• by Tobi Elkin , Staff Writer @tobielkin, January 30, 2017

In a new Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) report, 71% of marketers, media buyers, publishers, and ad tech executives polled say that they expect to increase spending on data and related services this year. The report was released at the IAB’s annual leadership conference.

Those polled said “better reporting, measurement or attribution” will be top priorities for the industry this year. Last year, “cross-device audience recognition” was the main focus, according to the report, entitled “The Outlook or Data 2017: A Snapshot into the Evolving Role of Audience Insight.”

This is the second annual benchmarking report commissioned by the IAB and its Data Center of Excellence, and compiled by Winterberry Group, a consultancy.

The report also found that respondents expect cross-channel measurement and attribution to occupy their time and resources this year. The marks a divergence from 2016 when “general audience analytics” demanded the most attention. The change may reflect an improvement in companies’ growing sophistication in their use of data.

Other findings:

--More than two-thirds of respondents (67%) increased their spending on data and related services from 2015 to 2016.

--The respondents cited “demand/interest from our customers” as the primary factor driving their organization’s data-driven marketing and media initiatives in the year ahead. In addition, they cited a growing focus on “investment measurability/accountability.”

While “insufficient availability/functionality of supporting technology” was cited as the biggest obstacle to use audience data in 2016, two other challenges now outrank it for 2017:  the challenges in proving the ROI in data-driven programs (45%) and lack of internal experience at the operational level (45%).

“Cross-media measurement and attribution are critical issues that demand focus and significant resources this year and beyond,” stated Dennis Buchheim, senior vice president, data and ad effectiveness, and general manager of the IAB Data Center of Excellence. He said the IAB plans to work toward “solutions in identity, attribution, and measurement—developing guidelines, standards, and services that will benefit the entire industry by simplifying and enhancing data-driven media transactions.”