Dive Brief:

• Most marketing executives say they would boost mobile, digital, and social spending if they could better measure ROI, according to a new survey from Millward Brown Digital.
• Marketers’ comfort with the effectiveness of their use of big data fell sharply, from 39% in 2014 to just 14% in the new survey. 
• In spite of these worries, digital ad spending is expected to grow at a double-digit pace to reach $149 billion worldwide this year. 

Dive Insight:

Senior marketing executives surveyed by Millward Brown Digital are increasingly frustrated with their ability to measure campaign effectiveness in social, mobile, and digital channels. About three-quarters of the respondents said they would spend more in each category if they had access to better metrics, with 79% looking for improvement in mobile measaurement and 78% in digital. Social media metrics are particularly in demand, with those looking for improved measurement jumping to 74% from 50% last year.

While often cheaper than the old media, online channels continue to be measured with inspecific metrics such as impressions and clicks, and marketers looking to justify spend want more definitive proof of sales and ROI. Unfortunately, only 14% said that they are confident with their company’s use of big data, down from 39% in 2014.