• by Larissa Faw , October 8, 2018

The definition of return on investment (ROI) is in the eye of the beholder, according to panelists at Advertising Week session in New York last week.

Today's marketers believe they can determine with more certainty than in previous years the effectiveness and outcome of their ad spending. They also have the ability to analyze these results and strengthen their methods. 

However, progress — a relative term in the ROI space — has created unrealistic expectations among advertisers and partners, says Karima Zmerli Ph.D, chief data sciences officer, Wavemaker Global.

The ROI of data has never been more relevant, but no one really measures what exactly this ROI generates. 

The bottom and top funnels closest to transactions are easiest to measure, but things fall into a grey area, says John Povey, senior vice president marketing-data analytics, a4 Media.

Mike Romoff, head of global agency and channel sales, LinkedIn, adds he is more likely to get an approved budget increase if he asks for lower funnel strategies, like spending money on ads that can link to numbers of new members signing on to the platform.

But it is harder to justify more nebulous tactics, like leadership and brand affinity. “We want things that manifest in more productive media,” he says. "It isn't easy to understand how those things work together." 

There is a difference between owning the data and the insights. All panelists support the shift to brands owning some of their data. The raw data is hard to acquire given  challenges like infrastructure, while many agencies are able to determine insights in-house, says Zmerli. 

Walled gardens are another problem for brands trying determine ROI.

"It is impossible to create our own holistic picture," says Antonio Tomarchio, CEO, Cuebiq. Facebook did recently allow brands to insert their own data into Facebook's methodologies, though the platform still does the brand lift analysis themselves. "At least it's progress," he says. 

As LinkedIn's communications with prospects become less episodic, meaning short two-month campaigns, “the conversation has now become a continuous part of our operation,” says Romoff. Plus, it is hard to outsource your brand's voice, especially when it comes to being snarky or humorous on social media.