Marketers now recognise the importance of cross-device and cross-channel content campaigns, but the majority still admit that they find it challenging to assess key metrics in order to determine how well they are performing, a new report from Kantar Millward Brown has found.
Engaging with consumers on a myriad of connected devices is now vital for brands as they attempt to drive awareness, reach and revenue, but the Getting Media Right 2017 study of more than 330 advertisers and media companies reveals a growing frustration at the inability to measure campaign performance.
One in five marketers are now creating content for both traditional and digital platforms in offline and online environments. However, a sizeable 79 per cent claim that it is “tough” to evaluate their efforts, which is leading to a lack of confidence in content investment. More than three-quarters say that they would spend more on cross-channel marketing if analytics tools were improved.
In total, 64 per cent of respondents said that return on investment (ROI) is currently the most popular performance indicator for content marketing efforts. This places ROI ahead of reach and frequency and behavioural metrics, which 58 per cent and 55 per cent respectively said are key to campaign measurement.
MPs have called on leading digital platforms to improve transparency for digital metrics in recent months, and it appears that tech giants are steadily improving their measurement tools. YouTube launched several new features on Monday to help brands measure the sales impact of video campaigns and how shorter ads drive offline, in-store visits.
YouTube exec Diya Jolly said: “And we’ll continue working to deliver more solutions to complement our Nielsen MPA, Oracle DLX ROI, MMM and store visit offerings today, so you’ll have the measurement that works best for your business.”
The move towards cross-channel marketing is necessary for marketers if they want to interact with target audiences at the right time. A separate report from the CMO Council recently found that nearly half of consumers now engage with brands on three or more platforms and like to mix up their habits depending on what they want and need. The top content platforms for consumers are currently company websites, social media and email.
