Q&A: 6 Measurement & Optimization Trends for CPG Marketers, Advertisers, & Agencies

As CPG marketers, advertisers, and agencies fight to deliver personalized content and increased return on ad spend (ROAS), the savviest of marketers understand that their best bet is a partner that delivers best-in-class, real-time data (and subsequent optimizations), mapped to their target audience(s).
Below, Catalina answers six trending questions in the world of CPG measurement and media optimization:

What is in-flight optimization?
In-flight optimization (IFO) allows brands and agencies to improve their return on ad spend (ROAS) by refining media and creative choices during a live digital or mobile advertising campaign.

Use it to improve performance by adjusting attribution variables such as creative visuals, taglines and formats, target audiences, media channels, and viewability. These data-driven optimizations – based on customer behavior -- can be made in real time or at specific benchmarks throughout the campaign. Combined, they measure what’s working and what’s not, and ultimately improve an ad flight’s efficiency and maximize it impact. It is often used in tandem with post-campaign reporting, which validates the total efficacy of the campaign.

What causes ad waste?
Ad waste happens when media dollars are spent on campaigns that lack data-driven insights, rely on uninformed media planning, and use poor audience targeting. You can combat ad waste two ways: Through audience insights upfront, followed by real-time measurement and optimization.

CPG marketers and agencies can test drive how audiences will perform before they invest their media dollars using tools like Catalina’s HUB360 Audience Insights . With it, they use point-of-sale purchase behaviors to identify new audiences and inform creative development so your media is more efficient and effective.

With no latency in reporting, once a campaign is in-flight brands and agencies can make data-driven decisions on anything measurable – from what headline works better to which media channel is driving more sales conversion. It is also possible to measure in real-time whether ad dollars are better spent against a brand’s most loyal customers or a broader mix of target audiences.

What method is most helpful in measuring advertising results?
The most effective way to track advertising results is with in-flight measurement tools such as Catalina’s HUB360 Measurement, which uses real-time deterministic, third party-enriched sales data instead of awareness metrics or Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) that is based on historical information.

It is helpful for CPG marketers and retailers to observe an ad campaign’s progress in real-time and optimize faster to improve performance across target audiences and media channels. Past performance from MMM is no longer a strong indicator of future results because of shifting shopper preferences, supply chain stops-and-starts, and emerging media channels such as digital out-of-home, connected TV and OTT.

With Catalina’s in-flight measurement tools, brands and retailers can review weekly updated key metrics, including sales incrementality, drivers of sales lift and return on ad spend (ROAS). These tools can identify if one target audience is converting differently than another or if a particular creative message or media channel is more likely to combine to prompt purchase. With Catalina multi-touch attribution, brands and retailers get the insights they need to shift and optimize based on real-time purchase behavior. With HUB360 Measurement , it is also possible to run post-campaign impact reports to get the most holistic view of performance.

What should my ad spend be and how will I know if it’s the right amount?
Use in-flight measurement and optimization tools to determine your optimal ad spend in real-time instead of relying on previous year budgets. Be ready to pivot quickly to respond to inflation-driven purchasing shifts, chinks in the supply chain, and changing media preferences. To determine how much you spend, where and when, use real-time, data-driven insights to make better decisions quicker.

For example, digital ad spending is on the rise, up 54% versus a year ago, as consumers have become more comfortable with paying for on-demand content across platforms. But the media landscape is more fractured as the marketplace has shifted from channel-specific players to a seamless play across channels everywhere consumers are. Each of these digital channels will play different roles in helping you achieve your objectives.

Catalina’s HUB360 is designed to help brands and retailers plan smarter, target better, and optimize faster to get the best return on ad spend (ROAS). With it, they can track shopper conversion paths across channels, measure shopper KPIs in real time, analyze attribution by media type, and manage and optimize in-flight media programming.

What is OTT and how should you measure OTT advertising?
OTT stands for Over-The-Top and refers to film and video content delivered over the internet that doesn’t require a subscription to a traditional cable or satellite pay-tv service. Combined with Connected TV, which is premium content streamed through apps, OTT offers more precise, real-time audience targeting than linear TV. Marketers can use HUB360 Measurement to understand sales impact versus impressions delivered using Catalina’s 1:1 deterministic shopper data based on location, device, and product preferences.

What is digital out-of-home (DOOH), and how should I be using it? Also, how can we measure it?
Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is a fast-growing media channel that includes outdoor motion-driven signage and in-store display in the aisles and at checkout. Considered a new direct response channel, spending is expected to grow to $2.84B by 2023 because screens are brighter, cheaper and everywhere. In some cases, they are interactive. Follow the link to learn more about Top Digital Out-of-Home Advertising Trends for 2021.

Partner with Catalina for all OOH Services to target audiences and influence shoppers’ buying decisions on their path-to-purchase. With it, brands can communicate more effectively and efficiently with difficult-to-reach consumer segments. They can measure the impact of a campaign through a portfolio of media measurement analytics that leverages Catalina’s point-of-sale scanner data.