Non-Digital Marketing Attribution
What to do if spamming Facebook ads doesn't work
Before the internet, marketers were gods.
They could make up any number and it was law.
No one could counter them.
When they said brand sentiment had gone up 30% in the last quarter, you just accepted their word as the Truth.
The full-bodied aroma of leather and nice whiskey accompanied every syllable of their well-respected prophesying.
Only when the internet arrived did things change.
Now obviously that isn’t true1 and business people would struggle to trust in something that has absolutely no numerical backing2.
Instead, marketers had to get creative and find ways to attribute success to various campaigns, channels, and strategies anyway.
Even though digital marketing attribution make things easier, every marketer should know some non-computer-dependent methods of attribution.
In this blog post, we will explore several non-digital techniques that help(ed) brands track traditional marketing endeavors.
If you read more about digital attribution, check out my previous article below…
Traditional Marketing Attribution
Portable People Meters (PPM)
Well, I saw the thing comin' out of the sky
It had a-one long horn and one big eye. (Ooh!)
I commenced to shakin' and I said, "Ooh-eee!
It looks like a purple people eater to me!"
It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin'purple people eaterportable people meter—Sheb Wooley “The Purple People Eater” (change mine)
One effective non-digital method for marketing attribution is the use of Portable People Meters (PPMs).
These devices are microphones meant to hear what their wearer hears.
Heavily used by Nielsen to help create their ratings system, PPMs collect data on what programs and commercials people are exposed to.
These are great.
Unlike many digital attribution forms (I’m looking at you “impressions”) they are biased to what people actually spend time listening to. If someone is in a lot of bars, bar TV ads will be weighted more highly for that audience.
Good, you should meet your customers where they already are.
Having 50 bar TVs on running the same commercial at the same time would not count as 50 ad impressions, as it would if YouTube were being used.
By comparing this data to sales figures or other performance metrics, brands can gauge the impact of their traditional media campaigns.
Referral Codes
“Tell them Bill sent ya and they’ll give you a deal”
—Totally-Not-Sketchy Billy
That’s the affiliate link from yesteryear.
A business that gets a lot of referrals from Bill will know that they should find more inbound leads from Bill-lookalikes rather than from the non-performing Tommy.
By assigning unique codes or identifier to different offline campaigns, brands can trace the source of conversions.
For instance, including referral codes in print advertisements, direct mailings, or even in-store promotions allows marketers to attribute sales back to specific initiatives.
This method provides a clear link between traditional marketing channels and subsequent customer actions.
Hint: Always try “ADMIN” or “50OFF” as promo codes
Market Research Surveys:
Isn’t it crazy how marketers try to interpret customer preferences through many layers of proxy behavior?
Well, they also can (and should) ask.
A well-proctored customer research survey is a useful way to…research your customers.
By gathering feedback directly from consumers, brands can gain insights into their perception, recall, and response to offline campaigns.
Surveys can be conducted via phone, mail, or in-person interviews, allowing brands to capture valuable data on customer attitudes, brand awareness, and purchase behavior linked to specific traditional marketing activities.
Sometimes, you’ll even have great ideas for new products from the session.
Event Registrations and Attendance:
For brands that have offline events, track event registrations.
Registrations and attendance can be an excellent indicator of traditional marketing performance.
You get additional info on the customers themselves in a trusted way as well as giving them a good time to fondly associate with your brand.
By monitoring the number of registrations and actual turnout, marketers can measure the impact of their pre-event promotions and gauge audience interest.
Comparing these metrics across naturally controlled test groups (such as geofenced campaigns) will create offline A/B testing and further your understanding of your customers.
Conclusion:
Don’t overlook the power of non-digital techniques because they’re not as sexy.
Portable People Meters, referral codes, market research surveys, and event registrations provide valuable insights.
More than just more numbers, they’re easily explainable numbers.
You won’t have to explain to your client how something is calculated with a full hour presentation.
Instead, you’ll have intuitive head nodding all around.
By utilizing these non-digital methods, brands can bridge the gap between offline campaigns and subsequent customer actions.
They’ll also get a comprehensive understanding of the impact of their traditional marketing channels as well as non-platform-dependent metrics3.
Embracing both digital and non-digital attribution techniques ensures a well-rounded marketing strategy that leverages the full potential of both online and offline marketing efforts.
Not totally, at least
Especially with the GA4 rollout on Google Analytics nightmare, getting an uncorrelated source of data is great to bridge the gap in discontinuities