For print, measurement relied largely on circulation figures, readership estimates and survey feedback. Radio and television provided audience panels, ratings, reach, frequency and demographic information.
These metrics could answer the question: How many people potentially saw or heard my ad? But they provided limited visibility into what happened afterwards.
The growth of digital advertising fundamentally changed this. Suddenly, marketers could access far more detailed information about their audiences, including demographic, location, device, platform and behavioural data.
The industry moved into the era of big data, where the ability to collect and analyse vast amounts of information created an entirely new understanding of audiences.
More recently, the focus has shifted again towards consented first party data. Rather than simply having more data, the objective is to have data that is more relevant, reliable and connected to an identifiable interaction or relationship with the consumer.
This evolution has given marketers a much clearer picture of who they are speaking to, where those consumers are and what they are interested in. But that creates another question: So what?
At Vicinity Media, we developed Omnichannel Analytics™ in response to this very question. Omnichannel Analytics™ measures what out-of-home and mobile advertising actually does in the real world through three clear, actionable analytics: visit uplift that shows which mobile ads or DOOH billboards are driving people to specific stores, web uplift that links campaign exposure to website behaviour and local search uplift that measures how campaign exposure drives users to search for a brand online in specific locations.
Together, these analytics create a clearer connection between media exposure and what consumers actually do afterwards.
Measurement is only the beginning. Optimisation is where the value comes from.
Having access to these insights is powerful. But insights alone do not improve a campaign. Action does. This is where campaign optimisation becomes critical. Omnichannel Analytics™ allows brands to identify which DOOH and mobile placements are performing and which are not. Instead of waiting until a campaign has ended to understand what happened, brands can use performance insights to make informed decisions while their campaign is running.
The more accurately we understand consumers and their actions, the better we can target, optimise and improve campaigns. Ultimately, more data is not the goal – better decisions are. The brands that succeed will be those that turn data into insight, insight into action and action into measurable results.
