EMR
Underdogs vs. Over Spenders: Is your channel strategy maximizing Enterprise Marketing Return?
Could you be missing out on opportunities to maximize Enterprise Marketing Return (EMR)? Are you overspending or underspending in key channels? Use Ovative’s EMR Power Rankings to make informed decisions about your media mix and get exclusive insights into the channels you should consider shifting investment into (and out of) in 2022.
Ovative’s EMR Power Rankings highlight the paid media channels and tactics driving the highest returns for marketers and the difference in performance compared to legacy ROAS. Marketers are surprised by how much revenue their current media mix is missing out on by optimizing to ROAS instead of EMR. These performance gaps are revealed by the EMR Power Rankings.
The Underdogs: Channels Marketers Could Be Missing Out On By Comparing To Legacy ROAS
Facebook Upper Funnel
About the channel: At the “Top of the Funnel” or the awareness stage, the goal is to attract new audiences by educating them on why they need a specific product or service. Campaign objectives at this stage include reach and traffic, rather than conversions or lead generation. A well informed and organized Facebook Ad Funnel can increase conversion rates and grow sales. While marketers may be tempted to go straight for the sale (with lower funnel conversion tactics), high-value conversions typically happen once a user interacts with your brand over multiple touchpoints1.
Why does the EMR power score outrank legacy ROAS?
Legacy ROAS is heavily focused on revenue-centric performance and tends to favor channels that are last click oriented. FB Upper Funnel’s impact is significant to branding and awareness, which is not always immediately reflected in revenue. EMR incorporates other factors, including future customer value and incrementality, which help lift this channel’s EMR power score significantly higher than legacy ROAS.
Linear TV
About the channel: Linear TV is the “traditional” means of watching TV, presenting consumers with a scheduled program on a specific channel. According to estimates by Statista, there were 121 million TV homes in the United States for the 2020-2021 TV season.2 With reach equating to over 300 million people, this type of scale allows brands to reach a large market with a single campaign and target based on large demographics they know will watch. Marketers may miss key opportunities with Linear TV because they believe conversion-driving channels lower in the funnel will yield quicker returns, dismissing the future impact of awareness tactics.
Why does the EMR power score outrank legacy ROAS?
Measuring Linear TV through legacy ROAS understates its value due to its lack of click data. What ROAS misses is the strong influence traditional advertising can have on store sales (indicated by an EMR offline score of 85), its future impact on revenue, and the halo impact TV has in making other digital media investments more effective. Unlike ROAS, EMR factors in both online and offline sales, providing a more holistic view of performance.
Audio and Radio
About the channel: There are 204 million digital audio listeners (⅔ of all digital media consumers) and 265 million terrestrial radio listeners in the U.S., making digital audio the second most popular digital activity (based on time spent) for U.S. adults (behind video).3 From radio to podcasts to music streaming services, consumers have increasingly spent more time listening to digital audio over the last few years, making it a prime tactic for brands and marketers to include in their holistic media strategy.
Why does the EMR power score outrank legacy ROAS?
Streaming Audio and Terrestrial Radio are powerful channels in building awareness, with much of the impact realized over time. With little to no immediate click-through option to send consumers from media to point of purchase, conversions typically aren’t attributed to these tactics when using legacy ROAS and are instead attributed to last-click. Marketers who rely on ROAS are likely to underspend in an awareness driving channel because of the lack of attribution and key components like incrementality and future customer value, which EMR addresses.
The Over Spenders: Channels That Miss The Mark On Maximizing Enterprise Marketing Return
Google Brand Search
About this channel: Branded search campaigns target keywords that are brand-specific, i.e., feature a brand’s name with or without a product name. Since consumers are searching specifically for a brand rather than products a brand may sell, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) branded keywords typically come with a higher purchase intent and a higher likelihood of conversion.4
How does it miss the mark on maximizing EMR?
Though Brand Search can indicate high intent to purchase and ultimately drive conversions, it is often the last touch and takes credit from upper funnel tactics that contributed to the sale and revenue. Brand Search also scores lower on EMR power rankings because of its low incrementality, meaning that in many cases the conversion would have happened even without serving the paid ad.
Amazon Advertising
About this channel: With over 300 million worldwide users5 and a variety of advertising product offerings, Amazon Advertising can help marketers reach consumers throughout their journey. Based on goals, objectives, and key metrics, marketers can choose to engage with consumers at various stages from awareness to conversion.
How does it miss the mark on maximizing EMR?
Amazon Advertising is typically focused on driving traffic to a brand’s listings on Amazon, with little impact on offline performance, a key component of EMR and driving enterprise revenue for a brand. Amazon also delivers lower Future Customer Value, since Amazon owns the experience, the long-term brand relationship, and the customer data instead of the brand.
Take Action
It is a new year, and marketers will need to pull new levers to make their media mix work harder. Utilizing Ovative’s EMR Power Rankings to determine which channels and tactics to test into can help marketers maximize their enterprise impact and make informed decisions about their media mix. Many marketers are surprised by the gap in performance revealed by the EMR Power Rankings.
When moving from ROAS to EMR, Ovative clients remix between 25-40% of their marketing spend and within the first 12 months of measuring and optimizing to EMR, our clients experience a 25% increase in return on their marketing spend. Learn more about Enterprise Marketing Return here and start maximizing your enterprise impact. Don’t know where to start? Connect with us and stay tuned for more media and measurement insights.
Ovative is a digital-first media and measurement firm seeking to transform the measure of marketing success. At Ovative, we help brands move the needle. We are curious. We value your brand. We want to see you succeed. Connect with us to learn more!
Sources
- Stable WP, The Facebook Ads Funnel Guide, January 2020. https://stablewp.com/the-facebook-ads-funnel-guide-how-to-design-a-perfect-facebook-funnel-for-your-business/
- Statista, TV Households in U.S., July 2021. https://www.statista.com/statistics/243789/number-of-tv-households-in-the-us/
- SF Gate, The Rise of Digital Audio. https://marketing.sfgate.com/resources/rise-of-digital-audio-advertising
- In Flow, Branded Paid Search Campaigns, May 2021. https://www.goinflow.com/blog/branded-search-campaigns/
- Amazon Ads, Understanding Amazon Advertising, 2021. https://advertising.amazon.com/library/guides/basics-of-success-understanding-amazon-advertising
