It's an asymovian dystopia: the digital tracking ecosystem worsens year after year. On the one hand, platforms that favor biased measurement by Last-click. On the other, a never-before-seen amount of data without any organization.
If it continues like this, the tendency is for insights about what customers are doing online before converting to continue to shrink; more alarming still: it's likely that more and more money will be burned for the sake of conversion, ignoring consumers' cyclical, holistic, and nonlinear journey.
- Also read: How to measure Marketing actions
It's increasingly obvious that the data you see may be biased under many circumstances. Each platform favors a metric, especially the one where there is more potential for money invested.
To get closer to the truth, marketers need to be increasingly skeptical of the reports they receive and begin to question how they can validate any of those reports outside the platform.
In the “new world” of Marketing, it is necessary to think like scientists and question:
- Does this data reflect the reality of my consumer?
- Do they reflect the reality of my company?
- If they're biased, what am I missing?
- What valuable information about my client is going unnoticed?
The harbinger of the new order
The symptoms of those who do not ask these questions are evident:
- The CAC is skyrocketing
- Media channels are saturated
- Nobody knows what to do with the top and the middle of the funnel.
- Media planning favors conversion on the same channels every time
- Teams are not encouraged to test new formats or channels
Tracking users using pixels and cookies has been the norm in performance marketing for some time.
Um study A recent study with Meta, for example, showed that third-party data can generate savings of up to 31% of CAC for advertisers. The conclusion indicates that offsite data offers long-term value by significantly improving the efficiency of ad segmentation, however, non-sharing of third-party data can significantly harm media campaigns.
In addition, small advertisers are the main ones impacted when offsite data is not available.
But a threat looms, promising catastrophe: the blocking of third-party cookies and stricter laws regarding the use of user data.
Fighting ghosts
In 2024, Google delayed its decision to block third-party cookies. While expected, the decision - which generated fanfare at first - points to an even bigger problem: how long will we be fighting ghosts?
Is the threat of a world where marketers operate solely on proprietary data real? Or rather: it is possible?
Perhaps the even greater threat is that we are going around in circles waiting for a “new order” of Marketing. Meanwhile, attribution becomes increasingly imprecise and confusing, while the emergence of new channels multiplies possibilities to the same extent that it promises ruptures.
To maintain effective measurement that favors the constant evolution of marketing strategies, it is necessary to adopt more robust and comprehensive methods.
O Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) It is an alternative that levels the playing field, as it allows you to analyze the impact of campaigns by evaluating historical data and multiple marketing inputs, without relying on individual tracking.
The MMM provides a more complete view, comparing offline channels - such as TV and radio - with digital platforms in an objective way, even providing greater clarity about the investment ROI still few explored by the market, such as TikTok Ads and Influencers.
- Also read: Myths about Marketing Mix Modeling
The model also makes it possible to carry out incrementality tests, predictive analysis, and optimization of investment allocation, before the media saturates.
The New Order: Data Triangulation, Scientific Thinking, and Transparency
No single data source is sufficient to provide a complete picture. If there is a “new order”, it is the encouragement to triangulation of information using different measurement methods, such as lift tests, MTA (multi-touch assignment) and MMM.
This provides a more accurate view of incrementability and provides confidence that your decisions are based on solid and diverse evidence.
The importance of primary data
With the decline of pixels, cookies, and segmentation possibilities, primary data becomes even more valuable.
Investing in strategies that capture data directly from your audience - such as site interactions and feedback - is essential to ensure a rich and personalized measurement.
Not only does this data provide a clear view of customer behavior, but it also helps build a relationship of trust, essential for future marketing.
Are you interested in learning more about Marketing Mix Modeling and media optimization?
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