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Northbeam + TikTok: Unlocking Full Funnel Value with Clicks + Views Enhanced Attribution Model
TikTok's unique strength lies in its highly engaging, view-driven content, making it a performance driver for many disruptive DTC brands. Yet, traditional click based attribution methods often fail to capture its full impact, leading advertisers to undervalue its contribution to revenue and customer growth.
Northbeam’s new Clicks + Views Enhanced (C+Ve) model bridges this gap. By combining TikTok’s impressions with Northbeam’s infinite look back and deterministic attribution, brands now have a reliable, data-driven way to measure TikTok’s full performance. This case study details the results from 15 advertisers participating in the C+Ve beta program during the critical October 1st to November 30th, 2024 period, comparing it to Northbeam's well established Clicks-Only model.
The Challenge: Showing TikTok’s True Impact
Despite TikTok’s low CPMs and ability to drive massive awareness, brands often struggle with a fundamental question:
“We believe it works, but how can we measure the true impact of TikTok?
The skepticism stemmed from a reliance on traditional click-based attribution, which undervalued TikTok’s view-heavy contribution. This lack of visibility led advertisers to pull back spend or prioritize channels with clearer, albeit incomplete, attribution models.
The Solution: Northbeam Clicks + Views Enhanced
Northbeam’s C+Ve model is a transformative shift in attribution, designed to provide brands with fully factual, deterministic data while remaining conservative in its revenue attribution. Here’s how it works:
- Foundation of Accuracy: The model starts with factual Clicks-Only data, ensuring a solid, verified baseline. This data is 100% 1st Party, allowing us to provide an infinite attribution window to capture every page view, ad click, and site visit.
- Layered TikTok Data: Verified TikTok impressions are integrated, allowing the model to track view-through impact with precision.
- Conservative Attribution: Views are validated against Northbeam’s tracking methodology to ensure accuracy and consistency.
This consistent, factual approach ensures that the data is not only reliable but actionable. As Ryan Kovach, Northbeam’s Head of Media Strategy, explains:
“This new lens of incorporating views into attribution increases the reliability of our data and its power in guiding better decisions. Brands are already using this approach to make precise campaign optimizations.”
This new model can help showcase the impact of TikTok views and we are confident that this will provide advertisers a more accurate set of deterministic data to make decisions on which campaigns to scale up or down on a daily basis.
Performance Results: C+Ve vs. Clicks-Only
The beta program revealed the transformative power of the C+Ve model compared to the Clicks-Only baseline. By design, this model will always provide a lift over Clicks Only but the magnitude of lift for performance metrics is impactful to highlight the full value of impression focussed platforms like TikTok.
The following metrics were pulled from our 15 first advertisers on the beta using data from October 1st, 2024 to November 30th, 2024, using Northbeam’s Clicks Only model vs. the new Clicks + Views Enhanced model. This sample is analyzing over $7 million in TikTok Spend and over $10 Million in Tiktok Attributed Revenue:
Transactions and Revenue:
- Transactions Lift: +328.04%
TikTok campaigns drove a threefold increase in attributed transactions. This first metric is important in quantifying the additional transactions that TikTok played a part in when including views to the model. - Revenue Lift: +354.00%
Overall revenue attributed to TikTok grew more than threefold.
New Customer Percentage:
- New Customers % Lift: +44.23%
The share of new customers attributed to TikTok increased by 44%, solidifying its role as a discovery driver. This is a super promising metric, TikTok looked strong already in terms of new customer acquisition with click-based models. - First-Time Revenue Lift: +388.34%
Revenue from first-time customers skyrocketed, showcasing TikTok’s effectiveness in customer acquisition.
Performance Metrics
- Conversion Rate Lift: +328.04%
The enhanced model revealed significantly higher efficiency in converting traffic into sales. - ROAS Lift: +354.00%
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) improved dramatically, proving TikTok’s profitability as an acquisition channel. - First-Time ROAS Lift: +388.34%
ROAS from first-time customers nearly quadrupled, reflecting TikTok’s ability to convert high-value new customers efficiently. - CAC (First-Time) Improvement: -54.83%
Customer Acquisition Costs for first-time customers dropped significantly, making TikTok campaigns more cost-effective.
Key Insights for Advertisers
The enhanced visibility provided by C+Ve enables brands to:
- Validate Campaign Performance: C+Ve gives brands a complete view of how TikTok drives both awareness and revenue.
- Optimize Spend: Advertisers can confidently scale budgets, knowing they’re supported by precise data.
- Improve Retargeting Strategies: Insights from C+Ve refine retargeting windows, especially for brands with higher AOVs or longer consideration cycles.
- Scale Creative Testing: With clear attribution of views and clicks, brands can effectively test and optimize creative strategies to maximize impact.
Customer Impact: Real Results from BYLT basics on the Beta Program
One beta participant, BYLT Basics, a rapidly growing DTC apparel brand, leveraged C+Ve to unlock TikTok’s full potential during the competitive holiday shopping season.
- BYLT historically saw favorable auction costs on TikTok and felt it could be a strong top of funnel channel but, click-based ROAS was lower than what they saw on other social channels, which limited their ability to scale.
- TikTok CPM’s were $10 cheaper than other paid social channels and $30 cheaper than our search platforms.
- BYLT’s Key Outcomes using Clicks + Views Enhanced:
- With the additional lens of Clicks + Views Enhanced, the customer was able to see during the most impactful weeks of the year that TikTok was moving the needle(compared to what we were only able to see on a click basis):
- As TikTok's CPM's held steady through BFCM while other platforms crept up, BYLT increased TikTok ad spend by 54% YoY, while maintaining efficiency.
- Achieved a 30% higher efficiency compared to other social platforms during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
- Saw a 44% increase in new customers, confirming TikTok’s role in driving first-time purchases.
Conclusion: A New Era for TikTok Attribution
The C+Ve model isn’t just an exciting innovation; it’s a rigorously factual tool for better decision-making:
- The Solution: Northbeam Clicks + Views Enhanced: The model relies on verified impressions, reattributing fair distribution of revenue to TikTok.
- Future-Ready: Northbeam plans to expand the model to include impression data from additional platforms, broadening its reliability and application.
- Proven Success: Brands in the beta program have already used this data to drive meaningful optimizations, scaling their TikTok efforts profitably.
Northbeam’s Clicks + Views Enhanced model delivers a paradigm shift in how brands measure and scale their TikTok campaigns. By unlocking TikTok’s full potential as a performance driver, advertisers can now make smarter, data-driven decisions that lead to profitable growth.
This Q4, brands using C+Ve achieved dramatic improvements in ROAS, conversion rates, and customer acquisition, positioning themselves for continued success in 2025. With Northbeam at the forefront of innovation, the future of attribution has never looked more promising.Contact your Northbeam Rep to get setup on Clicks + Views Enhanced today!
How Timex Achieved Record Growth with Northbeam
For over 170 years, Timex has been a trusted name in watchmaking, blending classic designs with innovative craftsmanship. By partnering with Northbeam, Timex DTC unlocked significant growth opportunities, achieved record-breaking revenue, and redefined their marketing attribution and media strategies.
We spoke with Dan Gallagher, Director of Performance Marketing at Timex Group, about the improvements he’s been able to unlock with Northbeam to bolster Timex’s rapid direct-to-consumer (DTC) growth.
Timex opts for data integrity
“I joined Timex Group’s DTC team in 2022. Timex Group is a large organization operating multiple brands with DTC channel being a main area of focus for hypergrowth.”
“Prior to Timex, I worked at a brand that had every tool under the sun when it came to media measurement,” said Dan. “We had media mix modeling (MMM) that was custom-built in-house. We had everything you could imagine to effectively evaluate the success of our investments.”
“My charter was to onboard a measurement partner that could start to give us a full picture of what was being driven by our spend. We wanted consolidated views. We wanted deduplicated attribution. We wanted multiple attribution models. With that in mind, we evaluated the space back in 2023 and selected Northbeam as our partner because of what seemed to be a strong process for attribution and transparency. If we ever need the back-end data, we can get it.”
“There are a lot of fancy user interfaces out there that make it look like you’re going to get a lot on the surface, but when we evaluated our options there seemed to be some holes in data processing and transparency of how accessible the data would be for ad hoc analysis, which was another priority of ours when selecting a partner.”
Northbeam helps Timex make the case
“With Northbeam, we unlocked attribution at the tactical level, the creative level, and allowed us to scale our programs and justify our investments internally. We were able to illustrate different investment models and make the case for the path to drive the DTC business forward.”
Dan and team started to leverage Northbeam’s MMM solution in 2024 as a trusted tool to justify substantial shifts in their media investment.
Picture this: historically just under half of Timex DTC’s media mix has been allocated to Meta. Per Northbeam’s MMM recommendations, during the BFCM season, they raised that allocation significantly which saw the following results:
- Before utilizing these MMM recommendations (July through September) their total business revenue was up double digits YoY.
- After implementing MMM and utilizing the platform’s recommendations (November 1st through 23rd), their total business revenue was 3x YoY.
- Then, after trusting the MMM recommendations to increase their contributions to Meta further during Cyber Weekend, total business revenue doubled YoY.
“We have been happy with the product and plan to continue to work with Northbeam into 2025.” Dan said. “Q4 2024 was so great for us in large part because of the insights we received from Northbeam and my team’s ability to apply the learnings across their channels.”
Turnkey MMM leads to Timex’s best quarter yet
“Even before Northbeam, our primary metric was incremental return on investment (IROAS),” said Dan. “When we onboarded with Northbeam, we used that same principle and IROAS was the driving factor in day-to-day optimizations. Now that we have MMM, we’ve created new incrementality factors that we can apply to the MTA view of performance that has given us a clearer picture of where and how we should be spending our dollars and resources.”
“Before we signed on with Northbeam, we were using another MMM tool for a year. It required manual work of pulling together data via each ad platform and lacked automation. We also were capped at the number of models we could run in a given year.”
“With Northbeam, having all the connections in place, you just make all your connections via native integrations and go. The barrier of entry was low as a new customer and we were able to start using the tool quickly.”
“Once we started getting regular reads on performance via MMM we could confidently start saying: Meta is actually performing 2x better than we thought it was via MTA alone, and other channels are underperforming. The new data from MMM led us to completely change our media mix leading to a great end of 2024.”
MTA + MMM = magic
“We’re using MTA as a guide to keep us on track on a day-to-day basis, and MMM on a monthly basis as an investment planning tool to help guide our media mix for the following month and validate IROAS trends from previous months. The combination of the two tools has given us the tools necessary to continue our growth trajectory as we introduce our brand and offerings to new customers.”
“We’ve been with Northbeam now for over 18 months and are pleased with the results thus far.”
Super Bowl 2025 Advertising Trends & Performance Analysis
The Super Bowl isn’t just a championship game—it’s the annual Hunger Games of advertising, where brands throw obscene amounts of money at consumer eyeballs, hoping for a few seconds of undivided attention. In this gladiator pit of marketing, the landscape of digital advertising is constantly shifting, and Northbeam has taken a deep dive into the trends shaping ad spend, auction costs, and campaign performance in the lead-up to the big game.
And because we love a good comparison, we’re putting Super Bowl advertising head-to-head with Black Friday & Cyber Monday (BFCM), the so-called "Ecommerce Super Bowl," to see how the two stack up. The insights we’ve uncovered will help brands sharpen their strategies so they can get more bang for their marketing buck—or at least avoid lighting their ad budgets on fire.
The State of Marketing Before Super Bowl 2025
All data and insights presented in this report are derived from Northbeam users and brands, providing a real-time pulse on how top advertisers approached this year's Super Bowl marketing landscape.
Before the Super Bowl weekend arrived, the digital marketing landscape was already shifting in ways that would impact advertiser strategies. TikTok, once a dominant force, faced a setback as looming ban threats led to a dip in its Super Bowl ad spend share. This opened the door for YouTube, which overtook TikTok to become the third-largest advertising platform for the event, trailing only behind Meta and Google. Meanwhile, AppLovin emerged as a surprising new contender, capturing around 3% of total ad spend—just behind YouTube (3.8%) and TikTok (3.3%).
Despite the ongoing debate and hype surrounding X (formerly Twitter), advertiser interest remained stagnant. The platform held onto a modest 0.13% share of total Super Bowl week spend, showing no notable year-over-year change.
On a broader scale, advertisers collectively increased their Super Bowl week budgets by approximately 7% compared to the previous year. Interestingly, despite the higher spend, overall efficiency remained stable, posting only a modest 0.8% improvement YoY.
The Ebb and Flow of Super Bowl Ad Spend
Like clockwork, Super Bowl ad costs start creeping up the Thursday before game day, peaking over the weekend before mysteriously dropping on Sunday itself. It’s as if advertisers get cold feet at the finish line, giving those who hold out an unexpected pricing advantage. For some context, here is what spend looked like across channels in 2024:
Despite the last-minute cost fluctuation, brands report that their best ad performance tends to happen in the days leading up to the game rather than on Super Bowl Sunday itself. This makes sense—by the time the game rolls around, consumers are more focused on buffalo wings and touchdown dances than clicking on ads.
Interestingly, the Food & Beverage sector leads the charge in Super Bowl ad spend, with the biggest daily jump occurring from Friday to Saturday. However, by Sunday, the increase slows down—perhaps because everyone is already fully stocked with chips and beer, and no amount of last-minute marketing is going to change that.
Traditional media is still kicking, though digital dominates. In 2024, TV placements accounted for almost 5% of the total media mix, while Connected TV (CTV) placements barely scratched 0.5%. Despite the ongoing digital revolution, traditional TV remains a go-to for brands looking for that "big moment"—even if most viewers are on their phones tweeting about the commercials instead of actually watching them.
How Brands Allocated Their Budgets Across Platforms
When it comes to ad spend distribution, Facebook and Google are still the cool kids at the lunch table, eating up over 74% of total spend. Meanwhile, traditional TV, hanging on by a thread, makes up just over 4%, proving that while old habits die hard, they do eventually fade.
Influencer marketing is gaining traction, but it’s still playing in the kiddie pool with under 2% of total ad spend. However, the data shows a small but notable increase in influencer marketing investments as game day approaches, suggesting that brands are warming up to the idea of leveraging social media stars for last-minute hype.
The Cost of Visibility: Auction Price Trends
The closer we get to Super Bowl Sunday, the more advertisers have to pay for the privilege of appearing in front of consumers who are already drowning in ads. Most platforms see a predictable surge in CPMs leading up to the weekend, but here’s the twist: YouTube and Snapchat actually experience slight declines in auction costs over the weekend.
Why? Likely because more inventory becomes available, meaning brands willing to pivot to these platforms could snatch up some last-minute deals while their competitors shell out premium rates elsewhere. Meanwhile, Google and Facebook remain the Fort Knox of digital advertising—consistently expensive, but still where most brands are putting their money.
Super Bowl vs. BFCM: Which Offers Better Returns?
If Super Bowl advertising is the high-stakes poker game of marketing, BFCM is the full-blown shopping apocalypse. BFCM’s spending behavior is defined by an all-out buying frenzy, with ad efficiency peaking as eager consumers throw money at their screens. In contrast, Super Bowl advertising is more of a slow burn, with spending and efficiency spread out more evenly over the week.
Check out the tail on this chart for BFCM 2024:
Most brands see their biggest spend jump between Friday and Saturday of Super Bowl week, whereas BFCM experiences a steady, methodical build-up. Efficiency is also a key differentiator—BFCM’s shopping-driven engagement results in immediate ROI, whereas Super Bowl ad impact tends to be more drawn out, potentially influencing consumer behavior over a longer period.
How to Measure the Impact of Super Bowl Ads
What Should We Be Benchmarking?
Measuring the success of a Super Bowl ad campaign isn’t as simple as checking a few vanity metrics. Brands should take a two-pronged approach: comparing Period over Period (to assess performance changes leading up to and during Super Bowl week) and Year over Year (YoY) (to determine long-term trends and growth compared to previous Super Bowls).
Understanding Super Bowl Week Success
At the end of the day, business success is the ultimate metric. Revenue, traffic, and on-site efficiency will provide the clearest picture of whether the Super Bowl ad spend actually moved the needle. However, peeling back the layers reveals deeper insights:
Marketing Efficiency
- Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Both blended and first-time customer-specific ROAS should be analyzed to determine the financial return on Super Bowl campaigns.
- Cost to Acquire a Customer (CPA / CAC): A major benchmark in determining efficiency shifts due to Super Bowl-specific messaging and offers.
- Conversion Rate (ECR) & Revenue per Visit: These metrics show if users are just browsing or if they are actually making purchases.
Creative Performance & Engagement
Not all ads are created equal—some flop, some go viral, and others just generate steady engagement. Evaluating creative success means looking at:
- Cost per Click (CPC) & Cost per Mille (CPM): Are we paying more per click/impression compared to pre-Super Bowl periods?
- Cost per New Visit (CPNV) & New Visit %: Did the campaign bring in new customers or just re-engage the usual audience?
- Click-Through Rate (CTR) & Cost per Engagement: A strong creative piece will increase these numbers, proving the messaging resonated with consumers.
The Invisible Lift: Organic & Direct Traffic Impact
Super Bowl ads—especially on traditional formats like TV and out-of-home—aren’t always trackable through direct clicks. But that doesn’t mean they don’t work. Brands should analyze:
- Direct Traffic & Organic Search Traffic: Did the Super Bowl campaign boost unprompted brand searches and direct visits?
- Organic Social Traffic: If users discuss, share, or tag the brand after seeing the ad, that’s a win—even if it’s not directly attributable.
- New Customer %: What portion of total sales came from first-time buyers influenced by Super Bowl exposure?
Multi-Touch Attribution: The Full Customer Journey
Looking at only first-click or last-click data gives an incomplete picture. A combination of First-Touch (to assess new journey starts) and Multi-Touch Attribution (to understand how ads assisted conversion) provides a more accurate measurement of true campaign impact.
Measuring Brand Search Lift & Omni-Channel Impact
When Super Bowl campaigns succeed, consumers tend to Google the brand name more. Tracking changes in:
- Total Search Impression Volume (paid and organic)
- Paid Brand Search Impression Share
Additionally, Super Bowl ads can have a halo effect across other sales channels, including Amazon and third-party marketplaces. Brands should analyze whether there’s a correlation between increased spend on direct channels and spikes in these external platforms.
The Long Tail Effect: Tracking Performance Beyond the Super Bowl
Finally, brands shouldn’t expect their Super Bowl efforts to disappear once Monday rolls around. Depending on the business model, the impact of Super Bowl marketing can extend for weeks or even months. Monitoring efficiency beyond the immediate timeframe will ensure brands truly understand the long-term value of their investment.
Lessons for Brands: How to Maximize Super Bowl Advertising Impact
So, what’s the playbook for brands looking to maximize their Super Bowl ad dollars? First, don’t just blindly dump your entire budget into game-day ads. The data shows that efficiency often peaks before the Super Bowl itself, meaning early spend could yield better results. If you must advertise over the weekend, platforms like YouTube and Snapchat may offer an unexpected cost advantage.
Secondly, while traditional TV still has its place, it’s no longer the undisputed king of Super Bowl advertising. With Connected TV gaining traction, brands should be thinking about how to leverage emerging digital formats rather than relying on the same old playbook.
Finally, remember that Super Bowl advertising is a marathon, not a sprint. Instead of going all-in for one day of expensive exposure, consider how your campaign can build anticipation before the game and keep momentum going afterward. At the end of the day, a well-planned strategy will always outperform a last-minute Hail Mary.
Super Bowl advertising might be a high-stakes game, but with the right data-driven approach, brands can ensure they’re making smart plays that lead to real results—no halftime show required.
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