Value over vanity: Why long-term measurability is the key to effective marketing

In the digital advertising landscape, each ad impression presents a revenue opportunity for numerous participants, regardless of quality. This competitive scenario often results in many entities competing to claim their share of the profits.

Regrettably, many of the existing systems in this landscape are susceptible to manipulation, often rewarding ad spaces based on 'vanity metrics' such as viewability or click-through rates. Depending on such metrics can lead to misrepresentation of the quality of numerous ad impressions, not just exclusive to adtech players in the open web, but also for the walled gardens. Adalytics reports on YouTube and Facebook's overstatement of video viewership metrics are prime examples. In Adobe's 2023 Digital Trends study, 73% of top executives concurred that prioritising immediate objectives has overshadowed long-term planning and strategic thinking.

Furthermore, the research highlighted that 76% of agency leaders observe their clients emphasising vanity metrics like clicks and likes or quarterly revenue targets as success markers, instead of focusing on more enduring measures like brand prominence or the lifetime value of customers.

In an industry increasingly emphasising tangible results, Campaign explores how the reliance on metrics such as likes, reach, and impressions raises questions about their relevance and alignment with the expectations of C-suite executives focused on direct business impact. Why is there a continued reliance on vanity metrics?

Vanity metrics are famous because they are familiar, easy to implement, scalable, consistent, inexpensive, and comparable.

However, these metrics are often more concerned with delivery and providing a superficial measure of engagement, for example, the likes and shares of a campaign, Sean Adams, global insight director at Brand Metrics, tells Campaign.

"Not every campaign will lead to a sale or direct action, but that does not mean it has been ineffective. But if marketers are not measuring these indirect effects, such successes (and failures) remain hidden," explains Adams.

Hannah Mirza, founder and chief executive officer of The Responsible Marketing Agency, points out the challenge in the transition between vanity metrics and more targeted KPIs has always been the associated added costs and the trade-off of wastage versus targeted solutions that may get marketers to the same outcome from a spending perspective.

Mirza notes consumer packaged goods (CPG) clients were the first to test this early on, layering on solutions to enhance their buying, only to find those solutions' costs outstripped the benefits of more simplistic reach and recent measures.

"The advancement in attention metrics presents a new layer where this trade-off may be justified," Mirza explains to Campaign.

 While the emphasis is shifting towards metrics directly tied to business impact, Larraine Criss, chief operating officer at Preciso, argues vanity metrics can still provide valuable insights into brand awareness, audience engagement, and content effectiveness.

"The key is using these metrics with more tangible KPIs to form a well-rounded understanding of marketing performance," Criss tells Campaign. "Executives should focus on a balanced approach that aligns with the organisation's objectives and incorporates short-term and long-term considerations."

How can marketers effectively attribute value to different channels?

With the rise of connected TV, marketers should pay even closer attention to the attribution allocation models that recognise each channel's distinct value and contribution to a customer journey, significantly when not all channels directly impact the final transaction.

 To optimise marketing strategies, shifting from vanity metrics like 'last click' towards more comprehensive multi-touch attribution methods is essential. Steve Laurence Chan, country director for the Philippines at Nexxen, the holding group for Amobee and Unruly, explains to Campaign that this approach involves analysing assisted conversations to pinpoint various touchpoints that have shaped the customer's decision-making journey. Each touchpoint is assigned a weight according to its impact on the customer's choices.

"Furthermore, it's crucial to customise the attribution approach based on the metrics relevant to each channel," explains Chan. "For example, CTV advertising might focus on view-through conversions as a measure of success. In contrast, for social media platforms, engagement metrics like likes, shares, and comments might be more reflective of their impact." In addition, advertisers are increasingly adopting Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) to evaluate the collective influence of different channels throughout the customer journey.

Megan Reichelt, country manager for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan at IAS, tells Campaign that MMM is particularly useful for understanding the contribution of channels that may not directly lead to transactions, but still play a significant role in the overall campaign performance. Reichelt explains MMM offers a way to quantify and understand the unique contribution of each channel, providing a more holistic view of their effectiveness. "Since no one-size-fits-all exists, advertisers must adapt their attribution approach based on specific campaign goals, customer journeys, and industry benchmarks. They need to focus on actionable insights and not get too lost in data for the sake of it," says Reichelt.

 "The key is to extract actionable insights from available data to gain critical learnings from attribution models and journey maps to guide future campaign optimisation and channel allocation decisions instead of fixating on missing pieces." Reichelt adds that refining MMMs in the face of data fragmentation and privacy limitations requires a strategic approach that leverages available data effectively while respecting user privacy. She urges advertisers to regularly update models, incorporate new data sources, adjust for seasonality and market shifts, and continuously refine their MMM to maintain its accuracy and effectiveness.

In addition, Reichelt says MMMs also help in scenario planning and informing budget allocation and strategic decision-making. "Advertisers should validate their MMM predictions through real-world A/B testing and experimentation to ensure campaign optimisation aligns with the model's guidance," explains Reichelt.

"Vanity metrics like reach and impressions have limited value in MMMs as they do not reflect actual business impact. However, they can be early indicators of potential success if used cautiously."

How can marketers prioritise concrete measures over vanity metrics?

With marketing budgets under scrutiny, there is a demand to 'do more with less'. Marketers want to shift their focus from vanity metrics to more concrete measures like sales, market share, and in-store traffic that resonate with financial decision-makers. Chan explains that by focusing on metrics tied to financial or business outcomes, marketers can effectively demonstrate the tangible impact of their efforts and build a compelling case for the value of marketing investments in budget-constrained environments.

"It all starts with aligning marketing metrics to overarching business goals and setting clear objectives. By adopting an omnichannel approach to understanding customers, marketers can identify the right marketing KPIs for both offline and online activities," says Chan.

"This approach in modern marketing recognises that customers interact with brands through various online and offline channels, allowing for a more holistic and effective marketing strategy." Reichelt adds marketers should consider collaborating with external partners offering specialised skills, data access, and superior AI and technology solutions to enhance their data-driven marketing capabilities for success, even in challenging economic environments.

She explains one of the key ways marketers can provide value is to present data and use it to tell a compelling story about how marketing contributes to business goals. "Highlight ROI, customer acquisition, cost reduction, and revenue growth to showcase the impact efforts. Alignment with business goals ultimately strengthens the relationship between marketing and other departments, contributing to the organisation's overall success," says Reichelt.


Also published in: Campaign Asia