Yahoo! to Help Advertisers Measure Offline Results

Yahoo has teamed with an offline marketing analytics firm to help its advertisers evaluate the offline sales impact of their online marketing efforts with the portal.

The service, offered in partnership with Aegis Group’s Wilton, Conn.-based Marketing Management Analytics (MMA), provides an assessment of the effectiveness of online programs on Yahoo, and compares them to programs on other media. The reports will include recommendations on both online and offline marketing spend.

“In many ways, online marketing can be more accountable than many offline marketing tactics, but there is still a real need to understand the total sales impact of online and offline programs on a common ROI basis so that optimal budget allocations can be made,” John Nardone, MMA’s chief client officer, said in a statement. “Clients are shifting more and more of their total spend online, and need to move beyond measurement of clicks and page views to understand what is really working to drive sales.”

The disconnect between online and offline marketing and measurement has become a growing concern for marketers. A 2004 study by JupiterResearch found that a third of all advertisers want their online ad spending to influence offline sales, but “most measure this impact inefficiently and inaccurately.”

Since 1989, MMA has offered services to measure the sales impact of advertising and other marketing mix components. Its Marketing Mix Analysis product analyzes multiple data sources to quantify the sales impact of media and simulate the effects of future marketing plans.

The tool builds on MMA’s marketing ROI assessment model to include data from Yahoo showing users’ exposure to online graphical and search advertising. Marketers can also provide MMA with data from other online campaigns and sites to get a broader view of their total marketing programs.

“Yahoo is committed to helping marketers make the best decisions about online and offline marketing campaigns and this service gives them the tools they need to see the whole marketing campaign picture and make the best decisions about budget allocations across all media,” said a Yahoo spokesperson.