Benoit Vatere and Bryan Leach on measuring incrementality in CPG

The Flaw in Conventional Ad Metrics

Package-goods brands must abandon conventional return on ad spend metrics if they want an accurate measure of digital promotions. That warning came from Benoit Vatere and Bryan Leach during a live session at Brandweek 2026, as reported by adweek.com.

Traditional return on ad spend calculations frequently overstate promotional effectiveness. They routinely credit marketing campaigns for sales that would have happened anyway, masking the true performance of digital budgets.

Brands Replace Standard Calculations with Real-Time Data to Find Incremental Sales

Vatere, chief media and digital commerce officer at Liquid Death, and Leach, founder and chief executive officer at Ibotta, explored how brands can replace standard calculations with real-time data, matched-audience testing, and rigorous measurement to find genuinely incremental sales.

Conventional metrics fail to isolate whether a digital promotion actually drove new consumer behavior or simply subsidized purchases from brand loyalists. Vatere explained that relying on quarterly sales recaps leaves companies blind to customer churn and margin erosion.

By shifting focus toward incrementality and cost per incremental dollar, consumer packaged goods manufacturers can protect their profit margins. They can then reallocate budgets based on immediate sales signals rather than inflated platform numbers.

Scaling Accountability Through Ibotta

Leach noted that Ibotta’s digital promotion platform delivers offers to more than 200 million consumers. The system powers promotional programs for major brands including Walmart, DoorDash, and Instacart.

Leach led Ibotta through the largest tech IPO in Colorado history in 2024, bringing public-market scrutiny to digital promotional accountability.

Independent Verification for Retail Media

Brands face mounting pressure to prove that retail media investments yield true business growth rather than vanity metrics. Independent third-party verification builds trust in these results by establishing clear benchmarks for household penetration and churn reduction.

Matched-audience testing allows marketing teams to separate baseline buying habits from campaign-driven lift. Without these granular measurement practices, companies risk pouring capital into inefficient channels without knowing whether the spend drives sustainable household penetration.