• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, January 25, 2010

Young-Bean Song, senior director at Microsoft Advertising Institute, told OMMA Performance attendees in San Francisco on Monday that data needs to prove the outcome of a campaign. But that outcome has become complex. So, marketers need to find a new way to take the data and prove the outcome.

During the next few years, companies will bring traditional media metrics to an online media plan, and design new standards for return on investments (ROI). Today, the industry talks about cost per activation and cost per sale, but that will change.

It must because the online funnel is long. A look across 200 advertisers found the median is 13.8, total ad events within 30 days of conversion. It means people look at between 40 and 50 ads before converting.