Is MTA Ready for Retirement? A Fresh Take on Gen-Z’s Ad Interactions
In today’s fast-paced marketing world, sticking with Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA) might be keeping you from hitting your true potential. This blog breaks down some flaws in MTA and shares eye-opening insights from a Meta study on how Gen-Z shops. Learn why understanding how your audience interacts with ads is key to boosting your marketing game and driving real growth.
What Exactly is MTA?
Multi-touch attribution (MTA) is like trying to give everyone a high-five for a job well done - except not everyone deserves it. It’s a marketing technique that attempts to distribute credit across all the touchpoints a customer interacts with before making a purchase. But here’s the thing - most of those touchpoints slip under the radar, completely untrackable.
Meta Study: Gen-Z Measurement
I’ve always had this inkling that customer demographics play into how they interact with ads. Then I stumbled upon a LinkedIn post from Peter Buckley at Meta.
“Last click is for old people 🧓.”
Naturally, I couldn’t resist diving deeper, so I reached out to a Meta rep to get the full scoop. What they found was eye-opening: Gen-Z has 12.7 post-view purchases for every single post-click purchase.
Let that sink in.
On average, this generation is 2.4 times more likely to whip out their wallets within a day of simply viewing an ad - no clicking required - compared to everyone else combined.
Why Gen Z Buying Behavior Matters
Your attribution setting is much more than just a technical detail - it directly influences who sees your ads and who ultimately converts.
Here’s how it works: Meta’s algorithms are designed to target individuals who are most likely to convert within the attribution window you select. If you set your attribution to 1-Day Click, Meta will prioritize finding people who are more likely to click and purchase within a single day.
By setting your attribution to 1-Day Click, you’re essentially telling Meta to prioritize older audiences - those who are more likely to click - over younger audiences, like Gen-Z, who convert without ever clicking at a much higher rate.
And here’s the kicker: just because Gen-Z has significantly more view-through purchases than click-throughs doesn’t mean these conversions are any less valuable or incremental. In fact, you’re potentially missing out on a huge slice of incremental conversions by not properly accounting for how different demographics engage with your ads. In a world where Gen-Z is 2.4 times more likely to purchase after viewing an ad, ignoring this behavior could mean you’re leaving money on the table.
The MTA Myth Busted by a US E-commerce Brand
Now, that little nugget of insight led me to partner with a brand using MTA and Meta’s 1-Day Click attribution setting. We asked their new customers three simple questions on their post purchase survey:
How did you first hear about {Brand Name}?
When did you first hear about {Brand Name}?
What’s your age? (Don’t worry, it’s just for science.)
Our goal? To see how this brand’s own zero-party data stacked up against Meta’s findings. We analyzed responses from 782 fresh faces who answered all three questions between May 22nd and May 28th, 2024.
The Results Are In…*Drumroll*
How did you first hear about {Brand Name}?
A whopping 71% of new orders didn’t align with any MTA touchpoint, no matter how far we stretched the timeline. 27% of new orders matched a touchpoint at any place in the customer’s journey but only 14% of new orders matched the first MTA touchpoint within a reasonable time. The remaining 2% were grouped as maybe, people who responded with something like influencer and had a touchpoint with Meta.
What is your age?
Brace yourself: Gen-Z blew away all the other age groups combined with 2.4 times more purchases that didn’t even touch MTA attribution. That’s the same jaw-dropping difference Meta noticed.
Here’s where it gets interesting. This brand’s target audience is aged 25-34, yet the numbers show they were essentially throwing money at older groups without realizing their budget was far more effective when aimed at their true audience. In short, MTA was undervaluing the very people who were driving their business forward.
% New Revenue vs % Meta Spend by Age Group
But wait, there’s more!
We also dug into the percentage of new revenue from each age group and compared it to the percentage of Meta spend for each group.
Here’s what we found: Gen-Z generated 8.5 times more new revenue relative to Meta spend than all the other age groups combined. Yet, this brand was significantly underinvesting in their 18-34 audience and over-investing in the 35+ crowd. The culprit? Relying on MTA and using 1-Day Click as the attribution setting. In other words, the data was pointing the budget in the wrong direction.
When did you first hear about {Brand Name}?
One of the less surprising revelations from this study was that 69% of new customers had first heard about the brand over a month before finally pulling the trigger on their purchase. Diving a little deeper, 54% of all new customers had the brand on their radar for six months or more before making that all-important first purchase.
Why does this matter? Because it’s a clear reminder that the seeds we plant today don’t always bear fruit tomorrow. The strategies we implement now will shape the trajectory of the business in ways we might not see immediately - but they will be felt in the long run. The future of your brand is being built in the present.
Looking Forward, Not Backward
If you’re seeing your own reflection in this story, don’t sprint to change all your Meta attribution settings just yet. Your strategy should be as unique as your brand, tailored to your specific industry, customers, and growth stage. There’s no magic wand here, folks.
What you need is strategic alignment - knowing exactly who your audience is and how you’re measuring success. If you’re making the jump from MTA, buckle up, because the future is going to look different. As your brand matures and starts layering in more marketing channels, incrementality measurement will be your north star for driving efficiency and growth.
Platforms like Measured, which combine incrementality testing with media mix modeling (MMM), can help you understand the right channel mix, campaign strategies, and settings for your brand.
In the end, all marketing is performance marketing, but it only truly works if you’ve got the right strategy leading the charge and the right people executing it.
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