Measurement & Attribution

One way to maximise the ROI of a marketing campaign is to measure, attribute and manage performance throughout the buyer’s journey. However, many companies still measure ROI based on superficial analyses, with no precision or specialised tools. 

The most common attribution model used to measure conversion is the so-called ‘last click’, which attributes the total percentage of a conversion to the a consumer’s last point of contact. 

There are two problems with this model. First, it considers a linear buyer’s journey, and we know it is no longer linear. Second, the method does not accurately show how much influence each point of contact or campaign had on the buyer’s journey and ultimately the purchase.

We know the buyer’s journey has taken on multiple formats other than the classic conversion funnel. With more channels powered by technology, the user’s contact with the brand may have happened because of several online or offline, organic or sponsored initiatives that directly influenced the final conversion – not always the most successful one was the so-called last click.

This problem blinds or deceives executives who are not familiar with the attribution approach; their investment decisions end up focusing on the last point of contact, a mistake that can have a heavy burden on their budget.

It’s time to use attribution techniques and methodologies

Since it allows for measuring the value or credit brought by each strategy in the conversion, attribution is the most successful approach to optimise campaign budgets and their distribution in different channels. 

To do this, use technologies that point to the most effective touchpoints in the buyer’s journey while adding value to the analyses and increasing campaign efficiency. 

It is also necessary to adopt different methods that use technology, data and mathematical calculations. IAB has created an extensive guide on this topic, but at the end of the day, the two main methodologies are as follows:

1) Fractional – Rules Based

In this model, credit is assigned to multiple events along a path to conversion based on a predetermined set of rules. Rules can be:

• Even Weighting: Credit is applied equally across all events.
• Time Decay: Credit is applied to events at increasing or decreasing intervals.
• U-shaped: Credit is disproportionally applied to events at the beginning and end of a path to conversion.

2) Fractional – Algorithmic

Statistical algorithms calculate the probability of conversion based on the combination of touchpoints. Credit is attributed based on this probability, thus determining the real value of the interactions that resulted in the conversion.

Measurement and attribution in practice

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