Marketing measurement confidence stalls despite data growth

Marketing measurement confidence stalls despite data growth. That's the stark finding from research released October 21, 2025, by TransUnion and EMARKETER. The survey of 196 marketing professionals shows 54.1% reported no change in their measurement confidence compared to the previous year, while 14.3% said confidence actually declined.

The numbers paint a troubling picture. Most marketers—61.7%—maintain confidence in their performance metrics. But that confidence has stopped growing at a time when tools have improved and data has become more abundant.

"Marketers have access to more data than ever before, yet effective and trustworthy measurement is getting harder—not easier—to come by," said Brian Silver, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing Solutions at TransUnion, in the announcement.

Data fragmentation undermines trust

Siloed and incomplete data emerged as the primary culprit. The research found 49.5% of respondents cited fragmented data as the main reason they question measurement accuracy. Cross-channel deduplication issues affected 48% of marketers, while 40.8% pointed to walled-garden reporting limitations as barriers to accurate measurement.

Jeremy Rose, Head of Unified Marketing Measurement at Bayer, addressed the technical challenge: "The key to unified measurement is unified data, and that starts with breaking down the walls between systems that were never designed to work together. Interoperability is the ability for data to move between platforms and systems in a consistent, usable way, and it is no longer optional given the complexity of today's marketing ecosystem."

The measurement confidence problem extends beyond technical issues. Only 17.3% of marketers rate their organization's ability to measure performance consistently across online and offline channels as poor or very poor. Confidence levels vary dramatically by channel, with influencer marketing (44.4%), in-store activity (38.3%), and social platforms (35.2%) showing the lowest confidence scores.

Attribution challenges have intensified across platforms. Meta recently restricted attribution windows and data retention in its Ads Insights API, eliminating longer view-through measurement options that advertisers relied upon. Platform changes like these compound existing measurement difficulties.

Internal skepticism threatens budgets

Internal trust affects budget allocation. The research reveals 60.2% of marketers say internal stakeholders question their metrics at least sometimes. Another 20.4% aren't sure if non-marketing stakeholders trust their performance reports, while 12.2% report their performance reporting is trusted only a little or not at all.

Budget consequences follow measurement doubts. Some 28.6% of marketers reported that 11% to 20% of their marketing budget has been reallocated or put at risk in the past year due to uncertainty about measurement accuracy. An additional 27% reported no budget impact, while 19.4% saw 1-5% of budgets affected.

The data shows marketers whose internal stakeholders trust their performance reporting "a lot" are more likely than those with only partial or uncertain trust to report that none of their budget has been put at risk or reallocated due to doubts about measurement accuracy.

Economic pressure amplifies the problem. Nearly 30% of respondents face moderate to significant cuts to their measurement and analytics budget for the next fiscal year due to economic uncertainty. Measurement infrastructure requires investment at a time when budgets contract.

Proving ROI becomes top priority

When asked which measurement challenges are most pressing in today's economy, 67.4% of marketers identified proving incremental ROI to justify spend. This represents the highest priority, followed by aligning marketing metrics to business outcomes at 66.3% and improving cross-channel attribution accuracy at 55.1%.

"Marketers are always being asked to do more with less," said Silver. "And even though many marketing organizations are realizing the value of metrics beyond just return, incremental ROI is still one of the most important measures of a campaign's success, especially when budgets are shrinking."

The priorities reflect shifting expectations. Reducing time to insight ranked fourth at 36.2%, while expanding incrementality testing came in at 27.6%. Only 13.3% prioritized reducing reliance on third-party cookies, suggesting that issue has become less urgent as the industry adapted to privacy changes.

Agencies and brands face different challenges. Agencies are more likely than brands to cite cross-channel deduplication challenges as a major barrier to measurement accuracy. Brands, meanwhile, are more likely than agencies to cite lack of internal expertise as a measurement obstacle.

LinkedIn's company intelligence API launched September 23, 2025, represents one platform's response to attribution demands. The API enables B2B marketers to track entire organizations through attribution partners, with early beta customers showing a 287% increase in companies reached when combining organic and paid touchpoints.

AI adoption accelerates under budget pressure

Half of surveyed marketers have adopted or plan to adopt AI or machine learning to automate reporting processes. The adoption surge comes as teams seek cost-effective solutions to maintain measurement capabilities despite reduced budgets.

Some 40% of US marketers cite analyzing data or creating reports as a top AI use case in their workflows, according to May 2025 research from Search Engine Land, Fractl, and MFour. AI helps marketing teams operate with fewer resources by automating repetitive tasks and surfacing insights faster.

The data shows marketers whose internal stakeholders trust their performance reporting "mostly" or "a lot" are more likely than those who aren't sure to have adopted or plan to adopt AI and machine learning to automate reporting in the next 12 months.

Adoption timelines remain uncertain. While all surveyed C-level executives expect to implement AI-driven customer insights by 2028 according to April 2025 BearingPoint data, only 9% are currently using or planning to use AI for marketing performance analytics in 2025. That figure is expected to more than triple to 29% by 2028, revealing a gap between AI's perceived potential and actual deployment.

Tech stack dissatisfaction drives strategy shifts

Over a quarter of respondents (26.5%) are dissatisfied with their current measurement tech stack. This dissatisfaction prompts a shift toward more long-term, holistic measurement strategies.

Platform-provided attribution remains the most common methodology at 65.8%. But marketers are supplementing it with advanced approaches, including incrementality testing and experiments (52.0%) and marketing mix modeling (49.5%).

Investment plans reflect this shift. Nearly half (46.9%) of marketers plan to increase investment in MMM over the next 12 months. Another 34.7% plan to invest more in multitouch attribution—the two most reliable methodologies according to industry assessments.

"The days of monolithic measurement are over," Silver added. "The most effective measurement strategies are going to feature AI-enabled data collection and data management, which will serve as a foundation for bringing together core methodologies, like MMM, MTA, and incrementality testing."

Mixed media model limitations have sparked industry debate. Marketing executives argue that MMMs favor cheaper linear TV over streaming effectiveness, suggesting systematic measurement failures across the industry affect billion-dollar budget allocations.

The research shows 49% of marketers adjust their media strategy only once a quarter or less. Another 28.6% make monthly adjustments, while 11.7% update bi-weekly. Only 8.2% adjust weekly and 2.6% make daily changes. This infrequent optimization means many organizations miss opportunities to respond to shifting market dynamics in real time.

Unified measurement requires cultural change

Rose emphasized that technical solutions alone won't solve measurement challenges: "Innovation in marketing measurement starts with a strong data foundation. But the real transformation happens when organizations pair that foundation with cultural change. That means breaking down silos between marketing, analytics, IT, and finance so measurement isn't stuck in a corner but embedded into every stage of decision-making."

Measurement should act as a forward-looking decision system, guiding marketers where to invest, what to test, and how to grow. Building that kind of culture requires shared accountability, openness to experimentation, and a commitment across teams to treat insight as a core input to strategy.

The research recommends establishing recurring "measurement councils" or cross-departmental working groups that review metrics, share perspectives, and align KPIs to business priorities. This creates a single version of truth and reduces internal skepticism.

Transparency proves critical for building lasting trust. Marketers should be explicit about data sources, assumptions, and limitations when presenting results—both within the marketing team and to cross-functional stakeholders. Sharing not just what the numbers say but also how they were derived fosters credibility, even when results aren't favorable.

"One of the biggest mistakes is to have multiple different models saying contradictory things when it comes to performance," said Rose. "The most important thing we can do is to provide a single source of truth that brings together the best parts of our different measurement methodologies in one place. That makes it easy to align across teams, build trust, and more quickly and confidently react to changing marketing conditions and consumer behavior."

Platform-specific challenges continue to emerge. Meta's testing of GA4 integration for cross-platform tracking represents another attempt to bridge measurement gaps between competing platforms. The gradual rollout suggests platforms recognize the need for better cross-platform measurement despite competitive considerations.

The research conducted in July 2025 surveyed US marketing professionals to understand confidence in marketing measurement, identify key challenges, and gauge adoption of specific measurement methodologies. EMARKETER developed and fielded the survey in collaboration with TransUnion.

Timeline

• July 2025 – EMARKETER and TransUnion conduct survey of 196 marketing professionals on measurement confidence and challenges
• July 28, 2025 – LinkedIn enhances Revenue Attribution Report with company-level attribution capabilities
• September 23, 2025 – LinkedIn launches Company Intelligence API for B2B attribution tracking through certified partners
• October 1, 2025 – Amazon enhances branded search tracking across 28 markets in attribution platform
• October 21, 2025 – TransUnion and EMARKETER release "The True Cost of Trust in Marketing Measurement" research report
• October 23, 2025 – Meta tests GA4 integration for cross-platform tracking in ads
• October 24, 2025 – Meta restricts attribution windows and data retention in Ads Insights API

Summary

Who: TransUnion and EMARKETER surveyed 196 US marketing professionals including brands and agencies. Key voices include Brian Silver, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing Solutions at TransUnion, and Jeremy Rose, Head of Unified Marketing Measurement at Bayer.

What: Research reveals marketing measurement confidence has plateaued, with 54.1% of marketers reporting no change in confidence year-over-year and 14.3% saying it declined. Internal stakeholders question metrics in 60.2% of organizations, putting 11-20% of budgets at risk for 28.6% of marketers. Half of respondents have adopted or plan to adopt AI for automated reporting, while 46.9% plan to increase MMM investment.

When: The survey was conducted in July 2025, with results announced October 21, 2025. The research examined year-over-year confidence changes and projected investment plans for the next 12 months.

Where: The study focused on US marketers across industries, with findings applicable to organizations managing digital advertising, attribution, and performance measurement globally. Budget impacts and technology adoption patterns affect marketing teams operating across all major advertising platforms.

Why: Fragmented data (49.5%), cross-channel deduplication issues (48%), and walled-garden reporting limitations (40.8%) undermine measurement accuracy. Economic pressure intensifies demands to prove incremental ROI (67.4% priority), while dissatisfaction with current tech stacks (26.5%) drives adoption of long-term measurement strategies. The gap between available data and actionable insights continues to widen despite technological advances.