Imagine the adrenaline pump that astronaut Neil Armstrong and his crew must have felt, preparing to hurdle through space with the intention of landing on the moon. And, imagine having to entrust your very life to the veracity of the extensive research done to prepare for such a historic journey.

“Research is creating new knowledge.”
- Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 Astronaut

In the world of online advertising, we too, stand on a virtual precipice, waiting to launch into a new galaxy of possibilities, because of progress made in perfecting a robust attribution model. And we too are entirely dependant on the accuracy of research to make all the decisions necessary before the official launch of any marketing mission.

Mr. Armstrong knew a thing or two about preparing for the next frontier. His quote, “Research is creating new knowledge” can definitely be applied to online advertising.

Lift-off (in our industry) can only occur after a sequence of successful advertising & consumer interactions. It’s researching the particulars of those interactions, components, and costs that make an online ad campaign successful.

Jeff Greenfield
Co-Founder C3 Metrics

And if mission critical data in online advertising went dark for a majority of your next online marketing campaign–there is no doubt that you could be lost.

Houston, we have a problem: because that blackout is exactly what’s happening.

The inherent problem is this: if four Internet ads contribute to a transaction; today’s outdated systems allocate entire credit to the very last ad, completely ignoring the first three ads which actually drove the revenue.

No data for a majority of the mission. Today, outdated online ad tracking systems erroneously give 100% credit to the very last clicked or last viewed ad before a transaction.

Zero credit to revenue drivers, and 100% credit to the last ad placed. Scared?

For an Internet advertising industry spending $70 billion worldwide each year–this isn’t just any problem, it’s a $20 billion problem.

Now enter a robust attribution model. Attribution modeling done right takes an enormous amount of data, and reduces complexity into simplicity.

At a basic level, C3 assigns credit to Originators, Assists, and Converters within a transaction. An attribution model should capture every online media source from the top of the funnel where sales originate…down to the very bottom of the funnel. So in a $100 transaction, an Originator would receive a fraction of $100 attributed to them—and the Assist and Converter would also receive fractional credit of the $100 attributed respectively.

100% of revenue credit is attributed and split among Originators, Assists, and Converters–accounting for the actual drivers of revenue. Then revenue and respective costs from paid media sources converge in a single, elegant number in the attribution model: Attributed Revenue-to-Spend Ratio (ARSR™).

It’s a simple ratio any marketer can grasp: attributed revenue divided by corresponding spend. If you have a 4.0 ratio for a specific keyword, or specific Display campaign–you’re getting $4.00 in revenue for every dollar spent on that particular media source. Conversely, if you have an ARSR of 1.25 for a particular media buy—you’re getting $1.25 in revenue for every dollar spent there. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist.

For brands that don’t transact dollars on their site, they simply assign a revenue value for: a dealer zip code lookup, building a vehicle online, or scheduling an appointment online.

ARSR delivers knowledge ready to act on, versus information barely ready for analysis. The special sauce of the attribution model is the numerator of the ratio (attributed revenue). Media buyers easily identify media sources with high numbers to scale, and low numbers to cut or improve. Instead of taking weeks of analysis, it’s about an hour.

But does this new knowledge just keep your job, or get you promoted to new levels? In the longest running attribution study of its kind (2 yrs) the results are electrifying:

a) Seven-figures in profit from the advertiser’s now higher ROI ad spend
b) Display ROI improvement of 160%
c) Search ROI improvement of 98%
d) Accurate economic model to measure affiliate performance

Bottom line: millions of dollars in profit.

One small step for man….one giant leap online. We have lift-off.

About Jeff Greenfield
Jeff Greenfield is the Co-Founder and COO of C3 Metrics. Greenfield’s history of technology and marketing initiatives have served blue-chip clients including: GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB), Sony BMG, Black & Decker (NYSE: SWK), Forest Labs (NYSE: FRX), Plum Creek (NYSE: PCL) and more. Prior to his co-founding and development of C3 Metrics, Greenfield was a recognized thought leader in the area of Branded Content as publisher of Branded Entertainment Monthly, a joint effort with VNU Media detailing industry statistics, gaps, and trends. He’s been a featured speaker at The Next Big Idea, and a news source in: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, ABC, CBS, CNET, and Investor’s Business Daily. Greenfield began his career building a 75-person multi-million dollar practice featured in Chapter 5 of ‘Buzzmarketing: Get People To Talk About Your Stuff’ from Penguin/Portfolio. Greenfield is an instrument rated pilot and holds a class “E” FCC radio operators license (NQ4F).

It was 1937…the very same year the Golden Gate Bridge was completed in San Francisco, and Frank Sinatra was cozying up to a studio microphone recording the jazz standard, All or Nothing at All.

That song title would become the secret to a shift in online advertising now known as an attribution model.

In order for any attribution modeling system to succeed, the data collected has to shine a spotlight on the entire story of each transaction. Any serious data analyst will tell you that all (not just one or some) of the facts have to be gathered. Hence: All or Nothing at All.

By the definition of tracking, we know that partial or incomplete tracking only leads to erroneous and misleading results.

Which brings us to today’s online ad tracking systems: they erroneously give 100% credit to the very last clicked or last viewed ad before a transaction is completed.

Mark Hughes, CEO
C3 Metrics

Zero credit given to revenue drivers…100% credit to the last ad. Scared?

For an Internet advertising industry spending $70 billion each year worldwide–this isn’t just a sad song; it’s a $20 billion problem.

But there’s hope. Enter a robust attribution model (disclosure, I’m CEO of C3 Metrics). Attribution modeling done right takes an enormous amount of data, and reduces complexity into simplicity.

At a basic level, C3 assigns credit to Originators, Assists, and Converters within a transaction. An attribution model should capture every online media source from the top of the funnel where sales originate…down to the very bottom of the funnel. So in a $100 transaction, an Originator would receive a fraction of $100 attributed to them—and the Assist and Converter would also receive fractional credit of the $100 respectively.

100% of revenue credit is attributed and split among Originators, Assists, and Converters–accounting for the actual drivers of revenue. Then revenue and respective costs from paid media sources converge in a single, elegant ratio in the attribution model: Attributed Revenue-to-Spend Ratio (ARSR™).

It’s a simple ratio any marketer can grasp: attributed revenue divided by corresponding spend. If you have a 4.0 ratio for a specific keyword, or specific Display campaign–you’re getting $4.00 in revenue for every dollar spent on that particular media source. If you have an ARSR of 1.25 for a particular media buy—you’re getting $1.25 in revenue for every dollar spent there. You don’t have to be “The Chairman of the Board” to make that call.

For brands that don’t transact dollars on their site, they simply assign a revenue value for: a dealer zip code lookup, configuring a vehicle online, or scheduling an appointment online.

ARSR delivers knowledge ready to act on, versus information barely ready for analysis. The special sauce of the attribution model is the numerator of the ratio (attributed revenue). Media buyers easily identify media sources with high ratios to scale, and low ratios to cut or improve. Instead of taking weeks of attribution analysis, it’s about an hour.

But does this new knowledge just keep your job, or bring you to new levels? In the longest running attribution modeling study of its kind (2 yrs) the results are electrifying:

a) 25%+ higher revenue on same ad-spend producing millions of dollars in incremental profit
b) Display ROI improvement of 160%
c) Search ROI improvement of 98%
d) Accurate economic model to measure affiliate performance

Frank was right. If you’re not measuring it all…you might as well measure nothing at all. For this advertiser, it meant millions of dollars in profit.

Start spreading the news.

When Jack Nicholson raged, “The truth?…you can’t handle the truth!” movie audiences across the globe were treated to a wake-up call concerning their own ability to accept distasteful reality.

The same is true for online advertising, but it’s no Hollywood movie.

Unless you’re using a robust attribution model, the painful truth (can you handle it) is this:

Today’s fatally flawed online ad tracking systems erroneously give 100% credit to the very last-clicked or last-viewed ad for a transaction.

Mark Hughes, CEO
C3 Metrics

Zero credit is given to revenue drivers…100% credit to the last ad placed. Truth.

For an Internet advertising industry spending $70 billion worldwide each year–this isn’t just any problem; it’s a 20 billion dollar problem.

$20 billion is more than what America spent on movies last year (including popcorn).

But there’s hope. Now enter a robust attribution model (disclosure, I’m CEO of C3 Metrics). Attribution modeling, done right, takes an enormous amount of marketing data, and reduces complexity into simplicity.

At a basic level, C3 Metrics’ attribution modeling system assigns credit to Originators, Assists, and Converters within a transaction. An attribution model should capture every online media source from the top of the funnel where sales originate…down to the very bottom of the funnel. So in a $100 transaction, an Originator would receive a fraction of $100 attributed to them—and the Assist and Converter would also receive fractional credit of the $100 respectively.

100% of revenue is attributed and split among Originators, Assists, and Converters–accounting for the actual drivers of revenue. Then revenue and respective costs from paid media sources converge in a single, elegant ratio in the attribution model: Attributed Revenue-to-Spend Ratio (ARSR™).

It’s a simple ratio, marketers at all levels can grasp: attributed revenue divided by corresponding spend. If you have a 4.0 ratio for a specific keyword, or specific Display campaign–you’re getting $4.00 in revenue for every dollar spent on that particular media source. If you have an ARSR of 1.25 for a particular media buy—you’re getting $1.25 in revenue for every dollar spent there. You don’t have to be a 4-star general to know the right plan of attack here.

For brands that don’t transact dollars on their site, they simply assign a revenue value for: a dealer zip code lookup, configuring a vehicle online, or scheduling an appointment online.

ARSR delivers knowledge ready to act on, versus information barely ready for analysis. The special sauce of the attribution model is the numerator of the ratio (attributed revenue). Media buyers easily identify media sources with high ratios to scale, and low ratios to cut or improve. Instead of requiring weeks to analyze, it only takes about an hour.

Knowing the jury is hungry for facts, here they are: by using the ARSR at a granular level to continually scale high ratio media & cut low ratio media over a two year period (the longest attribution model study of its kind), the advertiser experienced this:

a) 25%+ higher revenue on same ad-spend producing millions of dollars in incremental profit
b) Display ROI improvement of 160%
c) Search ROI improvement of 98%
d) an accurate economic model to measure affiliate performance

Bottom line: millions of dollars.

Can you handle that?

Raymond Chandler was the archetype detective storyteller, fond of using hard-boiled heroes, cold-blooded “thugs,” and hot-to-trot “dames” as his characters. One of his favorite quotes was: “I do a great deal of research…particularly in the apartments of tall blondes.”

But solving mysteries with diligent research is also part of our daily regimen in online advertising. Every network, keyword, and overall campaign is a puzzle that sometimes changes week to week. The puzzle is solved with attribution modeling, but we’re just now scratching the surface.

We’d like to think research methods we employ provide facts relevant to “our case.” But, incorrect facts will “never hold up in court.” Today, the facts are wrong.

Despite that Internet advertising (a $70 billion/yr global industry) is the most trackable form of advertising on earth–the facts determining success of those billions of dollars, won’t hold up much longer.

Why? Sadly, today’s outdated online ad tracking systems erroneously give 100% credit to the very last clicked or last viewed ad before a transaction.

Mark Hughes, CEO
C3 Metrics

Zero credit to revenue drivers, and 100% credit to the last ad placed. It’s like discovering the prosecutor put away the wrong guy. Bad facts, bad decisions, bad outcome.

Members of the jury…this is a $20 billion global problem.

Now enter attribution modeling: at C3 Metrics (disclosure, I’m the CEO), a robust attribution model takes an enormous amount of ingredients, and reduces complexity to simplicity.

At a basic level, C3 Metrics’ attribution modeling system assigns credit to Originators, Assists, and Converters within a transaction. An attribution model should capture every online media source from the top of the funnel where sales originate…down to the very bottom of the funnel. So in a $100 transaction, an Originator would receive a fraction of $100 attributed to them—and the Assist and Converter would also receive fractional credit of the $100 attributed respectively.

100% of revenue credit is attributed and split among Originators, Assists, and Converters–accounting for the actual drivers of revenue. Then revenue and respective costs from paid media sources converge in a single, elegant ratio in the attribution model: Attributed Revenue-to-Spend Ratio (ARSR™).

It’s a simple ratio any marketer can grasp: attributed revenue divided by corresponding spend. If you have a 4.0 ratio for a specific keyword, or specific Display campaign–you’re getting $4.00 in revenue for every dollar spent on that particular media source. If you have an ARSR of 1.25 for a particular media buy—you’re getting $1.25 in revenue for every dollar spent there.

For brands that don’t transact dollars on their site, they simply assign a revenue value for: a dealer zip code lookup, configuring a vehicle online, or scheduling an appointment online.

ARSR delivers knowledge ready to act on, versus information barely ready for analysis. The special sauce of the attribution model is the numerator of the ratio (attributed revenue). Media buyers easily identify media sources with high ratios to scale, and low ratios to cut or improve. Instead of taking weeks to analyze, it’s about an hour.

But the jury wants the facts, and here they are: in the longest running attribution modeling study of its kind (2 yrs) the results are enough to get anyone promoted:

a) 25%+ higher revenue on same ad-spend producing millions of dollars in incremental profit
b) Display ROI improvement of 160%
c) Search ROI improvement of 98%
d) Accurate economic model to measure affiliate performance

Case closed. The verdict: millions in profit added to the bottom line.

Are you ready to solve your case with the right facts?

You probably remember singing these words from the sweet song, Heard it Through the Grapevine:

It took me by surprise I must say
when I found out yesterday

If you’re connected to online advertising, you’re probably hearing about something through the grapevine called attribution modeling.

Perhaps you know attribution modeling in detail, or perhaps like most, you don’t know the exact chorus, but only its distant melody. But the problem it solves: may take you by surprise.

In the Internet advertising industry spending $70 billion worldwide each year—it’s a $20 billion problem.

Mark Hughes, CEO
C3 Metrics

Example: if four Internet ads contribute to a transaction; today’s outdated systems allocate entire credit to the very last ad, completely ignoring the first three ads which actually drove the revenue.

Zero credit to revenue drivers, and 100% credit to the last ad placed. It’s a $20 billion problem.

Now enter a robust attribution model (disclosure, I’m CEO of C3 Metrics). Attribution modeling done right takes an enormous amount of data, and reduces complexity into simplicity.

At a basic level, C3 assigns credit to Originators, Assists, and Converters within a transaction. An attribution model should capture every online media source from the top of the funnel where sales originate…down to the very bottom of the funnel. So in a $100 transaction, an Originator would receive a fraction of $100 attributed to them—and the Assist and Converter would also receive fractional credit of the $100 attributed respectively.

100% of revenue credit is attributed and split among Originators, Assists, and Converters–accounting for the actual drivers of revenue. Then revenue and respective costs from paid media sources converge in a single, elegant number in the attribution model: Attributed Revenue-to-Spend Ratio (ARSR™).

It’s a simple ratio any marketer can grasp: attributed revenue divided by corresponding spend. If you have a 4.0 ratio for a specific keyword, or specific Display campaign–you’re getting $4.00 in revenue for every dollar spent on that particular media source. Conversely, if you have an ARSR of 1.25 for a particular media buy—you’re getting $1.25 in revenue for every dollar spent there.

For brands that don’t transact dollars on their site, they simply assign a revenue value for: a dealer zip code lookup, building a vehicle online, or scheduling an appointment online.

ARSR delivers knowledge ready to act on, versus information barely ready to analyze. The special sauce of attribution modeling is the numerator of the ratio (attributed revenue). Media buyers easily identify media sources with high numbers to scale, and low numbers to cut or improve. Instead of taking weeks of analysis, it’s about an hour.

But the Heard it Through the Grapevine song also has a verse, “if it’s true, please tell me dear.” So, if it’s true this solves a $20 billion problem…please tell me. Indeed we shall. In the longest running attribution study of its kind (2 yrs) the results are electrifying:

a) Seven-figures in profit from the advertiser’s now higher ROI ad spend
b) Display ROI improvement of 160%
c) Search ROI improvement of 98%
d) Accurate economic model to measure affiliate performance

Bottom line: millions of dollars in profit.

When you’re at the next online media conference, and notice your competitors whistling a tune with a spring in their step…they might be using an attribution model!

Are you?

Every year marketers approve Internet advertising budgets, spending a collective $71 billion dollars worldwide.

Huge amounts of time are spent tracking results, and gathering “information.” Webster defines “information” as the knowledge obtained from investigation, study, or instruction. But Albert Einstein disagreed.

Einstein insisted that “information is not knowledge” because of his intrinsic understanding that facts, when presented in the wrong order, or seen in the wrong light, can only lead to disinformation.

Mark Hughes, CEO
C3 Metrics

Decisions are only as good as your information. Today, the industry’s outdated online ad tracking systems erroneously give 100% credit to the very last clicked or last viewed ad before a transaction.

Example: if four Internet ads contribute to a transaction; today’s outdated systems allocate entire credit to the very last ad, completely ignoring the first three ads which actually drove the revenue.

Zero credit to revenue drivers, and 100% credit to the last ad placed. Nervous?

Now enter a robust attribution model: at C3 Metrics (disclosure, I’m the CEO), attribution modeling takes an enormous amount of ingredients, and reduces complexity into simplicity.

At a basic level, C3 assigns credit to Originators, Assists, and Converters within a transaction. An attribution model should capture every online media source from the top of the funnel where sales originate…down to the very bottom of the funnel. So in a $100 transaction, an Originator would receive a fraction of $100 attributed to them—and the Assist and Converter would also receive fractional credit of the $100 attributed respectively.

100% of revenue credit is attributed and split among Originators, Assists, and Converters–accounting for the actual drivers of revenue. Then revenue and respective costs from paid media sources converge in a single, elegant number in the attribution model: Attributed Revenue-to-Spend Ratio (ARSR™).

It’s a simple ratio any marketer can grasp: attributed revenue divided by corresponding spend. If you have a 4.0 ratio for a specific keyword, or specific Display campaign–you’re getting $4.00 in revenue for every dollar spent on that particular media source. Conversely, if you have an ARSR of 1.25 for a particular media buy—you’re getting $1.25 in revenue for every dollar spent there.

For brands that don’t transact dollars on their site, they simply assign a revenue value for: a dealer zip code lookup, building a vehicle online, or scheduling an appointment online.

ARSR delivers knowledge ready to act on, versus information barely ready to analyze. The special sauce of the attribution model is the numerator of the ratio (attributed revenue). Media buyers easily identify media sources with high numbers to scale, and low numbers to cut or improve. Instead of taking weeks, it’s about an hour.

But Einstein’s hairdo gets electric with results. In the longest running attribution study of its kind (2 yrs) the results are electrifying:

a) Seven-figures in profit from the advertiser’s higher ROI online ad spend
b) Display ROI improvement of 160%
c) Search ROI improvement of 98%
d) Accurate economic model to measure affiliate performance

Bottom line: millions of dollars in profit.

Less time performing attribution analysis: check.
Millions of dollars in profit using actionable knowledge: check.

You don’t have to be Einstein to figure this out…attribution done right saves you time and makes you a hero.

Are you ready to solve your own equation?

“Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.”
-Henry Ford

Why do you hear so many quotes by the great Henry Ford?

He single-handedly changed the operational nature of industry and business on our planet. The genius he displayed introducing the scalable production line earns him a seat in the yet-to-be-built Business Hall of Fame.

But in our 21st century, the Internet has become the engine for conducting every facet of doing business. Although Henry Ford’s era has come and gone, his quote, “Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success” holds true today.

Despite the fact that $70 billion per year is spent annually on Internet advertising, the business world is just now starting to comprehend and initiate the “getting ready” process, as it relates to online advertising.

Mark Hughes, CEO
C3 Metrics

Despite the fact that Internet advertising remains the most trackable form of advertising on earth, today’s online measurement systems are…woefully inadequate. Current online ad tracking systems, in their effort to define the success of every ad dollar, mistakenly give 100% transaction credit to the very last clicked or last viewed ad before an online transaction.

That’s a big “oops,” costing online advertisers $20 billion worldwide.

Example: if four Internet ads contribute to a transaction; today’s outdated systems allocate entire credit to the very last ad completely ignoring the first three ads, which actually drove the revenue.

Zero credit to revenue drivers, and 100% credit to the last ad placed. Are you nervous?

With limitless resources available on the Internet, consumers are able to research like never before, prior to making any final commitment of online action. And today, successful online advertising is like a great recipe for New Orleans Jumbalaya, a combination of ingredients and methods, not just a garnish placed at the very end.

At C3 Metrics (disclosure: I’m the CEO), the attribution modeling recipe takes an enormous amount of ingredients, but then reduces their complexity to simplicity.

At a basic level, C3 assigns credit to Originators, Assists, and Converters within a transaction. An attribution model should capture every online media source from the top of the funnel where sales originate…down to the very bottom of the funnel. So in a $100 transaction, an Originator would receive a fraction of $100 attributed to them—and the Assist and Converter would also receive fractional credit of the $100 attributed to them respectively.

100% of the revenue value is attributed and split among Originators, Assists, and Converters–accounting for the actual drivers of revenue. Then revenue and respective costs from paid media sources converge in a single, elegant number: Attributed Revenue-to-Spend Ratio (ARSR™).

Here’s how it breaks down: If you have a 4.0 ratio for a specific keyword, or specific Display campaign–you’re getting $4.00 in revenue for every dollar spent on that particular media source. Conversely, if you have an ARSR of 1.25 for a particular media buy–you’re getting $1.25 in revenue for every dollar spent.

ARSR™ delivers a quick, actionable, and fully attributed metric. The special reduction sauce for the recipe is the numerator of the ratio (attributed revenue), derived from full funnel attribution…an actionable, and fully attributed metric you can use to analyze weeks of data in about an hour, versus taking days just to set the data up for modeling analysis.

The many hours spent “getting ready” (just preparing the data for attribution modeling is history) With C3’s ARSR™ ratio, it’s easy to identify and scale paid media sources with high numbers, and cut or improve media sources with low numbers.

Now get ready for the results. In the longest running attribution study of its kind (2 yrs) the results are enough to get any media buyer’s motor running:

a) Seven-figures in profit from the advertiser’s higher ROI online ad spend
b) Display ROI improvement of 160%
c) Search ROI improvement of 98%
d) Accurate economic model to measure affiliate performance

Bottom line: millions of dollars in profit.

We’ve gone from driving a Ford Model T to driving a new model…an attribution model.

Are you ready to drive millions in profit?

I’m sleeping with an attribution model. It’s not just me. Girls, guys…media buyers.

I began sleeping better. Now I have this…glow. But it was hard to explain to my wife.

I’ll never forget the look on her face when I told her.

“Honey, what if everything you knew to be true…was actually wrong?”

Concern came over her.

I continued, “It began several years ago…”

Her brow furrowed, and I knew this was going to be difficult explaining, even painful.

“I’m with an attribution model.” I saw the look on her face, and had to unload the full story.

“Everything we know to be true—just isn’t so. We’ve been looking at it all wrong. Today’s outdated online ad tracking systems are giving 100% transaction credit to the very last clicked or last viewed ad before an online transaction.”

She looked puzzled.

Mark Hughes, CEO
C3 Metrics

Her face began to lighten up.

“Attribution models recognize credit should be assigned to a team of Internet ads versus the very last ad!”

She asked, “So…you’re not sleeping with a model?”

“Honey, you thought I was sleeping with a model! No no no, of course not. I sleeping much better because of our attribution model!”

“Thank heavens!”

Now perhaps I’ve sprinkled some Shakespearian license in revealing this–but no matter who you tell (your wife, your boss, your industry) it’s startling to discover that how we define the success of $70 billion spent on Internet advertising worldwide each year…is wrong.

Woefully wrong.

When you discover that zero credit is given to revenue drivers, and 100% credit is given to the very last ad–you should be worried.

But enter the full funnel media attribution model (disclosure…my plug for C3 Metrics). Robust media attribution systems like this recognize credit should be assigned to a team of Internet ads versus the last ad.

So how does attribution modeling work?

At a basic level, C3 assigns credit to Originators, Assists, and Converters within a transaction.

An attribution model should capture all online media sources from the top of the funnel where sales are originate…down to the very bottom of the funnel. So in a $100 transaction, an Originator would receive a fraction of $100 attributed to them—and the Assist and Converter also receive fractional credit of the $100 amount attributed to them respectively.

100% of revenue credit is thus attributed and split among Originators, Assists, and Converters—accounting for the actual drivers of revenue, and matched to media cost to then determine, you guessed it, return on investment (a simple ratio C3 calls, Attributed Revenue-to-Spend Ratio).

Not all attribution models are created equal. Read here for seven key details you should know before using any attribution system.

But if you’re using a robust attribution model–online advertisers and media buyers will sleep better at night. A lot better.

Rather than facing weeks of analysis to analyze days worth of data, C3’s trademark ARSR ratio reduces reams of data to simplicity, taking less than an hour to evaluate and reallocate spend from sources with low ratios to high ratios.

Results from the longest running attribution study of its kind (2 yrs) are jaw-dropping:

a) Seven-figures in profit from the advertiser’s higher ROI online ad spend
b) Display ROI improvement of 160%
c) Search ROI improvement of 98%
d) Accurate economic model to measure affiliate performance

Bottom line: millions of dollars in profit.

And when you show millions in profit, everyone sleeps better.

Attribution…is bringing sexy back.

In his field of protecting the good and defeating the bad…it was the quintessential challenge.

As online advertisers and marketers, we face a different challenge. The #1 desire of every Chief Marketing Officer is more accountability with ad spend. Consequently, we’ve been challenged. We need to make our CMO’s day.

Marketers will tell you that even on their best day, the decisions made are only as good as their information.

And even though Internet advertising is the most trackable form of advertising on earth, today’s online measurement systems defining success of the $70 billion of online advertising spent each year worldwide, are…wrong.

Woefully wrong. Today’s outdated online ad tracking systems give 100% transaction credit to the very last clicked or last viewed ad before an online transaction.

Mark Hughes, CEO
C3 Metrics

Zero credit to revenue drivers, and 100% credit to the last ad placed. Nervous?

With limitless Internet resources—consumers research like they never did before making a final commitment. There are a lot of ingredients before your consumer transacts. And today’s online advertising is like a well-cooked dish—a combination of ingredients and methods, not just the garnish at the very end.

At C3 Metrics (disclosure, I’m the CEO), the attribution modeling recipe takes an enormous amount of ingredients, and reduces complexity to simplicity.

At a basic level, C3 assigns credit to Originators, Assists, and Converters within a transaction. An attribution model should capture every online media source from the top of the funnel where sales originate…down to the very bottom of the funnel. So in a $100 transaction, an Originator would receive a fraction of $100 attributed to them—and the Assist and Converter would also receive fractional credit of the $100 attributed to them respectively.

100% of revenue credit is attributed and split among Originators, Assists, and Converters–accounting for the actual drivers of revenue. Then revenue and respective costs from paid media sources converge in a single, elegant number: Attributed Revenue-to-Spend Ratio (ARSR).

It’s a simple ratio any marketer can grasp. If you have a 4.0 ratio for a specific keyword, or specific Display campaign–you’re getting $4.00 in revenue for every dollar spent on that particular media source. Conversely, if you have an ARSR of 1.25 for a particular media buy—you’re getting $1.25 in revenue for every dollar spent there.

Certainly, not all attribution models are alike. But C3 allows media buyers to scale media sources with high numbers, and cut/improve media sources with low numbers. The special sauce–is the numerator of the ratio (attributed revenue), derived from full funnel attribution. An actionable, and fully attributed metric you can pull the trigger on with minutes of analysis vs. weeks.

Clint Eastwood said, “I have a very strict gun control policy: if there’s a gun around, I want to be in control of it.”

If you’re measuring online media success, you should be in control, versus the last click.

Go ahead, make the CMO’s day…make it with an attribution model.

Online advertising is the most measurable form of advertising on earth. But what if you discovered that today’s online measurement systems defining success, are wrong?

For Internet advertisers spending $70 billion globally each year–it couldn’t be. But it is. Here’s the problem.

Imagine you’re managing a multi-million dollar online ad budget. And you learn that today’s outdated online ad tracking systems give 100% transaction credit to the very last clicked or last viewed ad before an online transaction.

Example: if four Internet ads contribute to a transaction; today’s outdated systems allocate entire credit to the fourth, last ad–ignoring the first three ads, which actually drove the revenue.

Zero credit to revenue drivers, and 100% credit to the last ad placed. Frightening.

Mark Hughes, CEO
C3 Metrics

But not all attribution models and are created equal. Read here for seven key details you should know before using any attribution system.

Most attribution modeling systems require you to spend weeks analyzing just one week of data. Unless, however, you’re using an attribution system crunching hard numbers in the background–where attribution analysis, revenue, and media cost all converge in a single, elegant number (ARSR™).

Some call it a sound media buyer’s KPI…others call it attribution analysis without paralysis. But instead of drowning in reams of data, a week’s worth of data takes about 30 minutes to analyze, and about ten minutes to reallocate media for higher ROI.

We’re getting ahead of ourselves, so let’s lay the foundation.

At a basic level, C3 assigns credit to Originators, Assists, and Converters within a transaction.

A media attribution model should capture all online media sources from the top of the funnel where sales are originated…all the way down to the very bottom of the funnel. So in a $100 transaction, an Originator would receive a fraction of $100 attributed to them—and the Assist and Converter also receive fractional credit of the $100 amount attributed to them respectively.

100% of revenue credit is thus attributed and split among Originators, Assists, and Converters—accounting for the actual drivers of revenue, and matched to media cost to then determine, you guessed it, return on investment (a simple ratio C3 calls, Attributed Revenue-to-Spend Ratio).

The new ad metric: Attributed Revenue-to-Spend Ratio (ARSR™).

It’s a simple ratio that any media buyer or marketer can understand. If you have a 4.0 ratio for a specific keyword, or specific Display campaign–you’re getting $4.00 in revenue for every dollar spent on that particular media source. Conversely, if you have an ARSR of 1.25 for a particular media buy—you’re getting $1.25 in revenue for every dollar spent.

A media buyer simply looks for paid media sources with high numbers to scale…and low numbers to cut or improve. Quick, actionable, attributed numbers. The special sauce–is the numerator of the ratio (attributed revenue), which is derived from Full Funnel Attribution™ using C3 Metrics attribution gateway and transparent algorithm (more on those here).

Results?

In the longest-running attribution study of its kind (2 yrs), here are the results that full funnel attribution and the elegant ARSR™ metric delivered:

a) Seven-figure efficiency in the advertiser’s online ad budget
b) Display ROI improvement of 160%
c) Search ROI improvement of 98%
d) Accurate economic model to measure affiliate performance

Bottom line: millions of dollars in profit.

Some attribution systems will still leave you drowning in data, and thirsting for knowledge. And some won’t.

Which will you choose?