Signals & Insights - Marketing's most expensive blind spot

Summary Introduction

Two groundbreaking studies reveal a measurement crisis costing CMOs millions in unrecognized marketing value. Google's WARC research exposes how traditional short-term attribution models miss 50% of marketing ROI, while 6sense's benchmark data shows 47% of marketers struggle with multi-touch attribution despite widespread adoption. Together, these findings illuminate a strategic transformation opportunity where measurement sophistication becomes the defining competitive advantage in marketing performance.

Long-Term ROI Recognition

Google/WARC: Beyond the Horizon: The Holistic Path to Measuring Media Investments

Marketing's most expensive blind spot isn't budget waste—it's value invisibility. Google's comprehensive analysis of European brands reveals that marketing investments generate equal returns in months 1-4 and months 5-24, yet most organizations only measure the first phase. This systematic undervaluation creates a £2.24 gap between perceived performance (£1.87 ROI) and actual performance (£4.11 ROI) per marketing pound invested.

The research demonstrates that companies optimizing for short-term performance metrics miss the optimal media mix entirely. While most organizations allocate 70-80% to performance marketing, the data suggests 50-60% brand building delivers superior long-term returns. Domino's exemplifies this transformation, achieving 45% ROI improvement by running concurrent brand awareness and performance campaigns rather than treating them as separate initiatives.

Key Strategic Findings:

• Marketing generates equal value in months 1-4 versus months 5-24, yet only early returns are typically measured
• Optimal media allocation requires 50-60% brand building investment versus current 20-30% industry average
• Integrated brand-performance campaigns deliver 45% higher ROI than siloed approaches

Strategic Imperatives:

• Implement marketing mix modeling to capture offline and extended-timeline value creation
• Extend attribution windows from 90 days to 12-24 months for comprehensive ROI recognition
• Shift 20-30% of performance budget to brand-building initiatives with long-term measurement

Industry Impact: All verticals, particularly B2B services with extended sales cycles Solution Pillar: Marketing Performance & Attribution
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Attribution Framework Crisis

6sense: 2025 B2B Marketing Attribution and Contribution Benchmark

The attribution crisis extends beyond measurement tools to strategic misalignment between marketing operations and measurement frameworks. 6sense's benchmark reveals that 90% of marketers report measuring ROI while 47% struggle with multi-touch attribution, creating a dangerous disconnect where teams optimize for metrics that don't reflect their actual marketing approach.

The data exposes a fundamental gap: buying groups average 100-200 vendor interactions throughout their journey, yet most multi-touch models credit only a handful of touchpoints. This creates systematic attribution errors where marketing's true influence remains invisible, particularly problematic for ABM practitioners where only 38.6% measure ABM-specific outcomes despite 82% practicing account-based marketing.

Critical Strategic Findings:

• 47% of marketers struggle with multi-touch attribution despite widespread ROI measurement claims
• Buying groups generate 100-200 vendor interactions with 70% being digital and anonymous
• Only 38.6% of ABM practitioners measure ABM outcomes despite 82% practicing account-based marketing

Strategic Imperatives:

• Deploy comprehensive attribution modeling that captures anonymous digital interactions throughout extended buyer journeys
• Align measurement frameworks with actual marketing operations, particularly for ABM and multi-channel campaigns
• Implement statistical attribution methods beyond basic first/last-touch approaches

Industry Impact: B2B Professional Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing with complex buying processes
Solution Pillar: Data Infrastructure & Reporting
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The Bottom Line: Marketing Measurement Transformation

These studies reveal measurement sophistication as the critical differentiator between marketing teams that demonstrate clear business value and those that remain budget-vulnerable. Organizations implementing comprehensive attribution frameworks unlock 50% more recognized ROI while gaining competitive advantage through optimized resource allocation.

Key Takeaway: CMOs who master long-term attribution and multi-touch measurement don't just improve marketing performance—they fundamentally transform their strategic credibility and budget security through measurable business impact.