The marketing industry continues to be in a state of flux, and it is clear that the future of measurement and targeting will be one with less access to third-party cookies. Technical and regulatory requirements will continue to evolve to ensure the continued privacy of consumers is protected. What this means for marketers is an ongoing need to keep abreast of the changes taking place and the impact of these on their own practices.

The magnitude of the impact of the technical and regulatory requirements will depend on the marketing objectives of the brand. Marketers who are less focused on performance marketing – which often relies on third-party cookies – and more interested in the long-term brand impact of marketing activity, may find their measurement approaches are less directly affected.

While there is no silver bullet to solve how to measure digital marketing effectively, and there are pros and cons to each approach, many companies are using a blend of techniques to provide a more holistic view of how their marketing has performed. Key to the success of a blended approach is the ability to align digital metrics with business performance over superficial KPIs. “Marketers need to be willing to take a multifaceted approach to measurement by combining different strategies and thoroughly testing to ensure the approach is delivering against well-defined KPIs,” says Chloe Nicholls, Head of Ad Tech at IAB UK.

To determine which measurement approach a company should choose, marketers require clear business objectives and a solid data foundation to underpin their marketing activity. In order to build a solid data foundation, companies must invest in first- and zero-party data and the supporting infrastructure and processes to manage this data.

While Google will no longer be phasing out third-party cookies, the consensus among industry experts is that companies should continue to explore alternatives. Already a large proportion of the open web cannot be addressed by third-party cookies, and their quality and reach will only continue to degrade, making them an increasingly unreliable measurement solution.

Now is the time for companies to take this opportunity to assess their current approach to digital marketing measurement to ensure that their internal teams and data are fit for purpose. It is important that marketers are clear on what they are measuring and why, and that they test and optimise. Beginning this process now will ensure companies have baseline data to compare future measurement against.

The importance of creativity is likely to be a key focus in the future for marketers wanting to improve the effectiveness of their campaigns. This is an observation underscored by Steven Silvers, EVP of Global Creative and Media Solutions at Kantar: “We’re definitely moving into a world where looking at the creative, as well as the media plan, is going to be really critical. Using AI and machine learning to predict what is going on because you can’t measure everywhere is going to be essential, as is having that baseline data to train the models.”

There is also a recognition that the consumer will continue to enjoy greater control and transparency over their data. With the changes that are taking place, marketers should focus more on business outcomes, as opposed to short-term metrics. These forces will ideally combine to create a better, more mature, environment for digital advertising and its measurement in coming years.

Checklist

The following checklist acts as a helpful guide for marketers exploring alternative measurement and targeting approaches.

• Audit current measurement and targeting approach. Identify where and how any third-party cookies are being used for measurement and targeting in relation to browser and device market share, and whether third-party cookie tracking still remains a viable option for the addressable audiences.
• Clarify business outcomes and questions to be answered. Set clear campaign objectives and KPIs to allow for targeted tracking and measurement. Think beyond short-term tactical metrics to provide a more holistic view of how effective marketing is in driving both performance and brand marketing in the long-term.
• Recognise that business culture supports the strategic role that media plays. Senior-level support and a mindset that acknowledges the importance of a measurement approach that meets the needs of the business is key. There should be recognition that the chosen measurement approach may take time to set up and provide answers, such as with marketing mix modelling. The CMO and CFO need to work together to understand the impact of sales and marketing together, and how budget is driving long-term performance and not just supporting short-term KPIs.
• Allocate adequate budget for measurement and optimisation. This means setting a budget which is proportionate to marketing spend, where brand and performance teams are working together to optimise, drive customers down the funnel and measure success.
• Provide a holistic view of all activity. Select a measurement approach that can provide insights into all channel activity and what is driving incremental sales.
• Ensure the relevant skills are in place or find the right supplier. Identify whether the necessary skills exist or can be developed in-house by investing in internal teams. Involve partners and vendors in conversations and identify ways they can support any initiatives. Use the checklist provided by the IAB that lists key questions to ask vendors when looking at ID solutions, as well as the questions provided by Magic Numbers for evaluating a marketing mix model.
• Adopt a test and learn approach. By testing hypotheses through experimentation and A/B testing, teams can turn assumptions into validated learning which can be used for optimisation.
• Focus on first-party data and enrichment. Invest in the collection and enhancement of first-party and zero-party data sources. Identify ways to improve this and demonstrate a clear value exchange to customers for their data. Ensure first-party tracking capabilities are in place.
• Build a strong data foundation that is supported with the right technology. This requires robust processes for data collection and storage, data governance and data cleansing. This should be supported with the right technology infrastructure so that data sources can be integrated across the organisation to support the measurement of campaigns and derive true value from first-party data.
• Understand the possibilities of current and alternative measurement approaches as they adapt to the changes. Keep up to date with the regulatory and technical changes as they occur and determine how they will impact the business. Identify any steps the business needs to take to respond to these.
• Communicate the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and results to the wider business. Internal messaging can be crucial in getting the wider business engaged with the effectiveness agenda. Create a culture of transparency where the focus is on sharing both the highs and lows and learning.

The digital ecosystem will continue to evolve with further enhancements around privacy and as technology continues to evolve. Marketers need to stay up to date with the latest changes and understand how these impact their business.