Marketers rank digital’s effectiveness above offline channels

This is the second year in a row that the survey - which has over 1,200 respondents and is supported by Kantar - has found that marketers consider digital to be more effective at brand building than offline channels. The 2024 results also show that marketers believe digital ads deliver more emotional impact, as well as being funnier.

When it comes to measurement, 69.3% of marketers say it’s either “very easy” or “somewhat easy” to measure media effectiveness in digital channels, compared to under half (49.6%) who say the same about measuring media effectiveness in offline channels. You can find out more about the research and read the results in detail via Marketing Week.

The findings challenge the once established narrative that digital advertising is suited to performance-led activations, but less able to deliver longer-term brand building. As the IAB’s Chief Digital Cheerleader, Joy, posted on LinkedIn, the research provides “proof that it's definitely time to move on from the outdated view that digital is just about short-term metrics. You only have to look at the winners of The Joy of Digital Award for plenty of examples of how marketers are embracing the creative potential of digital advertising in show-stopping, fur-raising ways.” 

Find out more about how focusing on the right metrics can unlock digital brand building here.