This document summarizes a webinar on marketing attribution presented by Lauren T. Fisher of eMarketer. The webinar discussed the current state of cross-platform attribution, the data and tools needed to implement advanced attribution, and best practices for success. Most marketers have yet to adopt a holistic cross-device view of customers and are still early in the transition to cross-platform attribution. Achieving success requires integrating multiple data sources and tools, gaining organizational buy-in, focusing on audiences rather than channels, and measuring performance using business metrics rather than channel-specific KPIs.

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Marketing Attribution: New Tech,
New Trends, New Thinking
Lauren T. Fisher
Principal Analyst
October 5, 2017

2. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Agenda
 The current state of cross-platform attribution adoption
 The data, tools and tech required to make advanced
attribution work
 Five best practices for ensuring greater success
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The Current State of
Cross-Platform Attribution

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For today’s
marketer,
figuring out
budgeting and
the right
channel mix
are no longer
simple
mathematical
exercises
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This goes for both marketers with and without
existing marketing attribution practices
“Mature marketers who are doing [attribution] at
the channel level recognize that’s got to
change. They know consumers are interacting
with their brand on a bunch of different
channels, and if they’re only looking at
one channel at a time, at some point it
loses its effectiveness.”
—Wayne Townsend, President, Technology, Epsilon
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Not
surprisingly,
attribution is
a top concern
among digital
advertisers
this year
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Marketers who have yet to transition to a
holistic view are in the vast minority
6%Portion of marketers worldwide who say they
have a complete view of their customers across
every touchpoint, including those owned by
third-party partners or vendors
Source: CMO Council, “Empowering the Data-Driven Customer Strategy: Addressing Customer Engagement from
the Foundation Up”; in partnership with RedPoint Global, March 2017
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Most are still
early in making
the shift
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In fact, just half of US companies use
multichannel attribution for digital marketing
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Making Attribution Work:
The Data, Tools and Tech

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As focus shifts to a holistic view, the spotlight
moves from individual channels to the audience
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To identify the right data and tools needed to
move forward with that view, ask yourself:
 What does a complete picture of a
user look like?
 What has that user been exposed
to?
 What did the user do?
Vish Oza
Director, Product
Marketing
Convertro
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Answering these questions inevitably leads
marketers to a host of data sources and inputs
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Identity plays an important role in stitching
together the cross-screen picture
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A cross-device
audience view
is critical,
though not
widely used at
the moment
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These and other tech tools must be integrated
into the larger attribution model
Attribution
Model
Linking Solution:
Data onboarder, ID
graph, etc.
Channel
Platforms:
Paid, owned and
earned (digital,
physical and
traditional)
Audience Data:
CRM, DMP,
transactional and
loyalty data; third-
party data
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Tech and data
barriers aren’t
the only
obstacles on
the path to
integration
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Five Things Savvy
Marketers Know About
Holistic Attribution

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They know a perfect solution
doesn’t exist
1

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Today’s models aren’t designed to 100% support
a cross-platform, audience-centric view
Top Down
Marketing Mix Model
 Aggregate view
 Budgeting, media
planning
Bottom Up
Digital Attribution
 Impression-level
view
 Optimization
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On their wish list for an ideal solution:
 Inclusion of all digital,
traditional and physical
touchpoints
 Audience-level view of those
touchpoints
 Insights for budget allocation
 Real-time optimization
capabilities
 Actionable outputs for all
levels of the organization
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But we’re just not there yet
“Depending on your scenario, you’re getting
to that source of truth on a variety of
inputs. You know there are these
gaps … and you understand these gaps.
Knowing there isn’t one tool that can
actually be the source of truth, you have
multiple tools to paint a picture.”
—Noah Singer, Product Marketing Manager,
Attribution, Facebook
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Methods for making it work:
Building internal solution
Staffing for and building an
internal attribution model
custom-designed to answer the
right questions
Integrating multiple tools
Relying on a primary attribution
platform, plus additional systems
and reporting tools for a more
holistic picture
“The limitation of models we’ve seen is that we have yet to find [a holistic]
one that we really feel comfortable with. When I say, ‘holistic,’ I mean
digital and traditional together so that we can really see what is
truly driving conversions. We have really good tools to measure single
channels, but it’s hard to see that unified picture.”
—Bruce Millard, Vice President, Digital and Customer Innovation, Safelite AutoGlass
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They know how to get their
organization on board
2

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Many set out to implement holistic attribution
practices feeling like this:
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Many of their
greatest
challenges
are
organizational
ones
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The biggest determinant of success:
Top-level buy-in
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Without that buy-in from above, it’s difficult to
achieve buy-in throughout the organization
“In the ideal scenario, everything is
collaborative. If I lose a dollar from my budget and
you gain a dollar for your budget and we end up with
$10 more in revenue, then we all win. In a not-so-well-
functioning scenario, you have people questioning that
model and not believing it. And you can have fights
about the magnitude of any shifts in budget.”
—Ben Bloom, Senior Digital Strategist, Mapp Digital
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They know what needs to be done
in-house
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For many brands and marketers, customer
analytics is already an in-house practice
 Marketing tech,
like attribution,
is also on the
docket
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Some, like Rue La La, are looking to own the
entire attribution practice:
 Move to bring all tools and functions in-house
 Desire to move off of reliance on third parties for data and
analytics outputs
 Staff to fully analyze, interpret and execute on findings
“Building the right team in-house allows us to stay on top of what
our customers are asking for. You have a much deeper
understanding of what the customer wants, what her pain points
are and what’s going to make her happy.”
—Melissa Studzinski, Head of Customer Engagement and Loyalty, Rue La La
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Others are pursuing more customized solutions
 Still may use third-party tools and systems for reporting
 Seeking more customized use of those tools
 Staffing internally to make the most of that output
“The analytics team isn’t just doing the back-end measurement of what
happened. They want this kind of access so they can determine what
happened, but they can also do a cause-effect analysis and then
inform the front-end team to say, ‘We need to do it differently,
because this is what the data is telling us.’” —Jon Schulz, CMO, Viant
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They know the customer is the key
to success
4

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Focusing attribution models on customers, not
channels, can have companywide effects
“The biggest thing you’d expect to see in a
company that’s having success with
attribution is they’re likely identifying
high-performing customer segments
that are addressable, and they’re now
reorganizing their company, their
budget and in some cases, maybe even
their merchandising.”
—Tony Zito, CEO, Rakuten Marketing
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Here again, audience data and identity solutions
providers are critical
Attribution
Model
Linking Solution:
Data onboarder, ID
graph, etc.
Channel
Platforms:
Paid, owned and
earned (digital,
physical and
traditional)
Audience Data:
CRM, DMP,
transactional and
loyalty data; third-
party data
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36. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Taking an audience-led approach can have the
following benefits:
 Real-time audience insights and
optimization
 Audience intel for future campaign
planning
 Insight into the value of all
customer-facing touchpoints on
audiences
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They know measuring success
requires real business drivers,
not channel-specific KPIs
5

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For many, the
hardest part
of proving
marketing ROI
is figuring out
the right KPIs
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Goal
alignment
should
ultimately
match
objectives
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Without that alignment, marketers are unable to
properly optimize and understand campaigns
“When you look at a customer
journey, what you realize is that if
you look at anything through the
lens of one channel, or if you try
and optimize for that channel, you can
actually block progress down
that customer journey path.”
—Wayne Townsend, Epsilon
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41. © 2017 eMarketer Inc.
Key Takeaways:
 Migrating toward a more holistic attribution practice is hard
but necessary for today’s world.
 The perfect tool does not exist, but marketers can still make
the most with what’s out there, and many are doing so with
greater internal investment.
 But they can’t do that without organizational buy-in.
 An audience-fed lens can yield valuable budgeting and
optimization information.
 Ultimately, success requires everyone rowing in a single
direction toward a larger KPI.
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Lauren T. Fisher
Marketing Attribution: New
Tech, New Tools, New Trends
 Marketing Attribution 2017: Five Best Practices
 Integrating TV, Digital and In-Store Data: The Pursuit of a True
Omnichannel Customer View
 Marketing Technology 2017: Putting Customer Data at the
Center
 Cross-Device Targeting: A More Holistic Customer View and a
More Compelling Audience Experience