Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data, and analytics, has released its sixth Global Annual Marketing Report. The report, which surveyed nearly 2,000 global marketers, delves into Return on Investment (ROI) strategies and budget allocation, with a particular focus on improving ROI.

The report reveals that marketers continue to view social media, search, online/mobile video, and online/mobile display as the most effective marketing channels for ROI. However, it also suggests that marketers could miss out on key revenue opportunities without a cross-media strategy and approach.

A significant 72% of global marketers expect bigger ad budgets in 2024, up from 64% on a year-on-year basis. The top Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for marketers are long-term ROI and full-funnel ROI. Interestingly, 70% of respondents plan to prioritise performance marketing over brand-building initiatives.

On average, global marketers plan to allocate more than 63% of their media spending to digital channels. Confidence in ROI measurement capabilities is also on the rise, with 84% of global marketers stating they're either extremely or very confident, up from 69% in 2023. However, only 38% of marketers evaluate the holistic ROI of their marketing efforts by measuring traditional and digital marketing together.

The report is based on survey responses from marketers who manage marketing budgets of $1 million or more, across a variety of industries. Nielsen operates in more than 55 countries.

Tina Wilson, EVP and Group GM, Analytics Portfolio Companies, Nielsen, commented on the findings, "Marketers manage a diverse and growing number of channels – each with a unique set of activation needs and performance metrics. Nielsen’s Analytics Portfolio meets marketers where they are at – across channels and across objectives – to accurately measure and maximise returns across a complete marketing plan".

She further added, "Our research reaffirms that effective measurement requires an integrated effort across media to understand brand and performance metrics in the short and long term."