The report Beyond the horizon – the holistic path to measuring media investments found that focusing on short-term marketing return on investment could see more than half of media returns overlooked.

The study highlighted the latest research in Europe, Middle East and Africa on the importance of measuring both short-term and long-term effectiveness for media investments.

In addition, the study examined the connection between brand metrics and sales, and how the latest technological and methodological advancements around measurement may help advertisers have a more holistic view on the impact of their marketing. 

Investing in brand awareness via upper and mid-funnel marketing not only drives long-term growth but can also have a direct impact on the bottom line, the study added.

For example, a recent study conducted by Nielsen for Google said that boosting brand awareness in the upper and mid funnel by 1% not only leads to a 0.6% increase in long-term sales, but also results in a 0.4% increase in short-term sales.

According to the Nielsen study, by increasing ‘purchase intent’ activities by 1%, short-term sales grow by 0.7% and long-term sales by 0.2%.

Brands considering marketing mix modelling should give thought to investment, in-housing versus outsourcing, strategic budget planning and benchmarking, the report said.

Michal Protasiuk and Ahmet Bas, senior marketing research and insights managers, YouTube Ads, Market Insights, Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “Measuring marketing impact is a challenge, particularly in the ever-evolving and diverse media landscape and the increasingly messy consumer purchase journey. 

“Advertisers are optimising their media investments with a short-term focused measurement and using it as the north star for their whole marketing budget, seemingly even for their branding campaigns with long-term goals. The need for a more holistic approach to measuring the impact of marketing has never been greater.”