Digital Advertising tracker study
overview
Ad Tracker Study
RONIN delivered a large-scale international ad tracking study for a world-leading digital advertising platform, in partnership with a US-based management consultancy, providing a clear view of how digital advertising performance and investment are evolving across key markets.
- 1,500 Interviews Across 4 Markets
- 15 Minute Interviews
With 1,500 interviews across the UK, USA, France, and Germany, the study captures how brands and agencies plan, allocate, and evaluate digital ad spend, offering a consistent benchmark in a fast-changing landscape.
Objectives
- Track digital advertising behaviors and spend allocation
- Understand how performance is evaluated across channels
- Compare perspectives between brands and agencies
- Identify shifts in strategy, investment, and priorities over time
Methodology
A targeted, digitally-led quantitative approach was designed to reach senior decision-makers in advertising. RONIN managed end-to-end delivery, including sample design, recruitment, translations, questionnaire programming, and data outputs.
- 15-minute online survey
- Digital recruitment via platforms including LinkedIn, WINMO, and specialist marketing databases
Sample & Coverage
The study targets a high-value, hard-to-reach audience of advertising decision-makers, including:
- Media planners and buyers
- Senior planners and buying leads
- Heads of digital and advertising
- Brand-side marketers and agency professionals
All respondents have direct influence over digital ad spend and represent companies spending $1M+ annually on digital advertising.
Sectors covered include:
- CPG, Retail, Food & Beverage
- Automotive, Technology, Telecoms
- Travel, Beauty, Entertainment
Study Sample
-
70%
Brand-side marketers
-
30%
Agency professionals
Challenges encountered
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Reaching a highly specific, top-tier audience representing the top 20% of digital ad spenders
-
Ensuring participation from both brand-side decision-makers and agency professionals
-
Verifying accurate and consistent reporting of media spend across markets and waves
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Achieving balanced representation across key consumer-facing sectors (e.g. retail, automotive, technology, travel, entertainment)
Results and Value Delivered
RONIN transformed a fragmented advertising ecosystem into a clear, comparable view of market behavior.
- We provided consistent benchmarking of digital ad spend and strategy across markets.
- Direct insight from verified decision-makers, not proxies
- Clarity on differences between brand and agency perspectives
- Stronger planning grounded in real-world investment behavior
By combining precision targeting with scalable digital recruitment, RONIN delivers insight that is both representative and commercially meaningful.
The result is a reliable foundation for tracking change in a complex, fast-evolving advertising landscape.