Incrementality: a strategic challenge for digital performance

The promise of digital is reaching its limits. Targeting accuracy, flexible investment, and even the ability to measure results are no longer enough for brands that want to understand what has been generated “in addition” thanks to their campaigns. This is why approaches such as A/B testing—widely used in digital campaigns—as well as Marketing Mix Modeling, Brand Lift Studies, or Geo-Experiments become relevant and offer several advantages:

·      Restoring credibility to digital within a media mix where traditional channels are regaining strength.

·      Helping advertisers allocate budgets based on incremental ROI rather than a simple volume of interactions.

·      Overcoming attribution bias, particularly last-click, which can overvalue certain channels such as paid search (SEA).

In short, these methods allow performance to be assessed in terms of true added value.

Marketing Mix Modeling: A Strategic Management Tool

Through MMM, we can go further by modeling performance as a function of advertising investment across different channels: TV, radio, print, digital, and more.

This methodology relies on aggregated data, meaning it does not depend on individual tracking or third-party cookies. It also makes it possible to test different budget scenarios and optimize media allocation.

At Mediaplus, we tested this method to answer a key question from our international client, De'Longhi: “How could we best balance our marketing investments across the diverse European countries to achieve our goals with an optimal global ROI?”

To address this, Mediaplus created a tool combining the expertise of our data team with an in-depth client analysis spanning four years. Factors such as competition, sales, media spend, promotions, seasonality, and even commercial events were considered.

The results?

o           6% savings in Germany, with an advertising return on investment of 8.6%.

o           12% savings in the UK, with an advertising return on investment of 37%.

Following this success, all 13 markets adopted the new model, establishing a fresh perspective on marketing strategy.

Brand Lift Studies: Measuring Perception Impact

Whenever budgets allow, at Mediaplus we implement Brand Lift Studies on our Meta or YouTube campaigns. These provide accurate insights into brand awareness, consideration, and purchase intent.

They demonstrate that even if a campaign does not directly generate conversions, it still plays an incremental role on key indicators throughout the consumer journey.

The Role of Geoloc-Experiments in a Cookieless World

This method makes it possible to analyze the impact of campaigns on geographically targeted audiences. Activating a ‘geo test’ as part of a regional campaign for a retail brand, for example, enables us to assess the effect of our actions on sales, even when the primary objective is brand awareness. Robust ROI results can be presented to the client

Conclusion

As digital performance measurement becomes increasingly complex due to regulatory changes, data loss is directly impacting the way campaigns are evaluated. It is therefore essential to find new methods to adapt to this evolution.

Incrementality measurement makes it possible to move beyond clicks or conversions and focus on what a campaign truly generates.

Providing our clients with a reliable, comprehensive, and actionable view of their investments is no longer optional: it is a necessity.

 References:

1.         HOC - De'Longhi Marketing case 2024

2.         L’ADN data Link

3.         Research.Google.com Link

4.         The Trade Desk Link