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The Attribution Game

Rick Boyce

Murrow 1984 & MPAB Member

linkedin.com/in/rickboyce/

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Quick Refresher: Marketing Objectives

There are just 2 types of Marketing Objectives, Direct Response and Brand

  1. Marketing objectives that ask the target audience to “do something” are direct response objectives
  2. Marketing objectives that ask the target audience to “believe something” are brand objectives

Attribution is most often used to evaluate Direct Response campaigns

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What is Attribution?

For direct response campaigns, Attribution refers to the identification of the media Touchpoints that:

  1. contributed to a Conversion Event, and
  2. the assignment of Credit to each touchpoint

Put simply, attribution seeks to give credit

where credit is due

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What are Conversion Events?

Conversion Events can occur online or offline. The most common conversion events are:

    • Sale or transaction
    • Sign-up or registration
    • Subscription
    • Call 800#
    • View, listen, share

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Quick Refresher: The Purchase Funnel

The Multiple Touchpoints on a Consumer’s Journey to Conversion are often depicted as a Funnel. The theory being that a conversion cannot occur until Upper Funnel activities have created Awareness and Interest.

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Attribution Models

Attribution Models help media planners assign credit to the multiple touchpoints on the Consumer’s Journey from Awareness to Interest to Purchase Intent to Conversion.

Let’s look at the more common models…

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Common Attribution Models

Conversion

Event

Last Touch: 100% of credit given to the last Touchpoint before the conversion event

What are the Pros & Cons of Last Touch?

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

100%

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Common Attribution Models

Conversion

Event

First Touch: 100% of credit given to the first Touchpoint before the conversion event

What are Pros & Cons of First Touch?

0%

0%

0%

0%

100%

0%

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Common Attribution Models

Conversion

Event

Linear: Credit awarded equally to each Touchpoint before the conversion event

What are the Pros & Cons of Linear Attribution?

17.6%

17.6%

17.6%

17.6%

17.6%

17.6%

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Common Attribution Models

Conversion

Event

Time Decay: Credit awarded to each Touchpoint but credit weighted more heavily toward Touchpoints closest to the conversion event

What are the Pros & Cons of Time Decay?

10%

30%

20%

10%

15%

15%

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Common Attribution Models

Conversion

Event

Custom: Credit Awarded Based on the Media Planner’s Judgement as to the Impact of Each Touchpoint on the Conversion Event

What are the Pros & Cons of Custom Attribution Models?

20%

20%

10%

10%

10%

10%

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In the Real World…

Numerous companies provide attribution software to help assign credit. A few of the most popular are...

Visual IQ (Nielsen owns) visualiq.com

Convertro (AOL owns) convertro.com

C3 Metrics c3metrics.com

But today, without any software, we will play a game to teach you the fundamentals of attribution.

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How to Play

  • Each team gets 6 touchpoints to drive a conversion
  • The first touchpoint occurs 30-days before the conversion event
  • Each team decides:
    • The most effective medium for each touchpoint
    • Which attribution model to use to assign credit
    • If last touch or first touch are not used, assign % credit to each touchpoint

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Let’s Play the Attribution Game

  • Split into Teams of 4
  • Each Team …
    • Selects their business & industry
    • Defines their online conversion event
  • Each Team gets
    • A game board
    • Menu of media options

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The Game Board

6

Conversion

Event

5

4

3

2

1

30 Days

Touchpoints 1 - 6

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The Game Board

6

Conversion

Event

5

4

3

2

1

30 Days

Touchpoints 1 - 6

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Menu of Media Options

  • Search
  • Social & Influencer
  • Streaming Video (CTV/OTT)
  • Digital Audio
  • Programmatic Display
  • Gaming & Emerging
  • Out-of-Home
  • Traditional Broadcast

(optional legacy bucket)

Media Option Terms: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xn49hB5uULnnO9gSvk3Rxtl4BlbaZPUPS4haposUs2Y/edit?usp=sharing

You may select as few as one, or as many as six media, for your Media Touchpoints on the Game Board

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Once Done, Present Your Gameboard

  • Each team presents their ideal media plan to the class
  • Each team provides rationale for:
    • Their choice of media for each of touchpoint
    • The Attribution Model they selected
    • The percent credit assigned to each medium at each touchpoint

(Important Note: There are no “right” answers)

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https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/?authuser=0#/report/bf-top-conversion-paths/a54516992w87479473p92320289/�

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