Join us Sept. 14-16 in Miami to connect with top publishing leaders
Back when I was in college, we had a saying: “Thank You For Not Being Stupid.” Which meant exactly that – thank you for not doing and/or saying anything egregiously dumb. So, in that spirit, I’d like to thank my colleagues in the digital planning industry for not being stupid:
Thank You For Not Relying On An Attribution Model Based Entirely On Witchcraft And Sorcery
What if I proposed an attribution model based entirely on spend? So, for example, Channel A gets credit for 50 percent of each conversion, Channel B gets 30 percent, and Channel C gets 20 percent — just because Channel A accounts for half of annual media spend, and Channels B and C account for 30 percent and 20 percent, respectively. Does that make sense to you? Yeah — me neither. So why, then, do otherwise reasonable people surrender to the siren song of an overly simplistic attribution model?
Here’s a thought – look at your conversion data. Carefully. Analyze. Then analyze again. Read this. Then, see if a reasonable and statistically robust solution doesn’t exist.
Thank You For Not Obsessing Over Site Lists
Keep in mind that you’re not buying sites, you’re buying people — and that means targeting them wherever their browsing habits might lead. A conversion is a conversion — even if it takes place on dumage.com (Mike Shields’ chest-heaving hysteria notwithstanding, of course). I’d also suggest ratcheting down the UGC-phobia a little — if you’re trying to reach a tech-savvy audience, UGC sites like Flickr and Evite are exactly where you’d want your ads to appear (And if you’re not — well, maybe Jitterbug is hiring).
Thank You For Not Focusing On Top-Of-The-Funnel Metrics
Have you ever heard a CMO say, “We’ve reviewed this month’s results, and your conversions are down, revenue is down, ROI is terrible — but your time on site and pages per visit are fantastic! Good work, guys!” Yeah — me, neither. A recent survey of agencies and marketers proves the point — when asked to rank what matters most, conversion rates and ROI ranked No. 1 and No. 2, while page views and time spent on site ranked dead last. So, how about we all agree to focus on bottom-of-the-funnel metrics and consign top-of-the-funnel metrics to history’s dustbin where they belong? Super — thanks.
Bill Bock is senior manager of digital planning at Mediassociates, an ad agency focused on media planning and buying for TV, radio, Internet, print and outdoor advertising.
More in Media
Marketers say usage rights are driving up the price to work with creators
Creator pricing’s biggest hurdle are usage rights, which can create confusion and frustration on every side of the negotiation table.
Media Briefing: What to expect at the Digiday Publishing Summit, September 2026 edition
Here’s a sneak peek at the topics that will be discussed onstage during the Digiday Publishing Summit, September 2026 edition.
Location data fuels mall giant Simon’s new pitch to advertisers
Simon is letting brands target shoppers in its malls in other environments and use new measurement tools based on Simon’s consumer data.