This document discusses media measurement and attribution strategies from Encore Media Metrics. It recommends using attribution models to measure the impact of all media touchpoints, including non-direct interactions. Case studies show attribution identifying non-last click interactions can increase leads by 50% and adjust perceived best/worst performers. It also discusses quantifying social media impact and conducting market tests to isolate online marketing effects.

1. Strategic Insights.
Tactical Recommendations
February 2011
Steve Latham
Founder and CEO, Encore Media Metrics
@stevelatham
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

2. • Encore Media Metrics provides measurement,
attribution and reporting as a service
– Integrated reports for paid media (KPIs, Attribution, ROI)
– Social media attribution
– Outsourced media ops (trafficking, ad serving, etc.)
• Delivered as a service. You make the buy, we do the rest.
• Proven platform with 5+ years of delivering insights.
• Follow us @EncoreMetrics
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

3. • Digital is hard to characterize
Awareness
(Display, Email, Social,
– Strategic + Tactical
Mobile, Fat Tail Search)
– Branding + Performance
Consideration
• Digital touches customers throughout" (Display, Mid-Tail
the funnel
Search, Social)
– Can’t win by simply harvesting demand
Preference
(Long-Tail
– You must create it (display, social, etc.)
Search, Social
Email)
• Digital is hard to measure
Action
– Traditional metrics no longer suffice
(Social,
Search,
• Yet, each buy must stand on its own
Email)
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

4. “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
-Abraham Maslow
• We were initially taught to measure performance via:
– Clicks and CTRs
– Directly attributable conversions
• We now know these don’t tell the whole story
– Keyword assists are important (Search)
– Display Ads can be effective without clicks
– Social contributes throughout the process
• Data shows clicks don’t matter for "
measuring Display ads
– 8% of users contribute 80% of Display clicks
– Only 20% of post-imp conversions follow clicks
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

5. • Attributing credit to the last click is still the norm
– Rewards Search
– Punishes Display, Email and Social
• As an industry, we have to do better!
• We need to:
– Identify all interactions that precede "
conversions
– Attribute value to each touch point "
that plays a supporting role
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

6. There are two primary methodologies for attribution:
• Algorithmic modeling: analyzing log files (any anything
else you can find) to correlate impact
– Performed in batches, monthly, quarterly or annually
• Operational Attribution: analyzing all touch points that
precede a visit or conversion
– Requires synching of ad server and site analytics data
– Requires new approach to measuring impact of social
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

7. • We know display drives leads from direct and natural search
• If you can quantify the impact, you can optimize spend
• Case study: Health care provider (lead generation)
– Attribution resulted in a 50% lift in leads from Display Ads
– Resulted in a 35% drop in CPL from Display
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

8. • Vendor-level attribution can be very insightful
– Last-click “laggards” may actually be leaders
• Case study: Local advertising campaign (Retailer)
– KHOU.com was 2nd worst outlet based on last click
– After including assists, KHOU.com was 4th best
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

9. • The next big thing in attribution: Social Media
– Attribute credit for social assists
– Assign economic value
– Calculate ROI from Social Media
• Since you can’t cookie, you have "
to take a different approach
– Identify where social interactions "
preceded visits and conversions
– Quantify the assists
– Define Social’s contribution to sales
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

10. • How We Do Social Media Attribution
– Index URLs where Brand is being mentioned
• Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blog mentions, Articles, etc.
– Use Javascript to compare Index to browser history for visitors
– Record the number of matches
Browsers indicates which URLs
you’ve seen before
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

11. 351 (9.4%) of visits previously interacted
with Brand on social media sites
Media Attribution and Measurement
11
Attribution and ROI Metrics 2011
© Encore Media Measurement

12. • Defining the right attribution model
– What is the value of an impression vs. a click?
– How will that vary based on the type of media?
– How far back should you look?
– How do you isolate online impact?
• Analytics platforms still miss a lot
– Cookie deletion (still 30+%?)
– Multiple devices (20%?)
– Non-served ads (Google, Facebook)
• Calculating offline impact from online marketing
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

13. • Fact: all analytics platforms overstate % of New
vs. Returning visitors
– Cookie deletion (30%)
– Multiple devices (?%)
• How do we adjust?
• 176% adjustment?
– How does this
impact how we
measure media?
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

14. • Market testing
• Customer surveys
• Online surveys
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

15. • To isolate the impact of media, conduct a market test
– Conduct a campaign targeting a Geo or Product
– Define the test and the control groups
– Measure lift in traffic and conversions (via G.A. filters)
• Case study: regional campaign targeting Austin, TX
– Results: 120% lift in traffic from Austin
Media Attribution and Measurement
15
Attribution and ROI Metrics 2011
© Encore Media Measurement

16. • Ask customers if they…
– Visit your site, facebook page, YouTube channel, etc.
• Define Test and Control groups
• Case study: Retailer asked customers how they heard about
the sale (comparing Austin to other markets)
• Internet was referenced 4x more in Austin vs. other markets
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

17. • Use 1-Question surveys to measure lift in awareness,
consideration or preference from advertising
• Compare results from Exposed vs. Control Group
• Case study: Awareness-building campaign for eCardio
– Used 1-Question survey to measure awareness vs. competitors
– Exposed group showed 280% lift in awareness
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

18. • Success requires that you:
– Create demand
– Harvest demand
• This requires you to measure the impact of all media
– Use right tool / approach for each stage of funnel
• For deep insights, use Attribution
• Lacking tools, go back to basics
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011

19. Media Measurement
and Attribution
Strategic Insights.
Tactical Recommendations
Steve Latham
Founder and CEO, Encore Media Metrics
Steve@EncoreMetrics.com
@SteveLatham
@EncoreMetrics
Media Attribution and Measurement
© Encore Media Metrics 2011