3 ways marketing leaders can prove that marketing is a growth engine in 2025

Speaking at The Drum Predictions 2025, Google’s measurement and effectiveness lead Dimi Mitev previewed findings from The Effectiveness Equation research and outlined three behaviors that consistently underpin marketing effectiveness.

1. Measuring what matters – make sure everyone agrees

Despite the emphasis on marketing effectiveness, a 2023 study from Google and Kantar found that only 40% of decision-makers believe their business has a clear marketing effectiveness goal, and just 20% have an agreed-upon measurement framework. This misalignment makes it nearly impossible for marketing to prove its long-term impact.

“This should be the starting point of any measurement strategy – to ensure the right data, metrics and tools are in place to prove the effectiveness of the marketing investment, while taking account of everything else happening in a world that doesn’t stand still,” says Sarah Stallwood, head of analytics at Omnicom Media Group UK. “Once you understand these dynamics, how can you use them as levers to make a difference? What is the ‘so what’ of the insights?”

“Clearly defining those KPIs is really important, as well as a rigorous approach to taxonomy to ensure your inputs and outputs can be clearly mapped to media channels and campaign types,” adds Jennifer Carey, head of media and effectiveness at Channel 4. “We also need to have a learning agenda that is asking the key questions we believe will drive our effectiveness and efficiency forward, and then select the methodology that will get us closest to the answer.”

To start, marketers must align KPIs with business and finance metrics and integrate measurement into campaigns from the outset. It’s about asking the right questions, selecting the right tools, and ensuring a process exists to act on insights.

2. Building your brand – play the long game

Marketers love quick wins, but Google’s data reveals that over 50% of a campaign’s sales impact happens between the fifth and twenty-fourth month post-launch, but those rarely get tracked and reported. In other words, marketers don’t get recognition for half of the impact they bring.

This is particularly crucial for businesses where purchase cycles stretch across months or years. As Stallwood points out, “If you’re selling insurance, your customer may not be in-market for six months. Long-term brand investment ensures you’re top-of-mind when they are.”

At Channel 4, long-term brand affinity is a priority. With streaming competition fiercer than ever, Carey’s team focuses not just on driving immediate show viewership but on sustained platform loyalty. This strategy includes a sophisticated mix of agile marketing mix modeling (MMM) and brand tracking to ensure every investment pays off, now and in the future.

The key takeaway here? The real value of brand-building unfolds over time. Short-term wins may drive quick results, but sustained investment in brand equity ensures resilience and long-term profitability.

3. Driving business alignment – translate marketing speak into boardroom speak

Marketing effectiveness isn’t just about having the right insights – it’s about making sure decision-makers understand them. Google’s research found that while brand-building is the top priority for CMOs, it doesn’t even rank in the top five for CFOs. Yet both agree on the importance of long-term growth.

This disconnect can be a major hurdle in securing sustained investment. “If the business’ wider goals are not the same as yours, [key stakeholders] won’t be incentivized to go too deep, understand or action even your most groundbreaking findings,” says Mitev.

Carey’s solution? Consistency, simplicity, and transparency, stressing the importance of regular updates, distilling complex insights into clear, actionable takeaways that finance teams can understand. “Keep it simple, keep it relevant, and keep showing up,” she advises. “Little and often is better than popping up once a year with a big jazz hands display and load of charts.”

“We find that it all comes from a point of trust,” adds Stallwood. “Strong marketing strategies are built on a lot of data and it is true that the outcomes are only as good as the data. The more open we are, the less doubt or nervousness there will be in using the results. So if a CFO asks to get their hands dirty in the models, we fully embrace that!”

Bridging the gap between marketing and finance is key. Clear communication, frequent engagement, and transparency ensure marketing is seen as an investment rather than a cost.

The 2025 outlook: a shift in mindset and measurement

Looking ahead, our panelists expect three major shifts in marketing for 2025:

• Growth in non-traditional marketing channels – influencer partnerships and creator-led content will bring fresh measurement challenges for marketers to crack.
• A surge in data clean-up efforts – data teams within brands will focus on ensuring data is accurate, relevant and accessible, enabling robust measurement.
• An industry-wide push to simplify cross-channel measurement – agencies and platforms will respond to advertisers’ call for clear frameworks/roadmaps/guidance on building their measurement muscle from basic to advanced, in a structured and coherent way.

The bottom line? Marketing’s role as a growth engine is undeniable – but only if we prove it. That means establishing durable measurement foundations, investing in long-term brand equity, and bridging the gap between marketing and finance.

With the right approach, 2025 could be the year marketing earns its seat at the boardroom table – not as a cost, but as an investment that delivers long-term, sustainable business impact.

Catch up on the full discussion at The Drum Predictions 2025 event in the video above and check out The Effectiveness Equation report, here.