights into which touchpoints were driving conversions.

However, changes like Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) and GDPR have turned traditional attribution models on their heads. As Matt Barr, CEO of Fairing, observed, "Brands have had to shift from a bottom-up approach where they had access to deterministic data, to a top-down view that looks at aggregated trends and regression models." The idea of having perfect, one-to-one tracking has been upended, and marketers must now ask themselves: what data is still reliable, and how can we use it effectively?

This shift has forced marketers to rethink their strategies and recognize that relying solely on MTA, particularly simplified versions of MTA in a cookie-deprecated world, may not give them the full picture. "The attribution models of the past are not equipped to handle the fragmentation and privacy constraints of today’s marketing environment," said Ron Jacobson, CEO of Rockerbox.

A New Foundation for Measurement: First-Party Data and Attribution

The rise of first-party data is becoming a critical part of the solution to the measurement problem. The shift toward building measurement strategies around first-party data has enabled marketers to better stitch together the consumer journey without relying on third-party cookies. Ron highlighted this shift, noting, "The real evolution has been moving from third-party cookies to first-party data, which allows us to connect more dots between channels and create a more accurate path to conversion."

However, first-party data alone is not always enough. As the marketing mix becomes more complex, with brands investing in everything from paid search to linear TV, the need for an addition of more holistic measurement models is becoming clear. This is where marketing mix modeling (MMM) steps in. MMM, once considered a cumbersome and expensive option, has now evolved into a more accessible and dynamic solution for brands with multi-channel media strategies, complementing the data foundation and MTA.

"MMM provides that top-down view of marketing performance by looking at the full picture—media, external factors like seasonality, even competitive pressures," explained Jim Gianoglio, founder of Cauzle Analytics. "It’s especially valuable when you’re dealing with channels like TV or out-of-home that can’t be tracked through digital attribution." For brands with larger media budgets and more diversified channel mixes, MMM becomes an essential layer for understanding how different marketing activities work together to drive results.

The Role of Testing: Grounding Your Strategy in Reality

While both MTA and MMM provide critical insights, testing remains a vital component in validating and fine-tuning marketing strategies. Incrementality testing, in particular, allows marketers to measure the real impact of a specific channel or campaign by comparing a control group to an exposed group. Testing ensures that marketers aren’t just relying on modeled data but have empirical evidence to support their decisions.

Yet, as with all measurement methodologies, testing comes with its own challenges. "Testing is extremely powerful, but it’s not always easy or cheap," said Jacobson. "You need to be thoughtful about when and where you apply it because it requires coordination across teams, and there’s always a cost—whether in media spend or revenue impact." For example, conducting geo-based lift studies or scaling up spend in a specific channel to test performance demands time, resources, and precise execution.

Despite these hurdles, testing can be instrumental in answering key marketing questions and refining broader attribution models. By running tests and gathering real-world data, marketers can reduce the uncertainty in both MTA and MMM models, ensuring that their day-to-day optimizations are grounded in reality.

The Path Forward: A Layered Approach to Measurement

As the marketing measurement landscape becomes more complex, it’s clear that a layered, unified approach to marketing measurement is the strongest long-term solution for most marketers. MTA remains valuable for providing granular, day-to-day insights, particularly alongside a solid data foundation. MMM offers the broader context needed to understand the interplay between all marketing activities, including those that aren’t trackable on an individual basis. Testing, meanwhile, adds an essential layer of validation, helping to prove the real-world impact of marketing initiatives.

Rather than pitting these methodologies against one another, the real power comes from integrating them. "It's not about choosing between MTA, MMM, or testing," said Jacobson. "The value lies in using them together. You calibrate your day-to-day MTA with insights from MMM and testing, ensuring you have a full 360-degree view of what's driving performance."

Conclusion: Embrace the Complexity

In the end, modern marketing measurement is about embracing the complexity rather than resisting it. As Barr pointed out, "Marketers need to understand that it’s no longer about finding one magic metric to measure success—it’s about triangulating between different sources of data to get the most accurate picture possible."

By building a measurement stack that leverages the strengths of MTA, MMM, and testing, brands can gain deeper insights into their marketing performance and make smarter, more confident decisions. It’s not an easy path, but for those who embrace it, the rewards are significant: better optimization, more accurate forecasting, and, ultimately, a stronger return on investment.