Ebiquity’s three-year analysis compared marketing spend against budget allocation data, with the aim of understanding better how advertising budgets could be distributed to improve profitability.

The study was conducted by Ebiquity’s advanced analytics practice using the company’s database of around 2,500 campaigns over a three-year period. Comprised mainly of Western European brands, the data was regionally weighted to a global level.

The total media investment analysed represented around $375bn or 76% of global advertising spend, with the research suggesting that if that spend been optimised based on the ROI contributions of each channel, it would have generated an additional $45bn in global profit for brands.

Mike Campbell, head of international effectiveness at Ebiquity, said: “This research shows that brands could be delivering much more from their advertising investments. We’re highlighting that with proper measurement and analytics, marketers can re-evaluate their spend allocation to dramatically improve results.”

Ebiquity focused on channels where it could study the ‘profit impact’: TV, radio, print, OOH, digital display, digital video (including broadcaster video on demand and internet VOD such as YouTube). The study did not include search, social, in-app display, and direct mail channels, as the relationship between spend and profits could not be calculated for some channels, or because there was insufficient data from low client spend.