The Forrester Wave™: Interactive Attribution, Q4 2009

In Forrester's 44-criteria evaluation of interactive attribution vendors, we found that while no vendor offers a fully formed solution, ClearSaleing, Visual IQ, and Atlas lead the pack. ClearSaleing, a standalone attribution tool with rich modeling, comes closest to offering a complete solution, while Visual IQ's tool is powerful and beautiful but meant only for the big guys. Atlas is the everyman's attribution choice, with easy-to-use reports but none of the rich math of the other Leaders. Next comes [x+1], which takes a consultative approach, relying on solid analytics and full service media buying. Coremetrics follows, offering a site analytics tool with more simplistic but easy-to-use functionality. Theorem (a white-label data cleanser) and TruEffect (a small display-ad server) focus on data accuracy and the value of algorithmic modeling but are not as robust as the Leaders. To lead the market in the near term, we recommend that vendors focus their road maps on modeling capabilities, reporting flexibility, and actionability.