For US Marketers, Attribution Remains a Major Priority

Marketer demand for a more complete, holistic attribution approach is rising, but given the complexity and companywide participation needed to make it work, it’s early days for those actively pursuing it.

A June 2017 poll conducted by the Data & Marketing Association (DMA) and Winterberry Group found almost two-thirds of US marketing professionals said their company had increased its prioritization of marketing attribution in the past year, with just 4.5% reporting decreased emphasis on this function.

Bear in mind, these professionals were asked about rising interest in any form of attribution, not just holistic attribution practices.

While eMarketer estimates that more than six in 10 US companies will use multichannel attribution in 2018, and Econsultancy estimates 37% of in-house marketers worldwide used marketing attribution in 2017, very few marketers are using more advanced attribution practices.

A May 2017 survey conducted by the DMA and marketing research firm Demand Metric found just 13% of US marketers reported using advanced attribution for marketing.

These insights are drawn from eMarketer's latest report "Attribution Beyond Marketing: Using All Company Touchpoints to Achieve a True Customer View." The report explores some of the most important nonmarketing touchpoints required to build a more holistic, customer-centric attribution view. eMarketer PRO subscribers can access the full report here. Nonsubscribers can learn more here.