• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, May 8, 2013

After an 18-month development process, MEC has launched a digital attribution platform called CookieCutter designed to provide clients with more precise ROI analytics.

The proprietary platform analyzes reams of data generated by online cookies -- the packets of data linked to computers that track consumer browsing patterns. The idea is to get a better sense of the impact that marketing messages in different digital channels have on consumer behavior.

“Every day, more and more marketers are struggling to understand the true impact digital channels have on their sales,” said Theresa LaMontagne, head of analytics and insight, MEC, who oversaw the development of CookieCutter. The shop’s new platform, she said, will “distill cookies into meaningful, results-driven insights and information.”

Until now, most of the shop’s clients rely on third-party vendors for digital attribution data. Vendors that provide such services include Adometry, Convertro, IBM and Adobe.

LaMontagne said that MEC clients Michelin and Xerox have signed on to use the new CookieCutter service. The intent is to get as many clients as possible to use it. The pitch, per LaMontagne, is that third-party systems tend to use a “one size fits all approach.” She believes that MEC’s CookieCutter can provide clients with a customized approach that is harder to get from other attribution platforms, given the agency's familiarity with their marketing programs and plans.

Michelin appears to be pleased with its initial results from the new platform. Jennifer Smith, Michelin brand communication manager, said CookieCutter has helped to further “uncover the value and interplay of each touchpoint in the consumer purchase pathway, enabling us to better optimize our media delivery and tactical execution.”

MEC has brought on board a group of statisticians and strategists to help analyze the CookieCutter data. They work with client teams as well as data technology specialists to ensure that the input data is accurate.

The platform has just launched in the U.S., and the agency is now in the process of rolling it out globally, starting with Europe.