Invest with Confidence: How Guaranteed iROAS Helps CPG Brands Deliver Real Outcomes
CPG brands want media investments that deliver measurable sales, not just reach. Here’s how InMarket’s Guaranteed iROAS puts outcomes at the foundation of the campaign.
Proving media works before the campaign starts
CPG marketers are under more pressure than ever to prove that media drives growth. Budgets are tighter, every dollar is scrutinized, and CMOs and CFOs want proof of results, not reports of reach and impressions. InMarket’s Guaranteed iROAS campaigns let brands invest with confidence by including an incremental return on ad spend (iROAS) guarantee in the contract. No more waiting until a campaign recap report, 6 weeks post-campaign, to find out if your campaign worked. With Guaranteed iROAS campaigns, you know upfront that the budget you’re investing is going to drive the outcomes you (and your CFO) require.
What is guaranteed incremental ROAS?
Guaranteed incremental ROAS is a media campaign contract in which the media publisher/partner commits to a minimum incremental return on ad spend that the campaign will achieve. It shifts the conversation from what a campaign might reach to what it will deliver.
Incremental return on ad spend (iROAS) is the incremental sales a campaign caused, divided by what the campaign cost. “Incremental” means sales that would not have happened without the ads; not attributed sales, but incremental! You find incremental sales by comparing shoppers who saw the ads with a control group of similar shoppers who did not, and counting only the difference.
Most campaigns report results after the budget is spent. A Guaranteed iROAS campaign puts the outcome in the contract before the flight starts, and that commitment is what lets a brand invest with confidence.
What makes Guaranteed iROAS campaigns so effective?
Guaranteed iROAS campaigns work because one partner both measures incremental sales and steers the media that drives them. That connection is what makes it possible to commit to a result, not just report one.
Two signals guide where the media goes. Purchase data identifies who is worth reaching, such as competitor buyers or lapsed buyers. Location signals add timing, showing when a likely buyer is planning a trip or heading to a store.
Measurement and optimization then close the loop. Weekly reads show which audiences and placements are driving incremental sales, and spend shifts toward them mid-flight, while there’s still budget left to make a difference.
How do InMarket Guaranteed iROAS campaigns work?
Because InMarket is a media platform and a measurement company, we’re able to optimize media in real time towards the metrics (like iROAS) that move your business.
At the core of our Guaranteed iROAS programs is our in-flight optimization engine. Because we can measure campaign performance (using InMarket’s Campaign Incrementality methodology) while it is running, we can adjust the campaign in real time while budget remains. For example, if a particular audience or channel is overperforming, we can shift spend from a lower-performing segment to maximize the campaign’s performance.
FAQ
- Does InMarket guarantee incremental ROAS for CPG brands? Yes. InMarket offers Guaranteed iROAS, a contractual incremental ROAS target built on observed purchase data from commerce consumers. We feasibility-test each target before finalizing the contract and optimize it daily in flight. We measure incremental sales with InMarket Campaign Incrementality using an Adaptive Synthetic Control. It works best for brands with sales history across multiple retailers and a meaningful budget.
- How is incremental ROAS measured? Shoppers who saw the ads are compared with a counterfactual control to represent what would have happened without media. The difference in observed purchases is the incremental lift, and dividing it by media cost gives incremental ROAS.
- What is a good incremental ROAS for a CPG brand? It depends on category margins and on how much of your volume already comes from loyal buyers. The most useful benchmark is your own history of lift studies, read on incremental sales. The feasibility test sets a target specific to your brand, category, and retailers.
- Is a guaranteed ROAS the same as cost per acquisition pricing? They are different contracts. Cost per acquisition charges for each action, such as a purchase or a sign-up. A ROAS guarantee commits to a return ratio across the whole campaign, and an incremental one measures that ratio against a control group.
Ready to invest with confidence and put outcomes in your next CPG campaign? Reach out to your InMarket rep or send us a message at inmarket.com/contact.