By Dom Coleridge, Commercial Director, Scale Digital
For many years, one of the big attractions of performance marketing was its simplicity. The basic playbook was to ‘measure what converts, pay for what performs, and scale what works’. However, as consumer journeys have grown more fragmented and unpredictable, things don’t seem quite so simple for brand marketers anymore.
Today, a consumer’s path to purchase is rarely a neat, linear funnel. Instead, consumers might discover a brand via a Connected TV (CTV) ad, then research the brand through influencer content on a smartphone, compare prices on retail media platforms via a laptop and finally convert through an affiliate or search ad some days, or even weeks, later.
Despite this elongated, multichannel conversion path, many brands are still making media investment decisions based on single-channel or last-click attribution models that credit only the final interaction. As a result of this outdated approach, brand marketers are getting a distorted view of performance, where the importance of influential traffic sources is consistently underplayed.
The perils of last-click thinking
There was a time when the digital media ecosystem was much simpler and smaller, so last-click attribution made sense – to an extent. If a display ad was performing well on one site, but the same ad was underperforming on another, it was logical to invest more in the former.
But now, this kind of thinking actively works against brands seeking growth. By over-rewarding channels closest to conversion and under-crediting those that drive discovery, consideration and intent, brands are unintentionally choking off their own performance potential.
Affiliates, retail media, influencers and CTV are often labelled as “assistive” or “upper-funnel” channels. While some affiliates, such as voucher and discount sites, are primarily lower-funnel drivers, others – like content commerce partners – play a crucial role in building brand awareness and shaping consumer preference. In reporting, these channels can appear as supporting actors rather than revenue drivers, and in budget meetings, they’re often treated as optional rather than essential.
Unfortunately, this sort of categorisation is misleading. These channels are not optional extras, they actively shape how consumers perceive brands, influence preference, and build confidence long before the final click occurs. When their contribution is ignored, budgets are misallocated, quality partners are under-valued and brands miss out on opportunities for profitable growth.
In an increasingly competitive market, last-click thinking can no longer be accepted by brand guardians.
Performance is a system, not a silo
True performance insight comes from cross-campaign analysis, not by looking at channels in isolation. Rather than asking which channel converted, brands should ask: how was value created across the journey?
When viewed holistically, patterns begin to emerge: influencer exposure lifts branded search, CTV drives affiliate engagement, retail media accelerates conversion once intent has been established elsewhere. When considered individually, each of these touchpoints may look inefficient, but together, we can see how performance is actually a system made up of multiple moving parts.
Of course, measurement is only useful if the insights gained are applied to future media investment decisions. Outcome-oriented CPA frameworks represent a critical evolution in performance marketing. Instead of paying purely for last-touch conversions, brands can reward partners based on the incremental value they influence across the customer journey.
By integrating cross-campaign insight into CPA structures, brands can modernise their approach to media investment and build stronger, more transparent partnerships. Under this model, channels driving incremental growth receive greater investment and brands gain a much clearer understanding of what’s actually moving the needle.
Performance measurement as a strategic advantage
In this context, measurement stops being a retrospective reporting exercise and, instead, becomes a forward-looking growth lever.
Brands that persist in clinging to last-click attribution will continue to undervalue influence, misread performance and leave profit on the table. Those that embrace cross-campaign insight will be better equipped to build resilient partner ecosystems, invest with precision and drive sustainable growth.
What’s more, as AI, automation and new media formats continue to reshape how consumers discover and evaluate brands, the gap between simplistic measurement models and real-world behaviour will only widen. With AI-powered search increasingly removing the click as a measurable event, brands that fail to adopt a multi-touch attribution approach risk under-valuing key partners or losing them altogether. Understanding and rewarding contribution across the entire journey has never been more critical.
The future of performance marketing isn’t about choosing the right channel. It’s about understanding contribution and rewarding it accordingly.
In a world of complex journeys, the brands that win won’t be the ones that obsess over the final click. In 2026, those who can capture the bigger picture will be the ones who come out on top.
