Marketing & Advertising · Marketing attribution

Spend isn't impact, so don't budget on last click

In short Marketing spend and reported credit don't show which dollars changed behavior, so last-click attribution is a poor guide for setting next year's budget.

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Adweek says campaigns spent a near-record $331 per voter, and the GOP's spending advantage still didn't turn into votes.

Spend isn't impact. Plenty of it lands on people who were already decided.

Brands have the same problem. Publisher-reported credit can't tell you which dollars changed behavior and which just got counted.

Last-click would call all of it a win.

If you're setting next year's budget, think twice before you let last click be your guide.

Responding to Political Campaigns Spent a Near-Record $331 Per Voter, But Waste Forces Rethink, Adweek Feed

Originally posted on LinkedIn →

Topics Marketing attribution · Budget planning · Last-click attribution · Advertising effectiveness

Jeff Greenfield

About the author

Jeff Greenfield

Builds marketing measurement platforms, from multi-touch attribution to incrementality

Jeff Greenfield has spent two decades building marketing programs tied to measurable value. In 2008, Jeff built one of the first multi-touch attribution platforms, which earned MRC Accreditation. In 2022, Jeff launched Provalytics, which measures incremental impact across channels without cookies, tags, or user-level data.

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