Let’s face it, Google is holding you back. Google Analytics will never give you the right answer on what marketing channels perform best – and you’re allowing it to happen because it’s ‘easy’. If you're serious about marketing effectiveness, it’s time to stop pretending GA has all the answers.

Google Analytics performs on an out-dated model that marketers executed years ago. Yet, we still love this black-box option. Why? Attribution is one of the biggest debates in marketing measurement – and should be thoroughly evaluated. Therefore, this talk will also explore whether Google’s last-click and/or data-driven models really make sense - or whether a more nuanced approach is needed to reflect consumer behaviour.

We will take you beyond biased techniques, and into the world of econometrics (MMMs): the gold standard for understanding marketing effectiveness. By applying time-series regression techniques, we can move into focusing on the long-term impact of marketing spend. Next, we’ll explore how to quantify return on investment with rigor, determine the optimal allocation of budget across channels, visualise the relationship between channels, and understand diminishing returns to avoid wasting your marketing budget. All while touching on the differences between open-source (Meta, Meridian) and bespoke building options.

Finally, we will demonstrate our award-winning (IPA, 2024) example case study built with December19 Media Agency, for Xero Accounting UK, to bring our talk to life.

By the end of this session, you’ll finally be able to move beyond justifying flawed reports - and start telling a more accurate, strategic, and compelling marketing story to your boss.