That rigor isn’t easy to maintain. Abla said most brands are working across fragmented systems and timelines that don’t align with how behavior changes. “C-suites want the answer today, but you really need more time than that,” she added. “We need six months, eight months, to actually see if we’re driving an impact. It’s not clean and it’s not simple.”
Even then, the signals from various measurement partners that brands work with don’t always line up. “If your partner is saying everything’s positive and successful, then something’s not working,” Abla added. “If all your results are positive, then you know something’s not adding up.”
Measurement only works when teams are honest about the results
Even with stronger planning, not everything will work, and that’s part of the process.
Matthews said partners need to be upfront when something isn’t likely to deliver. “If we know our platform, or we know the plan, and we don’t think it’s going to work, we’ve got to tell you now,” he said.
Robin Wheeler, chief revenue officer at Fetch, brought the conversation back to the bigger issue, which is selling more. Unclear measurement can muddle the true goal. “I’m sick of ‘we grew sales.’ What does that even mean?” she said, pointing to how easily performance can be overstated without the right context.
Featured Conversation Leaders
- Melissa Berger, Chief Solutions Officer, Digitas
- Nicole Lesinski, Director, Ecommerce Strategy, Nestlé
- Geoff Matthews, General Manager, Household Essentials, Fetch
- Sandra Abla, Director of Brand Marketing, Paid Media and Marketing Operations, CAVA
- Vinny Rinaldi, VP, Consumer Connections, The Hershey Company
- Zoë Ruderman, Chief Content Officer, ADWEEK
- Marissa Solan, U.S. Director, Earned and Social Media, Haleon
- Robin Wheeler, Chief Revenue Officer, Fetch
