Marketers Say They Would Spend Even More on Digital Ads If Measurement Improved

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Marketers Say They Would Spend Even More on Digital Ads If Measurement Improved

ObservePoint Tag Auditing CompanyData Quality Assurance Platform

Digital ad dollars are on the rise. And so are marketers’ questions about what’s working.

One major point of frustration for marketers in the digital age: measurement. According to a new study by WPP agency Millward Brown Digital, more than 70% of marketing executives polled said they would increase their spending on mobile, digital and social platforms if there were better ways to measure return on investment. The survey, conducted this spring, is based on responses of roughly 400 senior marketing executives at agencies, media companies and brand marketers.

Marketers Say They Would Spend Even More on Digital Ads If Measurement Improved

ObservePoint Tag Auditing CompanyData Quality Assurance Platform

There was an especially sharp increase in respondents’ desire for improved measurement for social media compared with last year’s findings. Millward Brown Digital’s most recent study found that 74% of respondents would invest more in social media if better ROI metrics existed, up from 50% in 2014.Similarly, 79% of respondents said they’d invest more in mobile and 78% would spend more on digital if ROI could be tracked better.

It’s always been a challenge to definitively attribute a customer’s purchase to an ad campaign, no matter the medium. While television offers brands massive reach, online media promises to help marketers reach target audiences more cost efficiently.

Marketers Say They Would Spend Even More on Digital Ads If Measurement Improved

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The rise of digital platforms and mobile devices has made it easier to capture data about a campaign’s performance and customers’ behaviors, but online advertising is still largely measured using proxy metrics like ad impressions, clicks or store visits. As a result, marketers struggle to connect the dots and show what these measures actually mean for business, a top concern as many big marketers tighten their ad spending.

While brands are increasingly focused on demonstrating that they’re getting a bang for every buck they spend, there are many online and offline factors to be taken into consideration when trying to prove a campaign’s effectiveness, said Stephen DiMarco, Millward Brown Digital’s president.

Marketers Say They Would Spend Even More on Digital Ads If Measurement Improved

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“Marketers are looking for the shortest path to ROI possible. They want to attribute a media purchase, whether it’s on a TV network or a digital property, to a sale,” Mr. DiMarco said. “Variables from quality of creative to the choice of the media property whether it was online or traditional to the retail experience to promotions and coupons to even inventory available– it’s all going to impact ROI.”

More than 40% of respondents cited big data as the largest opportunity facing marketers this year, yet “they don’t feel confident in navigating all of the data that’s at their fingertips,” said Aaron Peterson, marketing manager at Millward Brown Digital.

Marketers Say They Would Spend Even More on Digital Ads If Measurement Improved

ObservePoint Tag Auditing CompanyData Quality Assurance Platform

The study found a notable decline in marketing executives’ comfort with big data from last year. Only 14% of respondents said they’re confident with their company’s use of big data, compared with 39% in the 2014 study.Digital media is expected to become the biggest media category globally by 2018 and digital ad spending is expected to jump 16% to $149 billion this year, according to recent projections from Interpublic-owned media buying and research firm Magna Global.