1. Indirect impact of marketing
Now that we’ve talked about different advanced analytics methods - let’s talk about analysis options for campaigns that include many different channels, also include “integrated marketing.”
2. What is Direct impact in marketing analytics?
In marketing analytics, we think of performance measurement as either "Direct" or "Indirect" impact. This grouping is based on our ability to tie downstream customer actions to upstream advertising.
"Direct" impact means data that shows the customer took action directly on an ad. Usually, this means a click event.
3. What is Indirect impact in marketing analytics?
How can we measure the impact of TV ads? We might see an ad for a resort, but we do not tell the resort we booked a vacation due to that TV ad.
Various studies have shown that even when a customer sees an ad, but does not click on it, they are still more likely to engage with the company via Direct channels.
This is considered Indirect marketing impact, as customer interaction cannot be observed in the data (also called "view-through" impact).
4. Examples of Direct channels
Now that we know the basic differences between Direct and Indirect impact, let's talk about some examples of Direct channels.
Usually, these are ads we see as we browse through digital platforms like websites and mobile apps.
Some common examples are paid search, social media, and sponsored content. We can click on links directly through ads in these channels and purchase immediately after.
5. Examples of Indirect channels
Indirect ads tend to be traditional advertising methods we can listen to or watch.
Media channels like TV, radio, and podcasts usually result in customers engaging through a Direct channel to eventually take action. For example, when someone hears an ad on the radio, they could search for the brand and click on a Paid Search ad. Similarly, ads we see on billboards, public transportation, mail, and print newspapers will have an Indirect impact.
Compared to Direct channels, Indirect channels can be very costly, and as Marketing Analysts, we will be asked to assess performance based on high-level, aggregated data.
6. Clickable Indirect impact: display advertising
Display advertising (advertising via banners) has not been listed in Direct or Indirect yet.
While display banner ads are clickable, usually, we will see a clickthrough rate under 1% out of everyone who received display impressions. Impressions are another way of referring to ad views.
This low clickthrough rate is why display is usually measured via its Indirect impact.
The lines between Direct and Indirect channels are becoming increasingly blurred, as traditionally offline channels change over time (for example, streaming radio or TV). As Marketing Analysts, we will have to decide whether to measure Direct or Indirect impact based on the potential for a high clickthrough rate.
7. Time to try it out!
Now, let's compare channels based on their potential impact!