Marketing today is like a high-stakes acrobatic show. Every move has to be well-timed, perfectly balanced and precisely executed. For brands, the choice of measurement tool is like selecting the right act for the audience, whether it’s a spotlight solo or a synchronized team routine.
Today, we’ll take on four different measurement methods and figure out what kind of marketing operation they are best suited for. Let’s start the show!
On-platform analytics
We’ll kick things off with our solo performance: on-platform analytics. Here, we are referring to the use of pre-packaged analytics tools that come with Google Ads Manager, Meta ads, TikTok ads and more.
With this approach, you’re working on one specific channel at a time. You’re not worried about other platforms or juggling multiple elements in that moment; your attention is fully on one point of balance. For businesses that concentrate on one or two primary channels, on-platform analytics allows marketers to track each channel with laser-like focus, often for free.
The strengths
On-platform analytics provide unadulterated data for specific channels, giving clear visibility into channel-specific engagement. For small businesses or those with simpler campaigns, this approach works well, since there is no need to juggle too much data at once.
The limitations
Like a solo act, on-platform analytics don’t provide much support. It’s just one platform at a time — often with self-skewed results (they take all the credit for themselves). With such a singular focus, it’s very difficult to gain broader insights.
Best business fit
On-platform analytics works best for brands focused on one or two key platforms or short-term campaigns. It’s perfect for companies making targeted moves with a singular focus and smaller budgets.
Imagine a local bakery that’s focused on promoting its holiday offerings through social media ads on Instagram and Facebook. With limited marketing resources, the bakery runs a simple campaign targeting local audiences to showcase seasonal pastries.
On-platform analytics helps the bakery see exactly how its ads perform on each platform, enabling it to adjust based on which audience segments engage most with their posts. This approach keeps the focus tight, and on-platform analytics provide all the insights needed to drive customers to their holiday menu.
Multi-touch attribution
If on-platform analytics is the solo, then multi-touch attribution (MTA) is the juggling act. Imagine an acrobat juggling rings or clubs, each one representing a different touchpoint on the customer journey. MTA allows marketers to track and assign credit to every touchpoint along the path, from an initial ad click to the final sale.
Just as a juggler keeps each item in motion, MTA helps keep track of each digital interaction that contributed to a conversion.
This measurement approach is ideal for brands running complex digital campaigns. It allows for analysis of each touchpoint’s role, showing which interactions drive conversions and which might need refining.
The strengths
Multi-touch attribution provides a comprehensive view of digital touchpoints, allowing you to see which interactions contributed to customer actions. It’s ideal for brands with multi-step, digital-focused journeys, where every stage of the “juggling” matters.
The limitations
While MTA excels in digital arenas, it has a harder time handling offline interactions or external influences. Privacy restrictions and tracking limitations can also make some touchpoints hard to measure accurately. Implementing MTA requires coordination, data integration and a technically skilled team.
Best business fit
Brands with digital, multi-step customer journeys are best suited for MTA. It’s especially valuable for e-commerce brands or those with a heavy online presence where each interaction contributes to the final act.
Consider an e-commerce clothing brand that uses multiple digital touchpoints (social media ads, email marketing and Google search ads) to reach potential customers. A customer might first see an ad on Instagram, then click an email promotion and finally search for the brand before making a purchase.
Multi-touch attribution allows the brand to track each of these interactions, understanding how each contributes to the conversion. By analyzing the journey, the marketing team can see, for instance, that email promotions are the last push needed for many customers, leading them to invest more in their email strategy.
Marketing mix modeling
For brands with big-picture strategies and multi-channel outreach, marketing mix modeling (MMM) is like the aerial silks performance. Suspended high above the crowd, this acrobat can see the whole stage, gracefully moving between platforms with sweeping, long-term precision. MMM captures the complete view across both online and offline channels, analyzing historical data and adjusting based on broad trends, seasonality and economic shifts.
Marketing mix modeling helps marketers see how different “platforms” like advertising, promotions, seasonality and competitive activity work together to achieve success. It’s the method of choice for senior marketers who need to balance multiple offline, long-term elements while keeping an eye on overarching goals.
The strengths
This method offers a panoramic view across multiple channels, including offline efforts such as TV or print. It excels at measuring broad influences and long-term trends, helping CMOs make strategic, high-level decisions.
The limitations
This method is data-intensive and time-consuming to implement, making it less agile for quick adjustments or smaller-scale campaigns. It may be out of reach for small businesses without a robust analytics team, as it requires extensive resources and expertise. It also requires higher volumes of historical data.
Best business fit
Marketing mix modeling suits brands with larger budgets and more complex media mixes, especially those with an offline presence. Companies with long-term, multi-channel strategies benefit from MMM’s holistic, high-flying view.
Picture a regional grocery chain that runs ads on TV, sends out weekly flyers and promotes its app for digital coupons. The brand wants to understand how each channel contributes to weekly store foot traffic and app downloads.
Using marketing mix modeling, the grocery chain can assess the impact of TV ads on brand awareness, the role of flyers in driving in-store purchases and how app usage correlates with digital ads. This broader view allows the brand to optimize each channel and better allocate its budget for the next quarter, knowing which efforts directly boost traffic and sales.
Triangulation
A type of unified marketing measurement, triangulation is like a team trapeze act. It features acrobats swinging in synchronization, catching and releasing each other in mid-air. Triangulation blends the precision of MTA, the sweeping view of MMM and the controlled testing of incrementality analysis. It’s an all-in-one approach, capturing both individual touchpoints and the overarching performance to give brands a full view of how each interaction drives meaningful impact.
With triangulation, brands can integrate real-time insights with broader trends, helping them understand the value of each touchpoint while making adjustments more quickly. It’s the perfect choice for data-mature brands with sophisticated, multi-channel campaigns that demand synchronized precision.
The strengths
This approach combines multiple measurement styles, leveraging each of their strengths to mitigate their weaknesses. This creates a holistic view that includes digital and offline channels, rich insights and long-term patterns. It’s especially valuable for high-stakes campaigns with large budgets and a diverse array of tactics.
The limitations
It requires a strong infrastructure and a data-savvy team. It can also demand significant investment in both data systems and technical skills, making it more accessible to brands with mature marketing departments. However, some tools (like Funnel) help to centralize and automate a lot of the required processes while minimizing the costs commonly associated with each of these measurement methods.
Best business fit
Triangulation is ideal for large, data-mature brands with complex, cross-channel marketing strategies. Companies ready to invest in a unified approach gain the best of both worlds with synchronized precision.
Think of a national fitness brand with a sophisticated campaign that includes online ads, in-store promotions, influencer partnerships and email campaigns. To measure how each channel contributes to both in-person gym sign-ups and online class subscriptions, they implement triangulation.
This approach allows the brand to track individual touchpoints like social media ads while also capturing the overall effectiveness of their offline and seasonal campaigns. With triangulation, they discover that while email drives most conversions for existing members, influencer content is more effective in attracting new customers, allowing them to fine-tune their strategy across these channels.
Balancing your options to find the best performance
In the world of marketing measurement acrobatics, choosing the right approach is like selecting the marquee act for your show. Here’s a quick summary to help you find the approach that fits your brand’s needs:
- On-platform analytics: Ideal for single-channel acts where precision on a narrow path is the goal.
- Data-driven multi-touch attribution (MTA): Best for digital “juggling” across multiple touchpoints and campaign optimization.
- Marketing mix modeling (MMM): Suited for brands seeking a broad, high-level view with offline reach.
- Triangulation: Perfect for brands that need synchronized, multi-channel coordination.
Whether you’re balancing on a tightrope or performing high-flying feats, the right measurement strategy will keep your brand in sync and on point. Embrace the approach that best suits your goals, and you’ll be ready to deliver a flawless performance in today’s fast-paced marketing arena.