‍Navigating Advertising Complexity: The Need for Consistent Cross-Media Measurement  

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In the fast-paced world of advertising, where brands and media agencies navigate a complex landscape of multiple channels and platforms, the importance of cross-channel (or cross-media) measurement cannot be understated.

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One of the primary challenges faced by brands and media agencies is the lack of consistent metrics and measurement methodologies to evaluate advertising outcomes across all platforms: this makes it difficult for advertisers to compare different media channels involved in the same campaign.

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This inconsistency often hinders the ability to allocate budgets effectively and understand the true impact of advertising efforts.

Comparability in cross-channel measurement is then another strategic pain point for advertisers, and essential for both brands and agencies.

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On one side, it allows brands to assess the relative performance of different media channels and make informed decisions about where to invest their advertising dollars.

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Comparable metrics across channels enable marketers to optimize their media mix and achieve better ROI.

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By having a clear understanding of how each channel contributes to the overall campaign goals, brands can allocate resources more efficiently and maximize their return on investment.

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Secondly, comparability enables media agencies to provide their clients with a holistic view of campaign performance.

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With a standardized measurement framework, agencies can offer valuable insights and recommendations based on consistent data across all media channels.

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This not only enhances the agency-client relationship but also facilitates more effective campaign planning and execution.  

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Moreover, comparability in cross-media measurement fosters greater transparency and accountability in the advertising industry.

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When all stakeholders, including brands, agencies, and media owners, have access to consistent and reliable metrics, it creates a level playing field and promotes trust and higher investments.

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Every year, the Nielsen's Annual Marketing Report provides valuable insights into the current state of cross-media measurement and the importance of comparability.  

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We have summarized the main findings of the latest 2024 edition.  

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Optimism (and Disconnect) in Marketers' Measurement

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As shared by Nielsen, despite the economic uncertainties, 72% of global marketers expect bigger ad budgets in 2024, up from 64% in 2023.  

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This optimism is driven by the perceived effectiveness of digital channels, with marketers planning to allocate more than 63% of their ad budgets to digital media.

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However, the report also reveals a disconnect between marketers' objectives and their planned tactics.

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While marketers' top KPIs are long-term ROI and full-funnel ROI, 70% plan to prioritize performance marketing over brand-building initiatives.

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This misalignment can lead to suboptimal results, as brand building is crucial for long-term success and moderating the cost of new customer acquisition.

Performance marketing is perceived as more effective in driving immediate and tangible results, such as sales, leads, or website visits.

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This direct link to revenue generation makes it easier to run assessments based on ROI (Return-On-Investment), which has become a key metric for media comparison.  

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In reality, confidence in ROI measurement by channel varies a lot, as shown in the following chart:

Comparability is connected to Transparency

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Different key associations in the market work to bring together key stakeholders from brands, agencies, and media companies to establish a unified framework for cross-media measurement that prioritizes comparability.  

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The Media Rating Council (MRC) has always highlighted the importance of transparency through its standards and guidelines, emphasizing how comparable and transparent measurement is critical for building confidence in the entire advertising ecosystem.

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By establishing a shared understanding of advertising effectiveness, comparability helps to ensure that all parties are working towards common goals and can make informed decisions based on reliable data.

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In addition to the well-known ROI (Return on Investment), some of the preferred metrics that have used KPIs for cross-media evaluation include:

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• Reach and Frequency: Measuring the total unique audience exposed to a campaign and the average number of times they saw the ads.

• Viewability: Ensuring ads are seen by the audience, using standards like the MRC's 100% in-view for at least 1 or 2 continuous seconds, depending on the advertising format (static or video).

• Engagement: Tracking meaningful interactions with ads, such as click-through rates, video completion rates, and social shares according to different channels.

• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Calculating the revenue or business value generated for every dollar invested in advertising for a specific channel.

• Attention Metrics: Measuring the quality of audience engagement with ads, such as time spent, interaction depth, and emotional response. Attention metrics provide a more nuanced view of ad effectiveness beyond simple exposure across multiple media channels.

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Return on Investment (ROI) is currently the preferred Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for cross-channel evaluation: since it is a financial metric, it can be easily used for different media channels.

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Nevertheless, another key insight from Nielsen’s report is the disconnect between marketers' confidence in their marketing technologies' ability to measure ROI and their actual execution.  

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While 84% of global marketers express confidence in their ROI measurement capabilities, only 38% evaluate the holistic ROI by measuring traditional and digital marketing together. This mismatch creates blind spots in measurement, leading to misattribution and underestimation of the true impact of marketing efforts across different channels.

Advertising Resource Management Supports Media Channel Comparability

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To address the challenge of standardized cross-channel measurement, software solutions like Advertising Resource Management (ARM) have emerged in latest years.

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ARM platforms provide a centralized system that collects, normalizes, and analyzes data from various media channels, enabling a general overview of advertising performance.

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ARM technologies ultimately support media comparability through informed budget allocation, holistic campaign evaluation, consistent reporting and benchmarking over time.  

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By establishing a standardized framework for measurement, ARM helps brands and agencies enhance comparability and make data-driven decisions.  

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With 500+ connectors and 17 channels, MINT is covering the needs of modern media planning including Addressable TV, Affiliation, Branded Content Solutions, Chatbot, DEM, Digital OOH, Display, Influencer Marketing, Mobile, Native, Offline Radio, TV, Programmatic Radio, Publishers, Search, Social and Video – thus laying the foundation for a successful standardization and comparability of different media channels.

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Explore all our integrations now!

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