Report Highlights “Expectation vs. Reality” Gaps in Marketing

A recent report from Econsultancy and MediaMath highlights a number of “expectation vs. reality” gaps when it comes to consumer-first and omnichannel marketing. Based on a global survey of more than 400 digital professionals involved in online advertising, the report found that 92 percent of respondents believe that opted-in consumer are significantly more valuable to advertisers. Nevertheless, only 85 percent said that they are confident that they have opt-in consent from everyone they market to.

 The report found that this disparity holds true in a number of other cases as well. 94 percent of respondents agreed that efficient online advertising is tailored to each stage of the customer journey, but only 80 percent reported doing so. 92 percent agreed that omnichannel advertising produces better results than single-channel advertising, but only 78 percent said that they take an omnichannel approach to all of their advertising. 93 percent agreed that effective attribution of online to offline activity (and vice versa) is essential, but only 67 percent reported accurately attributing their online advertising spend to offline channels. Finally, 92 percent agreed that integrated technology and data allows for seamless and effective advertising, but just 37 percent said that their current marketing and advertising technologies are highly integrated.

“For one thing, marketers in many cases still struggle to define what ‘omnichannel’ means – there’s a general recognition that consumers have changed and that they need to be addressed appropriately, sequentially, throughout the purchase funnel, but it is sometimes challenging to determine the right mix of channels to accomplish that goal. Additionally, existing tools for omnichannel execution can be challenging to use, and sometimes don’t offer the ability to address all required consumer touchpoints,” Lewis Rothkopf, general manager of media and growth channels at MediaMath, said in a statement. “The solution starts with integrated technology through which marketers can activate audiences across all channels seamlessly in addition to optimizing campaigns from one place, targeting, managing creative and understanding campaign effectiveness. Marketers must also ensure they are taking an audience-first approach to media, instead of making assumptions about specific supply by source or channel.”