Navigating Full-Funnel Measurement: A Balanced Approach for Modern Maketers

In today’s digital landscape, brands are no longer bound to a single channel or tactic—they’re running full-funnel campaigns across everything from awareness-boosting video ads to conversion-driven retargeting. Yet, the question remains: How do we measure success across each stage of the customer journey in a way that’s not just accurate but also actionable?At New Engen, we collaborate with brands to drive growth by leveraging advanced analytics and blending traditional measurement approaches with innovative techniques. Here’s how we’re guiding our clients to measure the entire journey without needing to choose a one-size-fits-all model.

A Balanced, Full-Funnel Measurement Framework

When approaching full-funnel campaigns, it’s essential to view measurement as a layered approach, recognizing that different tools and methodologies offer unique strengths. Here’s a breakdown of how we at New Engen suggest approaching each stage of the funnel:

Awareness (Upper Funnel) 📣

For top-of-funnel tactics focused on brand visibility, traditional metrics like reach, impressions, and video completion rates still serve as benchmarks. However, they don’t tell the whole story. Here’s where brand lift studies and survey-based metrics come in, allowing brands to measure shifts in brand perception and recall. These insights are invaluable, especially for brands testing new markets or running high-reach campaigns across platforms like YouTube and TikTok.

How we think about the awareness phase at New Engen: It’s tempting to rely solely on awareness metrics, but for a complete view, brand lift studies offer a critical layer, helping quantify the intangible—brand sentiment. While brand lift studies can sometimes be dismissed as "fluffy metrics," there’s growing evidence that a lift in brand recall correlates with tangible business outcomes, such as higher sales or improved performance from lower-funnel efforts. For example, performance marketing campaigns often convert better when there’s strong brand awareness supporting them. This is why tracking shifts in recall and perception isn’t just helpful—it’s critical to long-term success.

Consideration (Mid Funnel) 💭

In the consideration stage, engagement is everything. Metrics like click-through rate (CTR) and time on site reflect how potential customers are interacting with your brand. For brands targeting passive consumers on TikTok or YouTube, view-through conversions (VTC) provide a useful measure of mid-funnel impact—tracking how media exposure nudges users down the funnel, even if they don’t convert right away.

How we think about the consideration phase at New Engen: This stage is often overlooked for measurement, but it’s critical. Tracking mid-funnel interactions and VTCs offers a nuanced look at how channels that are harder to measure, like TikTok, are impacting the customer journey.

Intent (Lower Mid Funnel) ☝️

As potential customers move from consideration to intent, signals become stronger. Tracking metrics like landing page views, add-to-cart actions, and retargeting engagement highlights where users are showing real interest. Incrementality testing here can reveal the true impact of your campaigns, allowing you to validate lift in these high-intent behaviors.

How we think about the intent phase at New Engen: Not every conversion-driven interaction is created equal. By focusing on specific, high-intent signals and testing for lift, our clients gain clarity on which tactics are genuinely driving value.

Conversion (Lower Funnel) 💳

At the conversion stage, it’s all about ROI. Metrics like conversions, cost per acquisition (CPA), and return on ad spend (ROAS) are standard benchmarks, but to capture real business impact, brands benefit from running holdout or running Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM). This combination provides both granular and aggregate views, validating the direct effect of campaigns while illuminating opportunities to optimize spend and shift budget between channels.

How we think about the conversion phase at New Engen: Conversion metrics are where dollars meet data. Rather than relying solely on platform or click stream reported conversions, incorporating holdout tests or MMM reveals the incremental impact and maximizes returns.

Post-Conversion (Loyalty & Retention) 🔐

Retention is often an afterthought but is critical to long-term success. Measuring retention metrics like repeat purchase rate and customer lifetime value (LTV) shows the sustained impact of campaigns beyond that first conversion. In this stage, surveys or Net Promoter Score (NPS) can indicate brand loyalty, while LTV analysis uncovers which audiences are most valuable over time.

How we think about the retention phase at New Engen: While top-of-funnel campaigns often grab the initial spotlight, post-conversion metrics reveal a brand’s staying power. LTV modeling, especially, helps our clients understand the lifetime value generated by full-funnel efforts.

💡 Looking for further reading? check out our deep dive on breaking through the performance plateau with strategic upper-funnel media investment.

Why You Don’t Have to Choose Just One Approach

One of the biggest misconceptions about attribution and measurement is that you must choose a single approach—whether that’s MMM, MTA, or last-click—and stick with it. But the truth is, effective measurement is about balance. Each method has its strengths, and by layering them, brands get a more accurate, nuanced understanding of performance across the entire funnel.

What Does “Layering” Mean?

Layering involves leveraging multiple measurement methods in a complementary way, allowing brands to get both a high-level view and granular insights without becoming overwhelmed. While it’s true that layering can add complexity, New Engen simplifies this process by integrating insights into cohesive reports and providing strategic recommendations that tie it all together. For example:

• Media Mix Modeling (MMM): Provides a macro view, showing the incremental impact of top-funnel and mid-funnel channels like TV and display. MMM is particularly effective for uncovering long-term trends and understanding the role of brand-building efforts over time.
• Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA): Assigns credit across touchpoints, highlighting mid-funnel channels like paid social and email. However, it struggles with impression-based touchpoints in walled gardens (e.g., Facebook, TikTok), where data restrictions limit full visibility.
• Rule-Based Models Like Last-Click: Seen as a fast, consistent way to measure performance, last-click is invaluable for quick-turn, lower-funnel reporting. Additionally, it provides a straightforward, all-up view of performance numbers across campaigns and channels, offering a baseline for deeper analysis. This is particularly helpful when aligning teams on high-level results or tracking performance against real-time business objectives.

While last-click often gets criticized for “missing the whole picture,” it isn’t inherently wrong or outdated. In fact, last-click remains a fast and consistent way to see direct results, making it a practical tool for assessing outcomes quickly. When paired with broader methods like MMM and MTA, last-click attribution provides valuable tactical insights that complement strategic models.At New Engen, we combine these methods to reduce decision-making silos and offer clarity into performance. Last-click doesn’t have to be a “dirty word”; rather, it plays an important role in a layered measurement strategy. Through this approach, we ensure that our clients can make data-driven decisions confidently and efficiently without feeling bogged down by complexity.

Let's Review

In full-funnel marketing, it’s essential to adapt measurement based on the brands' unique objectives and mix of channels. With the right framework, brands can achieve both precision in daily reporting and robust insights for long-term strategy.

At New Engen, we bring together hybrid measurement methodologies and customized frameworks, helping brands navigate a complex media landscape with confidence.By recognizing the value in a mix of models and methodologies, brands gain a clearer view of the entire customer journey—from awareness to retention—empowering them to make data-driven decisions that drive real growth.

Want to learn more? Get in touch at info@newengen.com or connect with us on LinkedIn.