CIMM Study Looks at Firms Offering Ad Attribution

Attribution has become one of the advertising businesses biggest buzzwords as marketers seek proof that the campaigns they run and the media they buy are producing results.

Dozens of research and analytics companies have emerged to try to measure how much of a product's sales can be attributed to different ads on different platforms.

On Thursday, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement released a study that compares offerings in digital, cross-platform, multi-touch and television attribution and media mix modeling.

Commissioned by CIMM and the Four As, the study was presented at the 7th Annual Cross-Platform Media Measurement & Data Summit in New York.

“Attribution is the single most emerging critical topic in the industry today,” said Jim Spaeth of Sequent Partners, who conducted the study. “Given the pace of change and innovation in the field, this document will serve as an industry resource and help advance the dialogue between buyers and sellers.”

Companies examined in the study, which include Nielsen, Data + Math, iSpot.tv, Standard Media Index, Oracle and Samba TV, were grouped into four categories.

  • Marketing Mix Modelers with Attribution Products
  • Attribution Specialists With Cross-Platform Products
  • Television or Digital Attribution Providers
  • Single Source Providers

This study follows up on the white paper, Current Practices in Attribution and ROI Analysis, that was presented during the 6th Annual Summit in 2017. That study looked at best practices in cross-platform attribution and ROI analysis.

“The landscape of attribution providers is complex and constantly changing,” said Jane Clarke, CEO and managing director, CIMM. “With attribution and mix-modeling gaining importance in the marketplace, buyers and sellers need an easy-to-understand guide to help identify which companies best suit their needs.”

(Photo via FamZoo Staff's FlickrImage taken on May 25, 2016 and used per Creative Commons 2.0 license. The photo was cropped to fit 16x9 aspect ratio.)

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.