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Programmatic Attribution & Measurement 101: Understanding What Drives Campaign Success. Part 1

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: There is a new channel that advertisers and marketers MUST add to their campaign mix. Brands are constantly adapting their media mix to meet customers where they are, but how are they effectively measuring results when those customers are everywhere? To bring some control to the chaos, marketers use attribution tactics. 

Yes–Creative has to carry the campaign. And yes, the right media mix will tell the story from A to Z. But it’s when and where the creative is seen, and what steps between A to Z that matter when trying to get the most out of your media.

Consider this: One path may take a consumer from the social feed on their phone, to a DOOH ad at the mall, to a CTV ad on the couch, and finally to a discount offer on their laptop. 

Should the discount offer get all the credit? Should you cut DOOH spend? If your attribution is off, this can lead to shifting budget at the wrong stages of your plan, or optimizing for the wrong engagement.

Properly attributing the signal from the noise can be the difference between maximizing your team’s hard work or leaving ROI on the shelf. 

Quick Refresher on Attribution in Programmatic Media

Attribution refers to the process of identifying and attributing credit to a specific touchpoint along a customer journey. Credit is applied when a conversion, such as a purchase, sign-up, or engagement occurs. The ability to see which channels are performing (and which aren’t) allows you to be strategically invest your media dollars. It can help increase LTV, reduce CAC, and strengthen your business overall.

Remember those “new channels” mentioned above? A consumer’s journey through them is never linear, and attribution allows you to pinpoint which aspects of the campaign were most effective in driving real business goals during the campaign. 

Common Attribution Models for Programmatic Campaigns

Depending on your industry and campaign goals—sales, awareness, engagement, or something else—the attribution model you choose can greatly impact how you measure success. Below is not an exhaustive list, but a good place to start:

Last-Touch Attribution

Last-Touch attribution gives full credit to the last impression before a conversion. It works well for lower funnel tactics like discounts and LTO’s (limited-time offer) where checkout is the goal. Last-Touch is like the quarterback—it gets most of the credit, but depending on the play, it may not have done all the work.

Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA)

This model spreads credit across multiple touchpoints in the customer journey. It’s perfect for industries with longer sales cycles (like B2B, automotive, finance) where several interactions are necessary before a conversion. Multi-touch attribution can weigh touchpoints differently to measure where the real impact happens (like valuing signups over landing page visits.)

Linear Attribution

In linear attribution, all touchpoints receive equal credit. This model is suitable for omnichannel campaigns where each channel plays an essential role in driving awareness and engagement. For industries like retail or technology, where customers engage across devices and platforms, linear attribution makes sure no touchpoint is undervalued.

Choosing the Right Attribution Model for You

Talk to a Klever account manager today and find out what goals and measurement tactics we recommend to help your business grow.

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