Which method can you use to determine if an ad drove incremental results?

Analysis of Correct Answer(s)

• Geo-Based: This is the standard industry method for measuring the incremental impact of an ad campaign on offline outcomes like store sales or visits. It works by creating a controlled experiment:
  • Test Group: A set of geographic regions (e.g., cities, states) where the ad campaign is active.
  • Control Group: A set of statistically similar geographic regions where the campaign is not shown. By comparing the sales performance between the test and control groups, you can isolate the sales lift that was specifically caused by the advertising, removing the influence of other market factors.

Analysis of Incorrect Options

• User-Based: This method is highly effective for measuring online conversions, as you can split users into test (sees ad) and control (doesn't see ad) groups. However, it's very challenging to apply to offline sales because it is difficult to reliably connect an individual user's online ad exposure to their anonymous in-store purchase.

• Store-Based: This is a less precise form of a geo-experiment. Splitting by individual stores can lead to inaccurate results because a single customer might shop at both a "test" store and a "control" store, contaminating the data. Geo-Based testing uses larger, distinct areas to prevent this overlap.

• Product-based: This approach measures the lift for a specific advertised product compared to a non-advertised one. It does not measure the overall incremental effect of the ad campaign on total store sales or foot traffic.