Measuring media channel performance: a proposed alternative to the ‘last-in wins’ methodology

Advertising effectiveness has traditionally been measured by recording the medium through which a response is precipitated. Though other channels may have contributed to the precipitation of a response, the media channel that precipitated the response is often considered the solitary contributor to that response—the so-called ‘last-in wins’ methodology. Although this methodology has been used to avoid double- or triple-counting responses, it ignores the contribution of those media channels that are not attributed with the response but which nevertheless provably assist in delivering the final, precipitated response. In addition, the ‘last-in wins’ methodology fails to incorporate media synergy, whereby the strategic linking of media channels can produce a greater overall benefit than the sum of its parts. The current study expands upon the findings of previous studies in this field, for example, Naik and Raman (J Mark Res 40:375–388, 2003) and Schultz et al. (J Direct Data Digital Mark Pract 8:13–29, 2012), by proposing an alternative method of measuring media channel performance; one which quantitatively incorporates media synergy. The proposed alternative method is applied in an online environment using case studies from the insurance and education sectors. It reveals significant differences compared to extant media measurement approaches, whilst considering the implications for media planning and synergistic response attribution.