An impression is not an impression is not an impression. That’s perhaps the key consensus among panelists presently trying to get to the bottom of marketing mix modeling at OMMA Metrics. “We’re “trying to prove out that (different metrics) are driving brand, which are in turn driving sales,” says Terry Cohen, SVP of Strategy & Analysis at Digitas. Still, “One of the key decisions to make is how much money should be spent on digital versus other medium.” Notes Johnson & Johnson’s Sharad Doshi On the bright side, “Barriers for marketing mix models have basically been destroyed,” according …

MRM is working on what Mayar calls “a big project” to improve on the “engagement score,” where marketers essentially assign points to engagement. The best way to do this, says Mayar, is tee up an analytics model that assigns different values to different engagements and interactions -- and then linking those engagements to specific outcomes. It’s about “connecting metrics to value creation,” Mayar says. We're not claiming a scoop, but this is the first time MediaPost Raw has heard about the effort.

There’s a lot of fuss around analytics and accountability, says Vipin Mayar, EVP of Global Director of Data and Analytics at MRM Worldwide. But, it’s “good fuss.” It’s an “interesting time to be in it,” says Mayar -- but different types of interesting to different marketers. Some marketers worry: “Will my kimono be opened by analytics?” -- i.e., overexposed. Some look at it as a place to get control, because, at least in theory, understanding equals control. Everyone, meanwhile, is experiencing analytics anxiety. “Am I doing this right,” they’re asking themselves, according to Mayar.

Locking down the award for best soundbite of the day, Pointroll just suggested to lunching conference attendees: "Make data your bitch."

Content delivery company Akamai is presently taking votes on which platform(s) its new Media Analytics product should focus on next. Android is the clear winner at the moment.

Bill Tancer examined the segments of people who searched on "Denny's" for this year's commercial versus last year's. Double the amount of people searched last year. And it was the same offer: A free grand slam breakfast. But this year college consumers indexed much higher. "One of my favorite commercials is Steve the Stoned Unicorn for Denny's," says Tancer, which premiered in between the Super Bowls, and really brought that college audience to Denny's.

According to Experian Hitwise's Bill Tancer A year ago MySpace was the No. 1 searched for term on the Web. Today Face book is. Not only does this show the incredible growth of Facebook and the fickleness of the social networker, it shows that most people are still incapable of typing a URL into their browser to access their accounts. As if there were any doubt after this story on Read Write Web.

"You can be so convinced of a particular thesis that you make the data say what you want it to," says Bill Tancer, GM of Global Research, Experian Hitwise. He calls this the problem of narrative fallacy. It's a mouthful, but it's important for analysts to keep in mind, to make sure they are not unconsciously biasing their results.

Simpler segmentation is best, says Jane Kell, Manager, Web Analytics, Delta Air Lines  "It can be communicated more easily; it's more intuitive ... It's important that we can communicate what we need to do to executives." Further, she adds, "And if we get too specific the results aren't there." Never segment for segmentation's sake, says Judah Phillips, Senior Director, Global Site Analytics, Monster Worldwide. "The key is understanding how the segments fit together," he says and in using them for deeper dives.