Organizations don’t suffer from a lack of information: every company has first-party data, every platform publishes research, every vendor has benchmarks, and AI can generate answers in seconds. They struggle to agree on reality.
EMARKETER’s methodology combines proprietary research, expert analysis, and more than 3,000 vetted data sources to help organizations understand the forces shaping modern media, advertising, and commerce.
Our forecasters, researchers, and analysts assess the credibility, completeness, and relevance of thousands of data sources. Every forecast and data set is built on clear and consistent market definitions, creating a common framework that enables meaningful comparisons across companies, channels, categories, and markets.
This process enables EMARKETER to move beyond reporting numbers at face value. We combine quantitative data, qualitative market intelligence, and expert analysis to understand not only what is happening, but why it is happening and what it means for the future.
Refined over 30 years, our AFOA (Aggregate, Filter, Organize, Analyze) methodology provides the framework for evaluating thousands of sources, accounting for methodological differences, and normalizing conflicting inputs. Using a combination of top-down and bottom-up analysis, our forecasters assess broader economic and consumer trends alongside the performance of individual companies and markets.
Our forecasting team selects a topic based on market developments, client demand, and data availability, then details the parameters such as audience size, technology, or devices included.
Next, the team works with our researchers, interviewers, and analysts to collect data that can be quantitative or qualitative, gathered from thousands of sources, including research firms, audience measurement companies, industry associations, academic institutions, major media platforms, government-issued data, and more.
After collecting data, our team normalizes it (or weighs it) based on how well it fits within the defined area of analysis. Heavier weighting is given to sources with more complete data and sound methodology, as well as frequency of reporting. This step is critical as it accounts for inherent differences in sources’ methodologies, inclusions, exclusions, and definitions.
Our team then analyzes the data and records trends across numerous related activities and/or spending categories to identify both historical and future growth patterns, as well as properly framing the relationships between our existing and new forecasts.
Next, our forecasters work with researchers and analysts to gather additional feedback on newly completed forecasts through a meticulous internal review process.
Upon approval, forecasted numbers are put into larger context through analysis across our different research formats, press releases, and industry presentations.
Finally, our team engages in a forecast update process that occurs at least twice per year for most forecasts. This process repeats the steps above to yield an update to our forecast estimates based on multiple factors that could affect our outlook, including new data, feedback from the market/industry, and any other shifts at the market, company, and consumer-level.
EMARKETER gives organizations a trusted, common language for understanding the market. By centering decisions around transparent, vetted, and expert-led intelligence, teams can reduce time spent validating data, avoid costly misalignment, and move faster with greater confidence.
