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As Chief Data&Tech Officer here at Intarget, I spend a lot of time thinking about data. Really, <\/span>a lot<\/span><\/i>. And if there\u2019s one area in marketing that resembles finding all the unmatched socks lost in the washing machine or abandoned at the bottom of a drawer, it\u2019s measurement. We hear phrases like \u201cdata-driven decisions,\u201d \u201cROI,\u201d \u201cincrementality,\u201d and sometimes, let\u2019s be honest, it sounds a bit like\u2026 a<\/span> big mess<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n But it doesn\u2019t have to be! Measurement isn\u2019t just about counting clicks or justifying budgets under pressure. It\u2019s a huge opportunity! Done right, it opens new paths for growth that until recently were unthinkable. So, let\u2019s take a metaphorical flashlight and shed some light at the bottom of the washing machine and in the drawer\u2019s corners.<\/span><\/p>\n The term \u201cmeasurement\u201d is often used very loosely. But it\u2019s crucial to distinguish between <\/span>media metrics<\/b> and <\/span>marketing effectiveness<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n Confusing these things is often where the \u201cbig mess\u201d begins. Sometimes media distribution counting is mistaken for measuring true effectiveness.<\/span><\/p>\n For too long, measurement has felt like a scary audit where marketing teams have to <\/span>\u201cprove they did a good job\u201d<\/b>. This doesn\u2019t foster innovation nor does it transform marketing perception into a value-generating lever.<\/span><\/p>\n We need to think of measurement as a <\/span>learning journey<\/b> or a <\/span>discovery process<\/b>. It\u2019s about understanding <\/span>how<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>why<\/span><\/i> things worked (or didn\u2019t). Every outcome, even unexpected, is a point to learn from: discovering that upper funnel actions are approaching the results of lower funnel actions, or that digital marketing has a primary impact on in-store sales.<\/span><\/p>\n However, this journey requires the involvement of the Finance department (or <\/span>Finance<\/span><\/i> if we stick to anglo-marketing terminology): One of the biggest obstacles to developing a coherent and effective marketing path is the <\/span>vision and goal gap between marketing and finance<\/b>. Marketing talks about brand awareness and engagement; Finance talks about revenue, profit, and EBITDA.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A <\/span>recent Google study<\/span><\/a> shows that while most marketing and finance leaders agree marketing drives growth, about one in three still primarily sees it as a <\/span>cost center<\/b>. Budget requests may be met with skepticism if marketing is considered a discretionary expense.<\/span><\/p>\n CFOs, responsible for financial discipline and risk management, understandably require clear proof of <\/span>profitable returns<\/b>. Boards are often <\/span>more interested in profitability increases than in long-term growth or brand building<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n Bridging this gap requires <\/span>building trust<\/b>. Marketing teams must go beyond simply justifying spend and <\/span>align with Finance\u2019s vision<\/b>. This means aligning on metrics and speaking their language. You must show how marketing impacts market share or customer acquisition. The priority of brand building becomes understandable to finance to the extent that losing positioning reduces profitability, and regaining positioning after divesting in brand building requires 1.85 times the original investment, as demonstrated by <\/span>some analyses<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n What analysis can bring marketing and finance together on synergistic ground? Marketing Mix Modelling (MMM) \u2013 a mathematical-statistical approach around for 40 years \u2013 is experiencing a major <\/span>renaissance<\/b>. Driven by privacy changes (loss of granular data makes aggregated methods more important), accessible data science capabilities, open-source tools, and computing power, MMM has been reborn and reinvented.<\/span><\/p>\n It can incorporate more details, work with shorter time scales, and even include things like creative quality. It\u2019s becoming more accessible than ever. Although it remains a specialist field (econometrics), the growing community and open-source tools make it feasible for more companies\u2026 with a BUT! <\/span>It doesn\u2019t only require skilled data scientists\u2026 it also needs analysts with strong statistical skills and an even stronger understanding of marketing and industry context<\/b>. Great platforms producing econometric analyses often stop at charts that don\u2019t directly lead to actionable insights: you need people who can fine-tune the model to ensure reliable results\u2026 and interpret them for both marketing specialists and finance stakeholders.<\/span><\/p>\n MMM provides a strategic and aggregated view of cross-channel marketing impacts and can consider long-term contributions and external factors such as macroeconomic trends or seasonality. However, it\u2019s not enough when adapting to a digital context that sometimes requires faster timing.<\/span><\/p>\n We therefore need to integrate complementary tools to achieve a <\/span>balanced approach to measuring marketing effectiveness<\/b> since no single measurement method can capture everything: we could summarize this combination in a sort of <\/span>magic triangle of measurement<\/b>. The typical elements of the magic triangle are:<\/span><\/p>\n Combining MTA for short-term granularity with MMM for long-term strategic clarity, and integrating incrementality experiments for validation, provides a more balanced perspective. The goal of these analyses is to move toward understanding genuine business outcomes like sales, revenue, or profit. This is where we start bridging the gap between CMO and CFO and building shared learning and joint strategic decisions beyond simple budget approval, for example in:<\/span><\/p>\nTo start, let\u2019s split hairs (because it\u2019s necessary)<\/span><\/h1>\n
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Measurement: More of a road trip than an audit<\/span><\/h1>\n
The elephant in the room: Finance!<\/span><\/h1>\n
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<\/span><\/p>\nMMM never dies!<\/span><\/h1>\n
The magic triangle of measurement<\/span><\/h1>\n
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