Attribution solutions still fall short.

The topic of attribution has been gaining steam as ad servers like DoubleClick and Microsoft’s Atlas, and Web site analytics providers like Coremetrics and Omniture have developed solutions to more accurately attribute influence across various online touch points. But let’s not pat ourselves on the back so soon.

These solutions exist in an online silo, rely on attribution rules and algorithms that need maturation, and ignore important consumer generated influencers like customer reviews. As a result, they only provide marketers with an incremental improvement to online measurement, still ignoring the majority of consumer’s media consumption (TV, Radio, Print) and offline influencer’s contribution in the purchase path.

The multitasking and cross-channel behavior of today’s consumer exposes the limitations of these online attribution solutions. The real solution lies in a clear understanding of consumers’ cross-channel behavior through the marketing funnel, programs aligned to business objectives and metrics that measure every touch point’s contribution through this journey.