The Flattened Funnel: Performics’ Singh On Making Every Dollar Count

CHICAGO – When businesses’ backs are against the wall, they ask for money to work harder.

But, even before COVID-19 threw a spanner in 2020’s works, marketers were already becoming more likely to ask for proof of the effectiveness of every marketing dollar spent.

That is a change from the days when they were content to let some brand awareness-building spend go without having an ROI recorded against it, given the challenge in measuring awareness through to outcome.

But, in the new age of attribution, marketers are more likely to seek out the new ability to do just that.

In this video interview with Beet.TV, Ram Singh, Chief Analytics Officer at Performics, Publicis’ performance-focused agency, explains how, for modern advertisers, the classical marketing funnel has been flattened out.

Performance across the funnel

“In the last five years, we have definitely seen a consistent increase in the ask for what every dollar should do,” Singh says.

“We no longer have situations where marketing dollars are set aside in silos and they do one thing. Every dollar going into any marketing activity is expected to perform not only on the primary goal but also on secondary and tertiary goals.

“Today what we see consistently across every single client is every dollar at every stage is being asked to do more.

“Branding dollars, obviously their goal still continues to be raising awareness, but at the same time brand managers are being asked is your dollar helping move people from upper funnel to mid funnel? What does it do to help conversion? What lift does it generate?”

COVID accelerant

Performics is the Publicis-wide advertising division that spans the group’s agencies in pursuit of the new craft of “performance”, the tactic through which advertisers want to link spend to actual outcomes like purchase or sign-ups.

Marketers have always regarded television as the big box that can reach a mass audience, the medium at the top of the funnel that fuels initial consumer awareness.

But times are a-changing. New technology means targeted television can serve advertisers just like laser-guided online ads can, and that activity can be measured, with correlation between ad exposure and outcome.

“COVID has accelerated that ask (from advertiers),” Singh says. “Because of COVID, performance marketing has come to the forefront for every client that we work with, so it’s only accelerated the need for getting more out of every marketing investment.”

New Study Shows Potential ROI Benefits of Leveraging Performics “Darwin” Paid Search Marketing Optimization Suite | Business Wire https://t.co/tRtSwA9xNy

— Performics (@performics) November 17, 2020

Multi-pronged approach

Singh says Performics employs “a series of analytical methods, both deterministic as well as a lot of correlational analyses, probability-based analyses” to figure out performance for advertisers.

“We use a combination of deterministic measures and inferential measures to then solve for problems like beyond your standard KPIs, clicks, cost impression, or trackable sales, what is the net impact of this dollar on the business outcome?,” he says.

“Whether it’s offline sales, whether it’s foot traffic, whether it’s online conversions and how well they can work at the back end.

“There’s a whole series of KPIs that we append to your standard media metrics that line up with business goals.”