Measurement is far and away the most important issue in the digital sphere at the moment. But it’s wishful thinking to believe that a one size fits all, standardised, static measurement model that covers digital is going to appear. Ever.
Why won’t it happen? Because change is going to be a constant. And formats are forever evolving. And there is no clear definition of online advertising – is it just display, social media, content?
What is needed is for agencies and clients to stop expecting trade bodies to deliver up sugar-coated solutions that will make all our lives easier. Instead, agencies that are really interested in data and measurement should do what many industry leaders are already doing.
And that is to build robust, evolving measurement solutions that adapt with new forms of media, use existing techniques where relevant, exploit the plethora of data and measurement tools that already exist (often for free) in the digital space and innovate rapidly to build new methodologies. If all that can form part of a single customer view that takes countless data feeds and delivers the information into real-time dashboards, then “hey presto” you have an extremely powerful measurement tool.
This isn’t hypothetical stuff. Leading CRM agencies are already doing this and clients are already seeing the benefits. But it’s complicated, it’s technical and many marketers – and indeed agencies – feel uncomfortable when talking about data.
But it’s data that creates insight. Insight that ignites creativity. Creativity that inspires action. And data that measures those actions.
There is no holy grail. We have to build the solutions and then keep refreshing them anew.
Rik Haslam, Executive Creative Director, RAPP UK
rik.haslam@uk.rapp.com
