Linking media spend to sales is marketing and advertising’s age-old problem. Using standard models, even when data can be pieced together, takes months and is therefore already out of date, reducing its value and influence in directing forward-looking marketing investment.

But CUB and Samsung senior marketers and data specialists are getting closer to cracking the conundrum.

“Historically, particularly in FMCG, it was impossible to attribute your broad media spend to sales,” says CUB Senior Manager for Data and CX, Megan Quinn.

“There's so much going on: You have marketing initiatives from the brand, marketing initiatives from the retail network, the impact of pricing, not to mention the impact of competitor activity. As a business, we didn’t have the capability to unpack the impact of each variable on sales, let alone to do this quickly. Getting any kind of meaningful models together, adds Quinn, an economist and econometrician, “took a very long time”.

“You would have to collect the data manually, which might take a month. Then it's given to a data team to process, which may take them six weeks, even once the model is calibrated,” says Quinn.
“This gives you a quarterly view – however, it’s already been a quarter since the process began, and you’re thinking a quarter ahead. So, you end up with a static artifact – even with the best of intentions, the data that you had available wasn't particularly usable and you couldn't use it to test insights and innovate.”

But that has changed since CUB started using Mutiny’s WarChest automated econometric modelling platform.

“What we've seen with WarChest … is that you have models that actually empower you to make decisions – because they're dynamic. You input the data and within five days you have an analysis of your last month [of media investment performance], which means you can test things and iterate,” adds Quinn.

“That has been really empowering for businesses, and it also helps build belief because you can see the impact of your decisions.”

Building credibility, building brand

Samsung Head of Corporate Marketing, Carl Bunn, says that belief in marketing return on investment, or MROI, then feeds up the corporate chain.

“Internal conversations about how we are spending in marketing versus other areas of the business – and how our investments are continuing to drive value back into the business – is something we've been challenged with for quite a number of years,” says Bunn.

While media agencies are able to show improvements in digital media efficiency and performance metrics, he adds, that has not correlated into greater sales.

That “disconnect” results in the broader business being “dismissive of the data that we are bringing to the table,” says Bunn, and the upshot can be a default to short-termism.

“As an organisation, we can end up prioritising the things we know have an immediacy on sales; such as price or moving product sets around. And that devalues what marketing can – and should – be bringing to the table.”

Hence finding value in smarter econometric models that can help connect marketing and media data with business outcomes, because it helps to prove marketing return on investment beyond short-term tactical approaches.

“One of the more interesting conversations I find about MROI is the short and the long conversation – the value of brand versus the value of short-term sales lead activities,” says Bunn.
“It's on us to continue to find opportunities for those conversations and find the supporting data. But we've made good headway – and tools like Mutiny’s are really empowering the team,” Bunn adds.

“It’s one tool in the arsenal, but I see it as [enabling] the start of the conversation. We now have more credibility, how do we continue to drive that forward?”

Defend spend

Bank of Queensland Group is also harnessing the WarChest platform, with GM for Retail Marketing Melody Townsend using it to help reduce media budget claw-back by quantifying the impact of cuts on business growth.

CUB’s Megan Quinn is using the platform in a similar manner.

“Coming out of Covid into a tough business outlook, I’m sure almost every media budget is under scrutiny,” says Quinn.

“We have found WarChest really powerful in articulating the value of the media budget that we have, and that cutting it does not mean we're saving that money. We may actually be losing revenue through lost sales,” adds Quinn. “It has helped us elevate the conversation.”

Hear how top marketers from Bank of Queensland Group, Samsung and CUB are putting WarChest to work via this podcast from Mutiny and Mi3.

Find out more about WarChest here.