For creative teams to get what they need from AI, they need to collaborate much more closely with their analytics teams. Image credit: Shutterstock
By Lee James
Marketing is arguably one of the largest and most scrutinized investments in any business, but for too long, marketers have had to rely on lagging indicators, dashboards and attribution models that tell them what happened, but not why.
Budgets get defended on assumptions, correlations and gut instincts, leaving marketers scratching their heads and business leaders asking the question: are our marketing dollars actually driving growth?
Traditional marketing measurement approaches, including classic marketing mix modeling (MMM) projects, are slow, expensive and static.
Usually marketers commission studies, wait months for results and then face another quarterly cycle of guesswork.
By the time insights arrive, campaigns have ended, budgets have been spent, and opportunities to pivot have passed.
Meanwhile, the pressure on chief marketing officers and marketing leaders is only increasing.
Businesses are investing more in marketing technology than ever before, yet boards, chief financial officers and investors want hard proof of return on investment.
The stakes are high: marketing needs to demonstrate impact in a way that is real-time, evidence-based and actionable.
Lee James
Moving measurement from retrospective to real-time
This is where AI can fundamentally change the game.
By combining causal modeling with continuous data analysis, AI is turning measurement from a rearview mirror into a decision-making engine.
AI can surface insights while campaigns are live, forecast outcomes of budget shifts, and even guide teams on where to reallocate spend for maximum incremental growth.
Early adopters are already seeing the value.
By identifying underperforming spend and highlighting opportunities for reallocation, marketers are achieving higher ROI while aligning with broader business objectives.
In practical terms, this means decisions about campaigns, channels and budgets can be made confidently, rather than reactively.
Changing the mindset of marketing
This change encompasses not only technology but also entails an entirely different mindset shift.
In the near future, marketing will transition into being a more strategic and data-driven growth engine.
AI is not replacing judgment. It's aiding it with the facts and the ability to forecast what's to come next.
For the industry, it represents a watershed moment.
As marketing organizations increasingly use AI technology to measure, the divide between investment and ROI becomes clear, and the answer to the question “did it work?” is finally clear.
Organizations that use the technology have the ability to optimize their marketing in real-time, eliminate waste, and prove the ROI of marketing to the C-suite.
THE FUTURE OF MARKETING measurement is living, breathing and adaptive.
Through pioneering advancements in modeling, AI and real-time analytics, technologies are helping marketers break free from dashboard and attribution thinking and into evidence-based, action-driven insight.
The bottom line for forward-thinking companies is obvious: better spend, greater ROI and a marketing organization that for once merits full organizational trust.
Marketing has always been about creativity, connection and impact. Today, thanks to AI, it is also about precision.
Lee James is director of partnerships at Domo, London. Reach him at [email protected].