Why Vanity Metrics Kill Marketing Budgets (And What to Track)

In this episode of The Future of Marketing, host Andres Figueira interviews Kimberly Kanary, a strategic marketing consultant at Kuno Creative with deep experience spanning CPG, retail, e-commerce, jewelry, and home improvement. Kimberly brings a unique perspective having navigated the full spectrum of marketing—from PR and crisis communications to advanced analytics and programmatic advertising. Her approach centers on the intersection of art and science in marketing, with an uncompromising focus on tying every marketing dollar to measurable business outcomes. Throughout the conversation, she shares specific tactical examples from her time at Signet Jewelers and reveals why she's betting heavily on programmatic advertising paired with CTV as the next frontier for performance marketing. Topics Discussed: Programmatic advertising paired with CTV (Connected TV) for full-funnel marketing The evolution from the "rule of seven" to 10-20 touches in today's saturated digital environment Building measurement frameworks that prove marketing drives revenue, not just vanity metrics Testing digitally-native influencer content vs. repurposed TV creative in digital channels Leveraging conversion lift studies to measure incrementality, not just attribution Context-specific content adaptation across different platforms and consumer mindsets Using AI as an enabler for efficiency while maintaining the human touch for brand storytelling Building diverse marketing teams with cross-industry experience to drive innovation Analytics maturity curves: from basic ROAS to media mix modeling and multi-touch attribution