Importance of Attribution and Cross Channel Metrics

The optimal combination of formats and targeting can create significant shifts in sales and consideration, according to the most recent SMoX attribution study done for Allstate Insurance by The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA). The study also proved the clickthrough rate (CTR), a widely-use measurement of impact, has no direct correlation to conversions.

“The insights we learned will have immense value over time as our marketing efforts evolve,” says Allstate’s Chief Marketing Officer Sanjay Gupta. “This confirms our belief that in this fast changing world, what’s seen as tried and true in the past may not always be the best method for the future.”

The new research suggests brands should leverage some form of unified, real-time data measurement practices, and apply them across all their channels and down to individual users, in order to accurately attribute performance and optimize campaigns on the fly.

Leveraging such an approach, the study revealed a number of specific opportunities that drastically improve the performance of mobile:

    The right format for the right goal: Mobile video and mobile audio were more efficient than the campaign average of all media in driving brand consideration, performing at 85 percent and 32 percent, respectively. On the other hand, mobile banners that successfully targeted consumers who were in the market for insurance were 12 percent more efficient as compared to the campaign average (across all media) in terms of driving sales.
    Targeting changed the game: The best targeting performer was behavioral targeting which far outperformed untargeted banners, scoring 272 out of an index of 100 when it came to incremental sales per dollar spent. Re-targeting was also very efficient– performing more than two times better as compared to when it was not applied.
    Location drives sales at scale: Banners that employed location targeting improved the efficiency of sales per dollar spent compared to untargeted banners by a factor of nearly two. The study also validated the importance of physical location patterns of consumers as predictive in terms of defining an audience that is in the market for insurance.
    Shorter is better for audio and video: Video’s efficiency was hugely dependent not just on its placement in the sales funnel but also on length. A 15-second video was twice as effective in delivering on consideration as a 30-second version and audio was 18 percent better when it was a shorter length, as well.

“It is critical for marketers to understand the potentially huge swings in ROI that both format and targeting opportunities unique to mobile can have,” says MMA’s Chief Executive Officer Greg Stuart. “Metrics need to be integrated cross-channel to accurately attribute business outcomes. The impact this level of marketing maturity can have to drive topline business growth as well as greater personalization of the consumer experience is unprecedented.”