Can a 1985 Marketing Playbook Fix Measurement Problems in 2024? [Video]

Marketers should stop using attribution models and return to a 1985–like measurement model if they want their brands to succeed in 2024 and beyond.

“Attribution is fully broken these days, but we’re still using it like we used to,” says Rand Fishkin, co-founder of SparkToro.

He recently shared that message during his visit to CMI Live for the episode Can We Really ‘Measure’ Marketing Anymore?

Read on (or watch the video) to learn what Rand had to say about how marketers got to this point and how you can pivot to more meaningful measurement in 2024.

Take a trip back in time

What does a 1985 model look like in 2024?

Before we get to that, let’s start in 1985.

A Coca-Cola marketer tells its ad agency it wants to run a new campaign in Ohio to drive same-store sales of New Coke. The agency outlines the deliverables but makes no promises on results — and Coca-Cola’s marketers and C-suite don’t …