Observed Signal · May 22, 2026 · Study Release · Source: https://martechseries.com/feed/ · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Negative
80% of Marketers Optimize Without Verified Purchase Data
A March 2026 survey of 210 senior brand and agency marketers, released by the Affinity Solutions Outcomes Marketing Council, finds 80% of respondents primarily optimize campaigns using signals other than verified purchase data. When those in-flight decisions are later reconciled with actual sales, about 35% of optimizations don’t hold up. The report highlights systemic issues—data latency, long data paths, limited transaction access, and privacy constraints—that drive reliance on proxy metrics and create media waste. Additional findings: two-thirds estimate at least 11% of media budgets are wasted due to optimization lag, 91% believe platform-reported results are overstated to some degree, and automation is common but only 20% of optimization is fully automated.
The study quantifies widespread measurement gaps and media waste tied to insufficient access to verified, real-time purchase signals—issues that materially affect campaign optimization, budget efficiency, and the adoption of deterministic optimization workflows across the advertising ecosystem.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Affinity Solutions Outcomes Marketing Council published a report based on a March 2026 survey of 210 senior brand and agency marketers.
- 80% of respondents primarily optimize campaigns in-flight using signals other than verified purchase data.
- Approximately 35% of in-flight optimization decisions fail to hold up when reconciled against actual sales outcomes.
- Two-thirds of marketers estimate at least 11% of media budgets are wasted due to optimization lag; over one-third estimate waste exceeds 26%.
- 91% of marketers say platform-reported results are overstated to some degree; over 75% of campaign optimization involves some automation but only 20% is fully automated.
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Over-Optimizing Campaigns Can Stunt Marketing Growth
The MarTech article argues that excessive optimization for metrics like ROAS and CPA can limit long-term growth by capping volume and reducing future scaling opportunities. Using examples (e.g., raising ROAS from 7x to 10x by narrowing audiences), it shows how efficiency-driven decisions can eliminate lower-performing channels that feed future pipeline and cross-sell potential. The piece recommends separating growth (acquisition) and efficiency (retention) targets, optimizing across channels rather than in silos, and measuring with broader context — overall CPA, efficiency floors, funnel-specific KPIs, and lifetime value. It advises using paid media to drive entry-product demand while CRM, email and retargeting handle cross-sell and retention, and cautions that optimizing a metric alone is not the same as optimizing for business goals.
Only 22% of Advertisers Consistently Use Analytics
Analytic Partners’ 2026 State of Commercial Decisioning Survey of 455 senior decision-makers at advertisers with ≥$1bn revenue (avg. marketing budget $100m) finds only 22% consistently use analytics to guide business decisions. This minority — dubbed 'Empowered Organizations' — produces an average of $40m in incremental annual sales (with some reporting >$120m) and achieves roughly 10% higher ROI versus peers. The report attributes their outperformance to enterprise-wide decisioning practices such as agile decision-making, scalable innovation, omnichannel precision and stakeholder alignment, and highlights econometric methods (Marketing Mix Modeling) and broader Commercial Analytics as primary decision frameworks. Nearly 40% of respondents identify MMM/Commercial Analytics as their primary source of truth for major allocation decisions. The article was published by The Drum on 2026-06-19.
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