A real-life case study of a CPG brand turning sales dips into long-term growth Photo Credit: RUN 4 FFWPU We’ve talked before about the importance of planning for the long term in your paid media campaigns. But how do we know it actually works? Here's a real-life example:  We had a CPG client (we'll call them Brand A) who experienced a rollercoaster journey that perfectly illustrates the importance of sustained brand presence and strategic media placement. Brand A had just come off a record-breaking sales season, riding high on success and feeling invincible. Flush with confidence, they made a fateful decision to go dark (meaning, turn off all paid media activations) for five months—a choice that would prove catastrophic. During this media blackout, the marketing landscape shifted dramatically. Consumer price sensitivity increased , and competition seized the opportunity to capture market share. The consequences were swift and brutal. When Brand A finally resurfaced, they discovered they had lost 26% of their annual revenue! It was a stark reminder of a fundamental truth in today's hyper-competitive market: Consumer habits change at lightning speed, and any loss of voice can rapidly erode hard-earned customer loyalty. Fortunately, the brand's media planning team at Exverus maintained a holistic view of the business and proactively built a plan to turn things around that went far beyond simple sales metrics. First, we conducted a comprehensive brand assessment and uncovered a nuanced narrative. While brand awareness and consideration remained high, last-touch conversion had plummeted. The root cause? Consumers struggled to differentiate Brand A from its competitors. Second, to fill the gap, we suggested building new paths-to-purchase   driving traffic from social and search (awareness, consideration) to various retailers (purchase). We modified the ad creative assets on Google and Meta by highlighting and linking directly to Brand A’s Amazon page, rather than just loading up on Amazon ads. Finally, we put together a deck with industry-wide data and press coverage showing Brand A that their competitors were going all in on brand, so they should, too. We reminded them that brand and performance aren't two separate goals -- they're becoming increasingly enmeshed as various media channels adopt more full-funnel capabilities . As the fiscal year drew to a close, Brand A was not just relieved -- they were excited! With Exverus' proactive guidance, revenue is back on the upswing this year, setting the brand up to reclaim their market position and build resilient, long-lasting growth for the future. You can find more of our successful client campaigns here . For more media buying news and tips, subscribe to our weekly Paid Media Insights  newsletter.

Reddit brand campaign contributed to supplement maker's +33% lift in web traffic & +634% lift in cross-network search. In Q4 of 2024, research-backed supplement brand Theralogix and its agency partner Exverus Media effectively reached and engaged millions of Americans seeking health information via Google searches and Meta, plus an exciting, new channel: Reddit! Reddit is an increasingly popular place for consumers and patients to seek answers about health conditions, wellness tips, specific brands and more for its relatable, peer-to-peer nature. The site’s high trustworthiness is particularly attractive for women seeking info about their health, which has historically been under-researched, underfunded, and misunderstood by the mainstream medical community. “We’re joining the conversation by establishing a presence in spaces where consumers already share info with their peers on social media", says Exverus Media Director Georgia Schreiner. From September to December 2024, the Exverus Media team (led by 2023 AdAge Media Planner of the Year Georgia Schreiner) ran a full-funnel media plan integrating Paid Search & Social to educate new consumers actively searching for answers and shopping for solutions Theralogix can help with. These include common nutritional needs like fertility and metabolism, uterine health, and reproductive health. “In 2023, the Theralogix media strategy was fully focused on conversion, so in 2024, we recommended a channel mix promoting brand discovery, health education, and product consideration all at once”, says Schreiner. “We’re joining the conversation by establishing a presence in spaces where consumers already share info with their peers on social media." As a result, Theralogix saw +33% increase in website traffic over the previous quarter and +634% increase in cross-network search! Most importantly, Q4 saw +32% growth in Shopify sales and +12% increase in Amazon sales vs baseline. That’s a quick lift! About Theralogix Theralogix raises the bar when it comes to premium, research-backed nutritional supplements. Every product is independently certified by NSF® International for content accuracy and freedom from contaminants. Theralogix has been a top physician-recommended brand for over two decades. For more information about Ovasitol and other products, visit theralogix.com. About Exverus Media Founded in 2014, Exverus is a Los Angeles media agency elevating growth-stage brands through full-funnel media planning, traditional and programmatic advertising, retail media & e-commerce, paid search, paid social, and analytics. Named for the Latin phrase "from the truth", Exverus is dedicated to transparency and long-term client trust. Learn more at  exverus.com . For more media buying tips, agency news, and case studies, subscribe to our weekly   Paid Media Insights  newsletter.

"The Chosen App: Download Your Calling" gathered fans, sold merch, and grew viewership by driving over 1 million app downloads in 3 months. OCTOBER 9, 2025 (LOS ANGELES, CA) -- Exverus by Brainlabs was awarded the 2025 MediaPost Online Media, Marketing & Advertising Award (OMMA) for Best Mobile Marketing Campaign for "The Chosen App: Download Your Calling" plan, which ran in 2024. See all the winners here. In preparing to launch Season 4, "The Chosen" media team, led by Exverus' highly decorated Media Director Anna Elema , planned an integrated paid media strategy aiming to drive 495K mobile app downloads at a cost per install of $4 or less to grow the viewing community and raise enough funds to continue production. Consumer behavioral data confirmed that our US-based target audience uses mobile for internet access more than any other device type, and their top two internet activities are watching videos and messaging, so a streaming/community app was the perfect way to engage them. To entice viewers, we teased behind-the-scenes footage, access to the stars, and app-exclusive trailers. Since the chief KPI was downloads, we focused our efforts on the places where people consider downloading new apps: the Apple and Google Stores, plus Meta, which our target demo over-indexed on for discovering brands and cultural phenomena. In fact, market research showed that in 2024, over half of millennials and Gen Z reported getting better recommendations for TV shows and movies from social media than from streaming services! The path-to-install was content-driven and effortless. We mixed up the creative visuals in real-time response to CPI fluctuations and infused extra spend around theatrical Hollywood premieres to capitalize on branded volume.  And it worked: In 3 months, we made The Chosen App #1 in the AppleTV Store and the #2 free app in the iOS store! We drove nearly 1 million downloads in the US, double our goal and triple the global app-install trend for the same period. Our cost per install averaged $1.91, or 52% lower than expected! Apple Search alone landed a $0.94 CPI, a stunning 76% below the platform benchmark.  Grab your chalice and popcorn and cheers! For more media buying tips, agency news, and case studies, subscribe to our weekly   Paid Media Insights  newsletter.

A scientific approach to measuring paid media's impact on actual business growth Key Facts: Attention-based optimizations deliver 20% higher unique reach  than viewability optimizations and are 31% more cost-efficient, according to The Attention Council. Traditional metrics like impressions and CPM suffer from key limitations  — they measure potential exposure rather than actual engagement and can be inflated by bot traffic. Brand lift studies provide more meaningful upper-funnel measurements  by tracking actual changes in brand awareness, consideration, purchase intent, and preference. Customer lifetime value (CLV) is often overlooked  but critical for understanding long-term profitability rather than focusing solely on short-term conversions and ROAS. It's 2025 -- we've all moved beyond the tired brand vs. performance debate, correct? And we understand the importance of brand as an indicator of sustained business growth . But the challenge remains: how do we effectively measure brand outcomes for upper-funnel paid media campaigns? The Challenge of Measuring Brand Common brand metrics include: awareness favorability perceived quality, and advocacy These metrics are inherently challenging to measure because they require either: Direct consumer feedback  through surveys, panels, or focus groups; or Indirect behavioral indicators  such as branded search volume or social listening tools There's no perfect solution! At Exverus, we prefer taking a scientific approach through brand lift studies. Understanding Brand Lift Studies A brand lift study measures an advertising campaign's impact on brand awareness and favorability. Brand lift studies use a test-and-control methodology , comparing a test group (people exposed to the ads) against a control group (people not exposed to the ads but otherwise similar). This approach offers significant advantages: It controls for external factors that might impact brand perception, such as negative press or viral content Unlike brand search trends or social listening, it specifically accounts for media exposure, allowing us to isolate the impact of marketing campaigns Brand Lift Studies: FAQs for CMOs How much does a brand lift study cost? Brand lift studies vary in cost: they may be added-value on some ad platforms and with some media partners with minimum media spend, or from about $30K for simple digital only studies to over $150K for complex multi-channel studies. Google Ads ,   Amazon Ads , and   Meta  offer free brand lift studies to advertisers who spend above a certain threshold and achieve a certain impression threshold to ensure enough data for a statistically significant result. The main disadvantage of these studies is the inability to account for exposure to ads from your campaign that are running on other channels that can potentially contaminate results. Research partners like Nielsen, DISQO, or Kantar can measure incremental brand lift across many media channels holistically ( CTV ,   digital audio ,   out-of-home ,   radio , you name it!) This can give your team a more complete idea of how exposures to your ad connect with real-life consumer sentiment. It’s usually less costly to run studies for online channels where ads can be tagged and more expensive to measure offline channels such as TV or out-of-home. Long campaign flights, interim reports, online dashboards, and larger samples needed to break out results in more detail are all factors that can add to the cost of a study. What's the minimum budget needed to run a brand lift study? Again, it depends upon the platform and the question(s) you're trying to answer. Below are the requirements for added values studies on a couple of popular ad platforms: LinkedIn Ads provides free Brand Lift Testing for campaigns spending at least: $60K to answer one brand metric $90K to answer two brand metrics Meanwhile, YouTube brand lift studies need only: $3,500 in the first seven days of the campaign for one metric $5,000 in the first seven days of the campaign for two metrics How large does my brand lift study sample size need to be for reliable results? This question is complicated because the answer can vary so widely and depend upon many considerations. We've seen sample sizes as low as 30, whereas Google recommends 2,000-5,000 responses per question in both the control and test groups for each lift metric. If you need multiple breakouts, such as by audiences or creatives, you'll need a large overall sample size to have enough data for each. Source: Google DV360 Help How do I know who saw my ad? Tracking ad exposure typically involves placing pixels on creative assets to digitally monitor viewership. However, this approach isn't feasible across all channels: Many social media platforms restrict this tracking capability Traditional channels like TV, radio, and out-of-home don't support digital tracking The common alternative is an opportunity to see (OTS) methodology , where survey respondents' reported media consumption is matched against media placement timing. In our experience, OTS works well for certain channels like TV or radio but yields inconsistent results for others like social media. The methodology assumes test and control groups are identical except for ad exposure. We attempt to ensure this through sample matching  based on demographics, geography, or online behaviors—but no two samples are 100% alike! The goal is similarity, not perfection. And beware of cross-channel contamination : Modern consumers fluidly move between mobile, video, and TV multiple times daily, making channel-level impact testing challenging. When we're trying to compare ad-exposed versus non-exposed individuals, channel-level  brand impact testing can be contaminated with other ad exposures. How do I connect brand lift metrics to business outcomes? A few ways: Mid-funnel metrics like web traffic, customer acquisition rates, and customer acquisition cost (CAC). The more you invest in your brand, the lower your CAC should be. Marketing mix modeling (or media mix modeling) aggregates many sources of data to provide a comprehensive, full-funnel understanding of how different marketing channels contribute to overall business growth. AI-powered predictive analytics tools model different scenarios to help us choose the right course. Loyalty indicators like customer retention, online reviews, referrals, and consistent price premium. Your brand is strong if consumers think of you long after they've made a first purchase. The Importance of Data Integration Scientific measurement can be complex and messy sometimes . That's why we recommend integrating multiple data sources to corroborate brand lift results. For example, if your study shows no significant lift from advertising, but your searches and sales show substantial increases, you have good reason to believe your campaign was effective despite the study results. The Exverus Approach When making complex decisions about advertising strategy or evaluating campaign performance, we believe in considering multiple information sources and leveraging expert analysis. Our director of data analytics, Charles Lai, leads a team of seasoned statistics experts who can glean the strongest possible insights for your brand. Learn more about brand lift measurement from Charles below: For more media buying tips, agency news, and case studies, subscribe to our weekly   Paid Media Insights  newsletter.

If you've been measuring marketing and advertising campaigns by the same benchmarks for several years, update them now to get an accurate picture of performance. Historical data, EMARKETER, Nielsen, and platform-specific data are all good sources of up-to-date benchmarks. When was the last time your team evaluated your marketing benchmarks?   Be honest; this is a safe space.   If those analytics docs have been collecting cobwebs, or if they still have Google+ goals, it's time for an update.   So, where should you start? Set SMART goals for all your media campaigns Establish KPIs for each touchpoint in the journey Top of funnel KPIs Mid-funnel metrics Lower-funnel conversions Gather marketing benchmarks for comparison Analyze and report Translate for the C-suite Set SMART goals for all your media campaigns Yep, that trusty old mnemonic still holds water when it comes to planning your paid media campaigns for the upcoming quarter: Specific - Exactly what is your business objective? What specific marketing objectives will ladder up to it? What actionable items will you take to fulfill those objectives, and why? Measurable - If it gets measured, it gets managed. Determine the appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs) for each tactic used in your campaign and gather industry benchmarks so you know if your strategies are effective or not. Achievable - Are you sure your goals are realistic? It's good to aim high, but if you set unrealistic goals, you're setting yourself up for unnecessarily negative results. Look at historical data and competitor analyses to see what's reasonable to expect. Relevant - Are you sure your campaign ideas will effectively serve your short-term and long-term business goals? Are your metrics measuring the right variable? Time-Bound - Set clear parameters around the timing of your campaigns and check in midway. Be sure you're measuring short-term KPIs earlier and long-term KPIs later. Establish KPIs for each touchpoint in the journey Top of funnel KPIs Traditional upper funnel metrics like impressions and cost-per-mille (CPM) have served as foundational measurements in digital advertising, but they suffer from several key limitations: They measure potential exposure rather than actual engagement They don't account for viewability or attention quality They provide no insight into brand perception changes They can be artificially inflated by bot traffic and fraudulent activity Brand lift studies have emerged as a more meaningful measure of upper-funnel impact by measuring actual changes in: Brand awareness Brand consideration Purchase intent Brand preference Message association These measurements provide concrete evidence of how advertising affects consumer perceptions and behavior, rather than just counting potential exposures. Attention-based measurements also offer deeper insight into actual engagement: Active attention time Viewability duration Scroll velocity Audio engagement Interactive events A/B tests by The Attention Council showed that attention optimizations led to 20% higher unique reach than viewability optimizations, and they were 31% more cost-efficient. Source: The Attention Council 2021 Mid-funnel media measurements These metrics indicate how deeply prospects are engaging with your brand's ads and messaging, suggesting progression from passive awareness to active consideration. Common mid-funnel marketing KPIs include: Content engagement metrics like average time on page, pages per session, video completion rates (VCR), social media shares and saves, etc. Lead quality indicators for B2B marketing like marketing qualified leads (MQLs), email engagement rates, newsletter subscription retention, lead magnet download rates, etc. Interactive engagement like AI chatbot or price calculator usage, sample or demo requests, wishlist or cart additions, etc. Lower-funnel conversion metrics These are the fun ones! Lower-funnel metrics look at actual conversions or strong indications of purchase intent. They can also measure a marketing campaign's impact on overall brand revenue and long-term value. There are direct revenue metrics like conversion rate, customer acquisition cost (CAC), and return on ad spend (ROAS, which we use quite a bit). But let's drill down on an imperative and often overlooked variable: customer lifetime value (CLV). Customer lifetime value (CLV) is the total revenue a business can expect from a customer throughout their entire relationship, minus the costs of acquiring and serving them. It helps companies understand which customers are most valuable over time, rather than just looking at individual purchase amounts. Think of it as calculating the long-term profitability of a customer relationship instead of focusing on one-time transactions. CLV is important to media planning because, as our Managing Director Talia Arnold explains often , "When it comes to advertising, focusing too closely on short-term gains is like day trading — the quick returns might grab headlines, but they usually lack staying power. Sustainable business growth requires pairing performance with building brand equity, brick by brick, just like you’d invest in a retirement account." By choosing the right KPIs for each channel in your media campaign, you can evaluate whether your paid media investments are paying off and how to optimize them going forward. Gather marketing benchmarks for comparison To establish your campaign benchmarks, look at trusted third-party sources. You can glean insights from industry reports, case studies, and other data-driven content.   Good metrics and benchmarks should derive from: Historical Data Analyze past performance trends to set a baseline for future expectations. Industry-wide Data Understand where you stand compared to competitors and identify potential areas for improvement. For 2025, Sprout Social released this set of social media guidelines by industry. Look for similar guides for other channels from EMARKETER , Nielsen , Numerator , Statista , etc. Platform-specific benchmarks Meta, Google, LinkedIn, and other media channels usually offer their own sets of platform-specific benchmarks so you know what kind of performance is typical in those environments. Partner/Vendor Guidelines Remember that there may be a conflict of interest, however, as they often aim to portray high performance. Analyze and Report The marketing benchmark analysis cycle begins with regular performance reviews where teams assess current metrics against industry standards using executive dashboards and team scorecards. During these reviews, conduct gap analysis to identify variances from benchmarks, which should be documented in structured variance reports. Use trend identification to spot patterns over time, displaying these in trend analysis reports that help contextualize current performance. This analysis feeds into opportunity sizing and risk assessment , which should be reflected in competitive comparison reports to help stakeholders understand market position. Finally, translate insights into resource allocation and action planning, supported by ROI assessments and budget impact reports. This creates a continuous feedback loop where reporting directly informs the next round of analysis and decision-making. At Exverus, we hold quarterly health checks with all our clients and provide them with quarterly business reports (QBRs) so they know exactly how their ad spend is performing. We're agile and nimble enough to quickly pivot or reallocate budget as needed mid-campaign. Translate for the C-suite Let’s be honest: Media still gets misread by the C-suite. To many executives, media is just a line item, a cost center.   But great media is a strategic growth lever.  It builds demand , influences perception , drives conversion , and shapes long-term  brand value.   The problem isn’t ignorance — it’s translation .   Most media strategies are presented in terms marketers understand: impressions, reach, CPMs. But CFOs and CEOs speak a different language — one of margin, revenue, market share, and risk.   Smart marketers know this and adapt. They frame media in business terms, not marketing metrics.   They tie campaigns to top-line goals . And they get more buy-in, bigger budgets, and better results because of it.   Actionable Insight:  For your next executive presentation, rewrite one slide to frame media performance in C-suite terms. If you've been neglecting to update your marketing benchmarks this year, go schedule that meeting! Your business depends upon it. This piece originally appeared in our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter. For more tips, research, and analysis; subscribe for free here .

With Amazon Prime Day right around the corner, businesses (and shoppers) are busy prepping for the retail giant's crazy deals. Here's how brands can make the most of it. Key Facts: 46% of Gen Zers and 55% of millennials  plan to start holiday shopping in October or earlier, making Prime Big Deals Day crucial for early holiday sales. Prime Day marketing can increase sales by up to 300%  when executed properly with the right strategies and preparation. Some retailers start stocking inventory for Prime Day as early as March , leveraging Amazon Fulfillment Centers and third-party logistics for peak demand. Most consumers operate in a "click-and-mortar" style  in 2024, requiring brands to meet customers at each point along their nonlinear journey. Amazon Prime Day (and its fall companion, Prime Big Deals Day) have become national holidays for consumers, retailers, and brands, and it runs right into the holiday shopping season. EMARKETER reports 46% of Gen Zers and 55% of millennials planned to start making holiday purchases in October or earlier, which could reflect financial strain that is leading them to spread out buys and grab early discounts to avoid bigger bills later in the season. But, while Prime Day is a great time for businesses to grab the spotlight and drive sales, there are some potential pitfalls to avoid. To ensure your business shines bright on Prime Day, here are four things your brand should look out for when planning your offers: 1. Have a backup plan In an ideal world, everything will run smoothly on Prime Day. All of your promos, ads, codes, and tracking analytics will go off without a hitch. But even Amazon's technology isn't impervious to glitches along the way. That's why it's crucial to have a backup plan in place and, if needed, quickly switch to it to prevent any losses. To get ahead of issues, have your team "walk the store" throughout Prime Day to spot any weak links. For example, back in 2022, a Black Friday technical outage resulted in inaccurate sales and advertising spending data. This resulted in some businesses overspending in certain areas and underperforming in others. Consider creating bulk sheets, so your team can quickly adjust promotions and pricing if needed or have a separate budget set aside for unexpected needs. 2. Stock enough inventory Nothing is more disappointing (or damaging to Prime Day sales) than seeing a desired product only to find out it's not in stock. Ensure your inventory and supply chain can keep up with the influx of orders with Prime Day. The earlier, the better, too. If possible, start stocking up on inventory for Prime Day well in advance. Some retailers start increasing their stock for flagship items in March, leveraging Amazon Fulfillment Centers and other third-party logistics services. With the sheer number of shoppers expected on the day, you don't want to miss out on potential sales. 3. Timing promotions strategically For any ad campaign, timing is everything. And this is especially true for frantic shopping days like Prime Day. We've heard many stories about incredible deals and campaigns falling flat due to poor time schedule planning, wasting precious dollars. To ensure your promotions and campaigns reach the right audience at the right time (without breaking the bank), carefully plan your campaigns with automated rules and ads targeting shoppers likely to be interested in your products. 4. Offer insanely good Amazon Prime Day deals This one sounds obvious, but it's worth repeating: Prime Day deals should be amazing . Make sure your Prime Day offers are attractive enough to draw in those bargain-savvy shoppers who know how to get the most bang for their buck. No matter what you come up with, just make sure it's really worth it for customers -- otherwise, there's no point in even trying. Audit your retail-search strategy This is different from your standard Google search marketing strategy. Be sure to: Prioritize home page placements  The home page of a retailer’s site or app is a coveted placement for advertising because it’s the most visible with the widest reach, and it’s the most memorable thanks to the primacy effect. Here’s a good visualization of the purpose each page level of an e-commerce site serves:  Segment your audience If your feminine product ads are being served to biologically male customers, those wasted impressions are wasted ad dollars. Every product isn’t right for every consumer! To optimize your retail media budget, you’ll need to get precise with your targeting and segment your audiences. Fortunately, the first-party data provided by retail media networks solve this problem very well, if you’re putting in the right audience parameters. Check out this excellent list of audience segments put together by the IAB:  Dominate your niche Our own Senior Search Specialist, Michael Robbins, advises: “Find the long-tail search terms that resonate with your consumers best, and aim to own those key terms. Be specific; do not take your hands off the wheel, going broad-match and letting the ‘algorithm’ do the work.” Take this example from our back-to-school marketing  guide: Adding contextual keywords  to your search mix can boost visibility and drive sales. For instance, a granola bar company could add long-tail keywords like “granola bars for school lunches”, or “healthy after-school snacks” to their current bidding strategy.  Consider the whole customer journey Despite the popularity of e-commerce and online shopping, most consumers in 2024 are operating in a “ click-and-mortar ” style: either buying online and picking up in store, buying online and returning in store, or discovering brands in-store and following on social media. To beat the competition, you’ll need to meet your target customer at each point along their nonlinear journey.  Don't forget to influence them BEFORE they start shopping - using tactics like TV, video, audio and OOH to improve brand perception and credibility. Amazon Prime Day Deals marketing can be a stressful time, but you have the potential to increase your sales by 300% -- that's worth the extra effort! To learn more about how we made Premier Protein shakes a top-selling item on Prime Big Deals Day 3 years in a row, head over here . This article originally appeared in our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter. For the most up-to-date news and tips to improve your media strategy, subscribe for free here .

Efficiency isn’t bad — but efficiency without effectiveness is just cheap media. What are your key marketing metrics? Or, in other words, how do you measure the success of a campaign? With data coming in from so many different channels and sources simultaneously, understanding the true impact of your media campaigns can be tricky. The goal of most ad campaigns is to drive sales, so the number of clicks or video views is inadequate if they don't lead to actual conversions. Why traditional marketing metrics fall short Traditional metrics like clicks, impressions, and view completion rates are now little more than distractions. ROAS and last-click metrics can be misleading because they capture a narrow slice of the journey, often overstating the role of addressable channels and understating long-term brand impact. This doesn't mean that traditional marketing metrics are wholly meaningless. Clicks, impressions, and views are still indicators of reach and engagement -- which do play a role in building brand awareness and nurturing customer relationships.   However, they should be complemented by advanced measurement strategies that provide a more in-depth understanding of your campaign's true impact on sales and overall business success.   The hidden cost of efficiency in your media plan Efficiency feels good. It sounds responsible. But in media planning, it’s often a trap. When marketers prioritize efficiency — CPMs, CPCs, lowest-cost reach  — they often end up cutting quality. Cheaper impressions, lower-impact placements, and less relevance. Which means wasted budget! Here’s the distinction:   Effectiveness  is about achieving results in terms of sales, conversions, awareness, or other KPIs across the full customer journey. Efficiency  normalizes effectiveness against cost, i.e., what business impact are we getting per dollar spent? Both matter. But efficiency is overused because those metrics are the easiest to access. As a result, brands optimize for what’s easy to measure instead of what actually grows the business. Analytic Partners  has shown that prioritizing these siloed metrics can cost brands $0.35 of opportunity for every $1 spent! Efficiency isn’t bad — but efficiency without effectiveness is just cheap media. Better marketing metrics: Balance Instead, implement advanced measurement techniques that go beyond the surface-level metrics and dive deeper into understanding the true impact of your campaigns. Align digital channels to investigate sales drivers Understand where your sales are coming from. Integration and collaboration across channels can offer richer customer insights and help identify key sales drivers.  Eliminating data silos and maximizing visibility into the customer journey is crucial to understanding how your omnichannel marketing campaigns are performing. This is why working with a top media agency who already has these departments built in and collaborating is key to attacking your advertising goals in a holistic fashion. Track brand perception and lift It's not just about ensuring people see your ads, but ensuring they leave a positive impression. Tracking brand lift can help you understand whether your ads are enhancing the audience's perception of your brand. This may require third-party data to measure accurately, but it can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your campaigns. Adopt multitouch attribution Don't solely credit the first or last impression. Instead, trace all touchpoints and assign credit accordingly. This way, you gain a more comprehensive understanding of your customer journey. Admittedly, in a cookie-less world, this is a bit more complicated, but with the right tools and technology, it's possible. Click to learn the key differences between marketing mix modeling and multi-touch attribution. Get into action Use incrementality testing, embrace omnichannel measurement, and align analytics to true business goals. In your next quarterly review, replace a ROAS metric with an incrementality or brand lift metric . Advanced measurement strategies may not guarantee a successful campaign, but they provide a more nuanced understanding of ad performance. And, by defining desired outcomes and a measurement plan before a campaign launches, brands can ensure that the reporting they get back is truly relevant to the business expectations. This piece originally appeared in our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter. For more tips, research, and analysis; subscribe for free here .

Marketers already know the importance of brand equity. We'll help you explain it to the CFO. Escape the short-term trap and build long-term value without sacrificing performance. Key Facts: Brand health is often overlooked because it's harder to measure than ROAS. Brand equity drives pricing power, loyalty, and long-term market share. Good media strategies include multiple brand and performance metrics. Tools like Kantar, DISQO, Nielsen, and Keen can help measure brand growth. Can we agree to stop treating  brand equity  and  ROAS  like they’re opposing forces?    They’re not!    In fact, the healthiest media plans do both: deliver short-term performance  and   long-term brand growth .   The problem is measurement -- ROAS is easy to measure; brand equity is harder. So, most marketers skew  short-term  because it’s most defensible.    But  brand equity drives pricing power, loyalty, and long-term market share  — the stuff CFOs actually care about (even if they don't ask for it by name).   Modern media strategies should bridge the gap. That means building plans that include  brand KPIs  from the start like: brand lift studies unaided awareness tracking share of voice, and even creative quality scores   Because here’s the cold truth: Brands that  under-invest  in equity get stuck in a performance trap. They pay more for each sale, fight harder to stay relevant, and plateau faster.   Let’s raise the bar: Your media plan should be your brand’s most consistent builder of equity and revenue.   Actionable Insight:  Add brand lift measurement (via platforms like Kantar, DISQO, Nielsen or others) to your next campaign and use it to calibrate future budget allocation. And if you need hard data proving this to your CFO, w e've got you: Download a free copy of our "Brand equity multiplies performance" report below! What you'll learn (FAQs): What is brand equity, and why does it matter as a media KPI? Why does brand equity get overlooked in media plans? How can I measure brand equity's impact on sales? How do I integrate brand equity into my paid media strategies?

The 4-Step SAP framework developed by Exverus transforms reactive marketing to proactive advantages Exverus by Brainlabs developed this 4-step framework for situation adaptive planning (SAP) in marketing and media strategy What is SAP (situation adaptive planning)?  The constantly shapeshifting nature of the media planning business demands that we have proactive, strategic contingency plans on hand for unpredictable situations that may arise. Even with well thought-out, insight-driven media plans in place, things change from month to month – platforms rise or disappear, trends swerve, and consumer behavior reacts to economic fluctuations. Agility is crucial! So, the media planners at Exverus have developed a framework for SAP, or situation adaptive planning . 4-step framework of situation adaptive planning: 1. Media playbook : Initial direction on how we adjust or pivot media strategies and tactics for unexpected challenges or opportunities. Informed by:  Past media learnings Industry best practices Keen media mix modeling (MMM) tools 2. Collaborative monitoring   sales declines emerging media competitive spend spikes or strategy shifts key retailer distribution changes, etc. 3. A tailored approach When a situation is identified, we tailor the media playbook guidelines to align with a specific goal, key performance indicator (KPI) , and parameters.  4. Optimization & Learnings. Implement real-time media spend optimizations (usually re-allocating budgets between channels) and gather learnings or implications to inform future situations. Take a look at the example of an adaptive flowchart below: Proactively adopting this adaptive media planning flowchart can inoculate marketing teams against unexpected threats. The key characteristics of SAP are proactive and collaborative .  Proactive media planning What's the difference between marketing optimization and situation adaptive planning? Proactivity. We’re thinking ahead to anticipate potential detours from the original plan before they happen and building if/then scenarios for easy course-correction later. It’s not necessary to imagine every possible thing that could change along the way – the idea is to be flexible enough to handle the unexpected.  A nimble team really comes in handy here. When folks from multiple aspects of a media plan (or any project) can work together easily and fluidly, they can re-steer the ship much more easily than if they were walled off in bureaucratic siloes.  Collaborative scenario prep "The biggest challenge in SAP is effective collaboration between all involved parties: intel from the brand client, planning from the media perspective, and cooperation from creative agencies, PR departments, or other external teams." - Melissa Andraos , Exverus SVP of Strategy Proper SAP requires that brand the provide the media team with adequate intel, like: Sales patterns & projections Supply chain issues, actual or potential Distribution changes Known fluctuations around seasonality Scenario preparation gets easier over time, as historical data is collected and patterns are analyzed, making SAP more timely and effective. Examples of adaptive marketing plans Nike exemplified situation adaptive planning by pivoting to digital sales during the COVID pandemic. Nike pivots around pandemic Nike responded to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic by leveraging its digital resources to connect athletes with customers, strengthening its digital ecosystem and boosting online sales. Additionally, Nike launched active maternity wear in 2020 to cater to a unique clientele, showing how they identified and responded to emerging market opportunities during the pandemic period. As a result, Nike's digital sales grew 75% during Q4 of 2020 , with the company utilizing mobile apps such as the NTC app, Run Club app, and its retail app. For the fiscal year 2020, Nike’s digital sales increased by 47% to $5.5 billion from $3.8 billion in fiscal year 2019. ( Source: ICRM India ) This demonstrates excellent situation adaptive planning because Nike: Recognized the situational change  - The pandemic created a shift from physical retail to digital channels Rapidly adapted their marketing approach  - They pivoted from traditional retail partnerships to direct-to-consumer digital strategies Leveraged existing digital assets  - They maximized their existing app ecosystem rather than creating entirely new solutions Measured and responded to results  - The 75% growth in digital sales validated their adaptive approach.  Kargo curbs creative fatigue Our friends at KARGO used situation adaptive planning to avert a mid-campaign crisis. "In one campaign, we noticed performance decline from creative fatigue and recommended a refresh--pivoting from the original plan to run an A/B test," says Kargo account executive Kyle Miranda. "While the adjustment required additional operational effort due to complex targeting breakouts, the creative update ultimately boosted performance. By adapting our strategy to the situation, we achieved a stronger overall outcome." At Exverus, we believe the best defense is a good offense. We developed SAP because we got tired of watching great brands scramble when platforms shifted or consumer behavior changed overnight. Nike's 75% digital sales growth during COVID wasn't luck—it was smart, adaptive planning in action. SAP gives you that offense by turning industry chaos into your competitive edge. The brands that thrive tomorrow are the ones planning ahead today. For more media buying tips, agency news, and case studies, subscribe to our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter.

All photos courtesy of Exverus Media AUGUST 8, 2025 (LOS ANGELES, CA) -- Exverus by Brainlabs has hired Josh Edelman to the newly created role of VP of Analytics to help develop more proprietary measurement offerings for growth-stage brands. These kinds of bespoke, whole-picture data capabilities are becoming more in-demand from clients but were previously reserved for larger holding companies. Previously in a similar role at Giant Spoon, Edelman brings deep expertise in building custom analytics models for media agencies and working with Keen Decision Systems and other marketing mix modeling (MMM) tools.  "While many agencies emphasize analytics in their messaging, Exverus actually delivers on transparent, actionable data and measurement at every stage of the client journey", says Edelman. "I'm grateful to join this outstanding leadership team." Thanks to MediaPost , CampaignUS , and Digiday for featuring Josh's new-hire announcement! Exverus also hired Maria Camila Grillo Quevedo as a Programmatic Advertising planner/buyer to work remotely from Bogota, Colombia. Camila will join our award-winning, in-house programmatic trade desk led by Sean Edwards and Lexi Semanskee on all clients. Finally, we've brought on Clara Barsoom as a Paid Search & Social Manager to support the performance team for our largest client, Premier Protein and Dymatize. As consumer behaviors evolve and media channels blend together into increasingly immediate paths to purchase, Clara's multi-pronged expertise will help the brands sustain growth long-term. Please direct all press queries to michelle.andrade@exverus.com . For the most up-to-date news and tips to improve your media strategy, subscribe to Paid Media Insights here .

Learn how any kind of business can grow amid the digital grocery craze Note: A similar version of this article is featured on RetailTouchpoints.com . If you’re a food, beverage, or CPG brand, you already know how important it is to reach consumers buying groceries digitally.  But are you fully capitalizing on the expansive opportunities this space offers? A powerful sales converter Grocery e-commerce isn't just growing—it's transforming the entire digital media playing field. In fact, EMARKETER projects that digital grocery sales will account for 19% of all US e-commerce sales in 2026, surpassing apparel and accessories as the largest e-commerce category. But the opportunities here go way  beyond last-click and CPG. Dream bigger! Brands of all types are partnering with grocery retailers to serve their full-funnel marketing objectives; it just takes a bit of creativity (and the right media agency!) A brand marketer's complete guide to retail media buying for sustained business growth Beyond the sale, building long-term relationships Grocery consumers are loyal and consistent , often buying from the same retailer twice per week, so if you invest in building your brand’s equity, you can keep them coming back for years to come.  McKinsey research confirms this trend, finding that 75% of consumers have maintained the same primary grocery retailer throughout the past decade. This loyalty represents an untapped reservoir of lifetime value for brands that can establish themselves in consumers' regular shopping routines. Understanding the grocery ecosystem Food and beverage sales are just one-half of the grocery market.  In 2024, they will account for 51.9% of digital grocery sales, with remaining sales coming from non-food items (pet food, household cleaning products, personal care products, and other household consumables) . This diversification means brands across multiple categories can benefit from grocery e-commerce strategies. The National Retail Federation reports that consumers who purchase groceries online spend an average of 44% more annually than in-store-only shoppers, highlighting the value of these digital customers. And grocery chains offer a growing array of digital advertising and out-of-home opportunities, from in-store audio to in-app ads that can be targeted directly to consumers who frequently buy a competing brand. Learn how we made Premier Nutrition a winner for Best Retail Media Campaign. Here are a few research-backed media campaign ideas to get you started: Grocery e-commerce marketing ideas for brands Plan for click-and-collect  shopping 31% of online shoppers surveyed by the Food Industry Association (FMI) in 2024 preferred to order groceries for curbside pickup, up 4% from 2023, overtaking same-day home delivery. Run brand collabs, sales, or promotions that can be redeemed online on or in-store.  Exverus Media's multichannel sweepstakes for Stella & Chewy's drove in-store traffic and collected zero-party data via mobile. Partner directly with retailers , not just third-party delivery apps While Instacart, UberEats, and other 3P services spiked in popularity during the pandemic, consumers now predominantly place digital orders through the retailers themselves, and that trend is expected to continue through 2026. Catch consumers during pre-shopping Pre-shopping includes creating lists, browsing circulars, visiting retailer websites and mobile apps and utilizing social media and other online resources. This planning phase represents a critical window for influencing purchase decisions before consumers even begin adding items to their carts. Notably, Boomers are the most active pre-shoppers, with nearly 60% engaging in pre-shopping. Our Prime Day media plan won Best Path to Purchase for successfully bridging social media with e-commerce. Non-endemic advertising is a major growth opportunity Retailers are seeking ad revenue from brands they don’t carry in stores. If a shopper buys diapers, for instance, there’s a good chance they’ll also be in the market for baby products that a grocery chain doesn’t carry, like baby clothes. Albertson’s has partnered with Rokt to offer shoppers deals on Hulu, Uber, Ticketmaster, and more. Take advantage of Walmart Connect ’s robust offerings Walmart’s retail media network has built an impressive offering for brands beyond retail-search. It now includes the offsite Walmart DSP in partnership with The Trade Desk, integrations with Social platforms and CTV inventory, Display ads  in the shopping app, and data clean rooms for deeper reporting insights.  Fun fact: Exverus is now a Walmart Connect Premium Partner! This gives us exclusive access to more growth opportunities for our clients. Let’s learn more about how your  audience likes to shop so you’ll be top of their list.

Habit Burger & Grill takes direct aim at competitors in Los Angeles with OOH media bought by Exverus August 13, 2025 (LOS ANGELES, CA) -- Exverus by Brainlabs has been named media agency of record for Habit Burger & Grill , a popular “better burger” chain headquartered here in Southern California and looking to expand nationwide. The brand previously worked with Connect, a Publicis Groupe media agency affiliated with Spark Foundry.  “We were looking for something quite bespoke,” Jack Hinchcliffe, chief marketing officer of The Habit, told ADWEEK . "One of the things that was important for us was appointing a West Coast agency. Outside California, it really is an awareness challenge. Within California…it’s really about staying top of mind and continuing to drive that unprompted brand awareness." Media Director Georgia Schreiner (2023 AdAge Media Planner of the Year) will oversee media planning, buying, and strategy for Habit Burger & Grill; she also oversees the Theralogix supplements account. “It’s so easy for consumers to just see another burger chain out there and not really understand what the brand stands for,” Schreiner told ADWEEK. “How do we make consumers understand that as well? And how do we do that through things that we know consumers love and make them feel connected to a brand?” Read more about the partnership and the first campaign together in ADWEEK ! About Exverus Founded in 2014, Exverus by Brainlabs is a Los Angeles media agency elevating growth-stage brands through full-funnel media planning, traditional and programmatic advertising, retail media & e-commerce, paid search, paid social, and analytics. Our data-driven media plans combine precise market research with creative ideas to confidently allocate every ad dollar for the maximum return. Named for the Latin phrase "from the truth", Exverus by Brainlabs is dedicated to transparency and long-term client trust. Learn more at exverus.com . About Habit Burger & Grill Born in sunny Southern California in 1969, Habit Burger & Grill is known for Charburgers cooked-to-order over an open flame. But the menu extends far beyond burgers—it’s a celebration of Californian-inspired flavors. Alongside the brand's signature Charburgers is a meaningful array of handcrafted sandwiches, crisp salads, and creamy shakes, ensuring there's something for everyone. Habit Burger & Grill has earned notable recognition, with its Double Char being ranked #1 by USA Today 10Best, its Tempura Green Beans also reaching a #1 rank in USA Today 10Best, the brand being named Best Fast Casual Restaurant, and its Chicken Club recognized as the best grilled chicken sandwich by The Daily Meal. The brand was also featured in Newsweek’s “America’s Favorite Restaurant Chains 2023” and included in Thrillist’s roundup of “Underrated Burger Chains that Need to be in Every State!” Habit Burger & Grill has since grown to over 385 restaurants across 14 states and internationally—continuing to serve up bold fresh flavors, made-to-order. Learn more at habitburger.com .