Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Will Burghes
Holiday Campaign Measurement Moves to Make Right Now
By Will Burghes, Head of Professional Services, DV Rockerbox Black Friday Cyber Monday used to be a four-day sprint. For marketers in 2026, this critical selling season is a multi-month test of discipline: how early you build demand, how rigorously you test, and how well you can prove your marketing delivered revenue that would not have been obtained regardless.
Five Rules for Designing an Incrementality Test That Will Drive Your Business Forward
By Will Burghes, Head of Professional Services, DV Rockerbox™ In a previous post, we talked about how to read the confidence interval once your incrementality test is done. That's a valuable skill. But the tests that produce the clearest, most useful confidence intervals have something in common: the work that made them trustworthy happened weeks before launch, not during the readout. The best incrementality tests aren't lucky. They're designed to succeed.
Hot Take: In Incrementality Testing, Statistical Significance Doesn’t Matter. (Hear Us Out.)
By Will Burghes, Head of Professional Services, DV Rockerbox™ You ran an incrementality test. The results are in. Now, how do you interpret them? Most marketers look for one thing: the plausible value, or p-value. Did the test reach statistical significance? If yes, the results are real and the channel works. If no, they assume the results are random and the test was a waste. It’s instinctive to look for such an easy answer.
You’re Ready for a Multi-Touch Attribution Solution. Should You Build or Buy?
By Will Burghes, Head of Professional Services, DV Rockerbox When you set out to find a solution for multi-touch attribution, you might be tempted to build a custom solution rather than buy an existing one. Maybe you have an unusual channel footprint, a strong data science team, or a business complex enough that off-the-shelf software seems like a poor fit. These are reasonable motivations.
The Best Measurement Strategies Never Stand Still: Do’s and Don’ts to Keep Yours Agile
By Will Burghes, Head of Professional Services, DV Rockerbox As we discussed in a previous blog, building a measurement strategy is a crucial first step to proving the value of your marketing efforts. But once you’ve done that, your job isn’t over. In my role at DV Rockerbox™, I see even seasoned marketers create a strategy once and never revisit it, even as their marketing goals change and grow. Don’t fall into that money pit. You’ve already invested time and resources.
How to Build a Measurement Strategy When You Can’t Measure It All
By Will Burghes, Head of Professional Services, DV Rockerbox Robust, effective measurement is essential for proving — and improving — the value of your marketing efforts. But with so many metrics to choose from and a limited budget to spend on intelligence tools, how do you build a measurement strategy? The answer starts with deciding what matters most to your bottom line. This step-by-step guide will help you make those choices.
What Are Common Multi-touch Attribution (MTA) Models?
By Will Burghes, Head of Professional Services, DV Rockerbox Multi-touch attribution (MTA) models are marketing analytics methods used to identify and measure the impact of individual marketing channels or campaigns on customer acquisition and sales. MTA models provide a comprehensive view of how potential customers interact with a business's marketing efforts across different channels, devices and touchpoints before completing a purchase or taking a desired action.
Why Everyone Thinks They Can Be A CMO -- And Why They're Wrong
While other MediaPost newsletters and articles remain free to all ... our new Research Intelligencer service is reserved for paid subscribers ... Subscribe today to gain access to every Research Intelligencer article we publish as well as the exclusive daily newsletter, full access to The MediaPost Cases, first-look research and daily insights from Joe Mandese, Editor in Chief. Become a subscriber today! If you're already a paid subscriber, please sign-in. Username Password Forgot?
Why Everyone Thinks They Can Be A CMO -- And Why They're Wrong
by Will Burghes , 6 minutes ago It is by now a well-established fact that CMO tenures are the shortest in the C-suite. There are many theories about why this is so, such as CMOs being held accountable for more than marketing can control, or that it’s harder for CMOs to prove the value of their function to the rest of the C-suite. I, however, would like to put forward an alternative, less discussed theory: Everyone thinks they could be a CMO.
A Call to Action for Intersectional Gender Parity in the Creative Sector
In the wake of International Women's Day, we are confronted with the harsh reality that the pace of change in advertising can be glacial. While there is an abundance of interest in driving inclusivity within teams and through creative output, substantial barriers exist between that drive and the current reality.
How to Measure Brand Strength Without Investing $250,000
Companies and executives across a range of industries have at least one thing in common: a need to understand the strength of their brand. It's an essential line item on any executive's agenda because it is a great way to identify your strengths, long-term challenges and audiences your message doesn't resonate with.
Hope for the Unemployed From an Overlooked '80s Song
In 1986, Peter Gabriel released an album called So. Featuring such hits as "Big Time," "In Your Eyes" (remember Lloyd Dobler and the boombox?) and the MTV-friendly "special effects" of "Sledgehammer," it's still considered one of the decade's best, most innovative albums. But my favorite track from So was a relative B-side: "Don't Give Up," a duet with the hauntingly sublime English singer-songwriter Kate Bush.
Google Has Killed Your Performance Marketing Spend. Now What?
It's entirely possible that the highly touted promise of 1:1 digital performance marketing just died at the hands of a Google press release about the company's plans to do away with cookies by 2022. "Die" might be a slight exaggeration (as we all know, nothing in advertising ever really dies), but Google's new privacy policies will significantly impact the effectiveness of hyper-targeted digital advertising.
Marketing platforms with proprietary UIs are a waste of resources
Every business is different. It has its own profit models, objectives and problems. Therefore, it should also have a way of reporting business results that are tailored to its needs. Today, there is a plethora of options that offer just that. Datorama, Google Data Studio, and Microsoft’s Power BI are just a few of the increasingly sophisticated data visualization tools that offer near-infinite customizability.
How Making a Movie About Teens and Instagram Made Us Rethink Our Role as Marketers
Think about it. Art, copy and analytics aptly categorize all those filtered selfies, witty captions and the incessant tracking of our likes and comments. These tools help teens (and all of us) move the needle for the brand-of-self. For today's teens, this isn't anything new. 24/7 self-marketing is the norm, and like everything in high school, the emotional stakes of winning at this game are at their highest. Rethink audiences Ask any expert, and they'll tell you kids on Instagram are self-obsessed.
Advertising Isn't Rocket Science. It's Better
NASA was purpose-driven from the outset with a powerful mission that has evolved over time. As administrations have changed and objectives have evolved, the purpose has also been redirected. But it has remained true to the notion of using scientific learning to enhance knowledge, education, innovation, economic vitality and stewardship of Earth. The energy and excitement of a Mars landing is more akin to a live event than any other marketing tactic.
To Predict the Future, Look to the Consumer
Any time a new technology is greeted in the marketplace, it is immediately met with predictions of how it will disrupt all that has come before it. Marketers are tasked with determining how this new technology will change the ways consumers read, think and buy. And before you know it, preparations are made for a future that is likely not going to happen, or at least not happen in the way it is currently forecast.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Will
Contact Will, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack