# Measuring campaign impact

Source: https://help.cyreen.de/en/cap-explorer/auswertungen/messmethodik/ | Language: en | Reviewed: 2026-10-14

Cyreen measures what a campaign actually achieves at the shelf. To do this, every purchase is assigned to a contact with the ad, or to none.

01 **Same store** Shoppers with and without ad contact shop in the same store.

02 **Same time** Both groups shop in the same period, with the same promotions.

03 **Same prices** The only difference is the contact with the advertising.

How an ad contact comes about is shown in [Understanding campaign kinds](https://help.cyreen.de/en/cap-explorer/kampagnen/kampagnenarten.md#contact-based-campaigns).

## With and without ad contact

Shoppers without ad contact form the control group. The difference between the two groups is the effect of the advertising, not that of a public holiday, a promotion or a different store.

Traditional method: referencing

- Compares periods (before, after) or stores (with, without campaign)

- Season, weather, price promotions and location distort the result

C.A.P. measurement method

- Compares shoppers with and without ad contact

- Same store, same time, same prices

- Scientifically reviewed and published

## The quality of an impression

How well is an impression proven? The table shows stage by stage what the usual in-store measurement proves and what Cyreen proves. Stages 01 to 03 come from the definitions of the advertising association IAB, 04 and 05 go beyond them.

| Stage | Usual measurement | Cyreen

| 01 · IAB Ad Play **Visual is playing** Was the visual shown? | Measured | Measured

| 02 · IAB Gross Impression **Someone is there** Was a shopper at the screen? | Estimated | Measured

| 03 · IAB Opportunity To See **Close enough to see** Was the shopper close enough to see the visual? | Modeled | Measured

| 04 · Beyond IAB **Purchased** Did this shopper buy the product? | Unknown | Linked to the purchase

| 05 · Beyond IAB **Effect proven** Are the additional sales from the advertising proven? | Fallback: comparison with other periods or stores | Control group

proven estimated, modeled or unknown

## Trigger and witness

Not every detected trolley or basket triggers a visual. When a trolley or basket reaches the C.A.P. screen while no visual is playing, it starts the visual: this is a **trigger**. Trolleys and baskets that arrive while the visual is already playing are **witnesses**. They see the visual, but not from the beginning. In the impressions, a witness counts the same as a trigger.

The longer the visual and the more trolleys and baskets pass by in a short time, the more witnesses and the fewer triggers there are.

## Analysis groups

The effect is measured for analysis groups (**Analysis Group**). An analysis group combines analytics products for which the key figures are calculated together. A typical structure runs from the advertised product to the whole category:

Advertised products in the dashboard: Advertised Products

Related products for example further varieties, in the dashboard: Related Products

Whole category in the dashboard: Product-Category

narrow wide

The rules for entering analysis groups are described in [Rules for analysis groups](https://help.cyreen.de/en/cap-explorer/kampagnen/kontaktbasiert/schritt-2.md#rules-for-analysis-groups). How many analysis groups you see in the dashboard depends on the booked report, see [Reports at a glance](https://help.cyreen.de/en/cap-explorer/auswertungen/reporting-angebot.md).

## Key figures

All key figures compare shoppers with and without ad contact.

| Key figure | Answers the question |
|---|---|
| **Impressions** | How often were the visuals triggered, projected to impressions on shoppers? |
| **Conversion Rate** | What share of shoppers buys a product of the analysis group? |
| **Conversion rate uplift** (in the dashboard: **Conversion Uplift**) | By what percentage does the conversion rate increase with ad contact? The uplift is relative, small products often reach high values. |
| **Average sales** (in the dashboard: **Basket Size**) | Do buyers purchase more units per shopping trip? Measured in units, not in euros. |
| **Sales Uplift (Seen)** | How much more do you sell to shoppers with ad contact? |
| **Sales Uplift (Total)** | How much more do you sell in total in the store? In simplified terms: Sales Uplift (Seen) × reach. |

## Detailed methodology

Formulas, a worked example, the studies behind the method, the data cleaning and how reliable a figure is are described on a separate page, which the CAP Explorer also links to.

[Open methodik.cyreen.de](https://methodik.cyreen.de/?lang=en)