needed to ensure that MROI metrics clearly link to the overall corporate goals, ensuring marketing is contributing directly to the KPIs that matter and making the rest of the C-suite aware of that. 25 When asked to identify the most important MROI measurement areas, marketing efficiency was the clear leader, while the next three topics also address the question of how to spend for maximum impact. Notably, holistic measurements carry more weight among survey participants compared with more targeted or specialized perspectives such as the performance of individual channels or spreading spend over time. This lower stated importance of more targeted or specialized perspectives may be because these areas represent more operational tasks that are less directly relevant to CMOs (Exhibit 12). 25 Aurélia Bettati, Jeff Jacobs, Kelsey Robinson, and Robert Tas, “The CMO’s comeback: Aligning the C-suite to drive customer-centric growth,” McKinsey, June 16, 2025. Exhibit 12 Most important areas for marketing ROI measurement,¹ % of responses 1 Question: What are the most important MROI measurement areas for your company today? (Up to 5 selections.) Source: State of Marketing Europe Report 2026, McKinsey, n = 500 senior marketing leaders across France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom Marketing efficiency is the most important area of marketing ROI measurement. McKinsey & Company Marketing channel mix, including traditional vs digital balance Overall budget setting and sizing Budget allocation across brands/ categories/markets Full-funnel marketing optimization across stages Marketing efficiency for all working and nonworking spend Creative performance effectiveness and relevance Sales channel mix, including interdependencies A/B testing for continuous performance improvement In-channel performance improvement for specific channels Timing/sequencing of spend across periods 100 68 57 52 50 41 38 38 35 34 25 30 Past forward: The modern rethinking of marketing’s core