Recently, I had the honour of joining the Young Vic theatre board in London. And as someone who serves on that board, I’ve learned that great creative work requires both artistic vision and rigorous evaluation of what actually resonates with audiences. The same principle applies to advertising creative, but too many marketers are measuring the wrong things or not measuring creative effectiveness at all.
Return on Ad Spend Becomes the North Star
Our recent TripleLift and EMARKETER research found that 56% of advertisers optimize for conversion rate, 54% for return on ad spend, and 48% for clickthrough rate in off-site retail media campaigns. But here’s what’s interesting – the most sophisticated advertisers track metrics that go deeper than basic ROAS.
For newer products or brands, detail page views help gauge awareness, while click-to-cart indicates consideration. For established products, ROAS becomes the primary metric. But the brands seeing the best long-term results also track new-to-brand acquisition rates, total ROAS lift across their entire brand portfolio, and incrementality metrics.
Creative Quality Directly Impacts KPIs
Our research revealed that 88% of marketers agree that off-site retail media ads with moving elements receive higher engagement than static ads. Similarly, 77% believe campaigns using advanced creative technology receive higher engagement than standard display ads. Most importantly, 82% agree that creative quality is crucial to achieving higher KPI results.
Attribution Models Must Match Campaign Objectives
Different creative objectives demand different measurement approaches. For ROAS-focused campaigns, last-click attribution works well for sponsored product ads. For awareness campaigns, view-based attribution better captures the impact of native, display, and CTV formats. For full-funnel strategies, multi-touch attribution provides the most complete picture.
Beyond Last-Click Measurement
Smart marketers are implementing incrementality testing – running controlled experiments with matched audience segments where one group receives the campaign and another doesn’t, then comparing conversion rates. They’re also measuring lift in branded search volume after introducing upper-funnel creative tactics.
Creative Format Performance Varies Significantly
According to our research, native ads generate the highest satisfaction among marketers (74%) with no reported dissatisfaction. Online video follows at 73%. Interestingly, marketers have mixed perceptions toward display and CTV, with sizeable neutral ratings (47%), indicating potential for growth and innovation in these formats.
Measurement Challenges Persist
Based on our TripleLift Advanis survey we conducted earlier this year, the biggest measurement challenges include limited attribution due to varying retailer windows (55%), lack of closed-loop attribution across channels (48%), and inconsistent KPI standards across retail networks (46%). These attribution gaps represent opportunities for brands that can solve cross-channel measurement.
Practical Recommendations
Start by establishing clear creative quality standards across your organization. Implement testing methodologies that can isolate creative impact from targeting and media factors. Invest in measurement infrastructure that connects creative assets to business outcomes. And most importantly, use these insights to continuously improve your creative approach.
The brands that master creative measurement will have a sustainable competitive advantage. They’ll know not just which campaigns drive results, but which specific creative elements drive those results – and how to scale those insights across their entire marketing strategy.
