Facing obstacles in holistic MROI coverage Given the relevance of MROI, most respondents have set up some form of MROI measurement system, with more than 90 percent able to explain at least 10 percent of spend through MROI measurement. Yet that means as much as 90 percent of spending is not covered by MROI measurement, despite its importance. And we found just 3 percent of respondents were able to explain more than 50 percent of their marketing spend through MROI measurement. But expanding MROI measurement is obstructed by persistent challenges. Survey participants cited data limitations and insufficient measurement capabilities as the most common barriers to achieving greater transparency and accountability, but they also noted a lack of strong organizational interlinkages (Exhibit 13). Exhibit 13 Share of marketing spend covered by MROI measurement,¹ % of respondents Key obstacles for MROI measurement,² % of respondents 1 Question: What share (%) of your marketing spend is explained through marketing return on investment (MROI) measurement? 2 Question: What are the main factors limiting your company’s maturity in MROI measurement? (Ranking of top 3 factors.) Source: State of Marketing Europe Report 2026, McKinsey, n = 500 senior marketing leaders across France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom Few companies can cover more than a minority of their marketing spending through marketing ROI measurement. McKinsey & Company 100 100 Siloed operating model preventing translation of insights into action Lack of necessary data Inadequate data quality Lack of necessary capabilities/expertise Lacking skills to translate data into insights Insufficient team capacity Lack of a strong data/ analytics-driven culture Lacking the necessary tech stack to measure performance Top management does not prioritize marketing performance >50% >40% >30% >20% >10% ≤10% 3 15 49 36 68 94 100 43 40 39 35 34 27 25 7 31 State of Marketing Europe 2026