As consumer media consumption continues to fragment across digital channels, marketing measurement—ranging from single-channel campaign effectiveness to more complex forms of cross-channel mix and attribution modeling—is essentially becoming obsolete without the ability to recognize consumers on digital devices, according to new research from omnichannel identity resolution provider LiveRamp.
The firm’s new study, 2017 State of People-Based Measurement Report, conducted by Wakefield Research, examines the industry’s current perception and implementation of “people-based” measurement, defined as the use of anonymized consumer identity data to better measure the omnichannel impact of marketing.
“We all know that marketers, media companies, and measurement vendors struggle to stitch together an understanding of the total audience reached across traditional and digital channels—and even more importantly, tie omnichannel marketing exposure to key performance metrics like sales and brand lift,” said Jeff Smith, chief marketing officer at LiveRamp, in a news release. “This study, however, for the first time highlights the true underlying challenge and a potential solution to this conundrum.”
Identity resolution is key to accurate measurement
Ninety-four percent of marketing professionals report that a lack of “people-based” measurement capabilities makes it more difficult to create a complete view of cross-media exposure and link that view to performance metrics—such as sales and brand lift—to accurately assess marketing ROI.
There are common challenges organizations face in implementing people-based measurement
These challenges include not having the ability to link disparate data sets together for analysis (49 percent), not having identity resolution technology (48 percent), not knowing where to get started (42 percent) and not having access to enough offline sales data (42 percent).
People-based measurement is the starting point for creating better customer experiences and unlocking the value of data
Marketers and advertisers indicate the benefits of implementing people-based measurement extend beyond calculating campaign ROI:
- 75 percent of respondents indicate it will help them improve targeting and/or real-time campaign optimization
- 72 percent of respondents indicate it will help them optimize customer and prospect insights and improve product strategy, and/or improve the consumer experience
- 96 percent of respondents indicate identity resolution will be key to unlocking the value of their company’s data assets in the coming years
While people-based measurement is not yet widely implemented, there is increased investment on the horizon
Nearly 70 percent of marketing and advertising professionals share that they have not yet implemented people-based measurement but plan to in the next three years. Additionally, over the next three years, 56 percent of respondents report that they plan to increase their in-house analytics capabilities, while 52 percent plan to invest more in marketing analytics technology.
“It’s clear that identity resolution is key to solving challenges with cross-media measurement,” said Brian Andersen of LUMA Partners, in the release, “as well as helping marketers improve the consumer experience.”
“These results highlight the potential for companies to leverage identity resolution to unlock the full potential of their data,” added Smith, “extending beyond what they have historically done with person-level targeting to also focus on person-level measurement. By creating an omnichannel view of their customers and prospects that can be activated in their platform of choice, companies can drastically improve consumers’ experience with their brand.”
The 2017 State of People-Based Measurement Study was conducted by Wakefield and involved an online survey of 500 marketing and advertising professionals, including 100 CMOs and 400 mid- and upper-level professionals.
