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Teams
Built for your whole team.
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Trusted by all verticals.
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Measure any type of ad spend
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Many Possibilities. One Platform.
AI and Automation
The Always-on Incrementality Platform
Performance marketing is like a constant race where the finish line keeps getting further. There's always better performance to reach, there's always efficiencies to gain. But one truth remains: results matter, and they’d better be worth the investment. Historically, ad platforms and advertisers have clung to last-touch attribution mechanics like a safety blanket—comfortable, familiar, and utterly inadequate for measuring real impact (or keeping you warm...). This legacy approach, once heralded for its simplicity, has proven to be more of a crutch than a cure, leaving billions of dollars wasted on redundant ad spend.
This article isn’t just a rant. It’s a call to action, because I believe that now is the right time to fix the way marketing measurement worked over the past two decades, and start measuring incrementality.
For decades, last-touch attribution reigned supreme. It’s a straightforward model: the last click or interaction before a purchase gets all the credit. While easy to understand, this method is riddled with flaws, primarily its inability to measure true incrementality.
Incrementality—the measure of additional outcomes directly attributed to an ad—is like knowing which ingredients in a recipe actually make it taste better, rather than just piling on more salt and hoping for the best. It’s crucial for understanding the actual impact of marketing efforts. Last-touch attribution often gives credit for actions that would have occurred regardless of the ad, leading to misallocated budgets and inflated performance metrics. In essence, advertisers have been optimizing for noise rather than meaningful signals.
Incremental value optimization represents a seismic shift in how advertisers and platforms evaluate performance. Unlike last-touch attribution, which is rooted in postbacks, this approach focuses on understanding the true contribution of each advertising effort.
Ad platforms like Meta are already beginning to embrace incrementality signals in their optimizations. As these signals become more robust, advertisers stand to benefit in several key ways:
Ad platforms aren’t just passive participants in this paradigm shift; they have a vested interest in embracing incremental optimization. Here’s why:
The only platforms that will lose out to the shift to incrementality are ad platforms who intentionally rely on attribution to game the system.
Ad platforms that fail to deliver genuine value are the only ones reluctant to embrace incremental optimization.
While the promise of incremental value optimization is undeniable, transitioning to this model is no cakewalk. It’s a bit like switching from a well-worn map to GPS: better results, but only if you’re prepared for the recalibration pains. A few hurdles include:
That said, the opportunities far outweigh the challenges. With major players like Meta already taking steps in this direction, it’s only a matter of time before others follow suit. Google and TikTok, for instance, are well-positioned to integrate incrementality signals into their optimization algorithms, further accelerating industry-wide adoption.
The future of advertising is not in postbacks or outdated attribution models; it lies in understanding true incrementality. As platforms and advertisers align on this vision, we can expect a new era of marketing efficiency and effectiveness.
Key innovations to watch for include:
Incremental value optimization is not just a buzzword; it’s a fundamental shift that promises to transform how advertisers and platforms approach performance measurement. By focusing on true contribution rather than outdated metrics, the industry can unlock unprecedented levels of efficiency and impact.
For advertisers, the message is clear: embrace incrementality or risk falling behind. For platforms, the stakes are equally high: those that fail to adapt will be left in the dust as competitors prove their worth through measurable incremental results. In a world where every dollar counts, optimization based on incremental value is not just the future—it’s the only way forward.
Maor is the CEO & Co-Founder at INCRMNTAL. With over 20 years of experience in the adtech and marketing technology space, Maor is well known as a thought leader in the areas of marketing measurement. Previously acting as Managing Director International at inneractive (acquired by Fyber), and as CEO at Applift (acquired by MGI/Verve Group)