From Funnels to Influence: Why Modern Marketers Need More Than Data to Win in 2025

Introduction

Marketing in 2025 has reached a decisive crossroads. The digital revolution, consumer behavior fragmentation, and the acceleration of AI have fundamentally restructured how brands interact with audiences. According to Boston Consulting Group (2025), the timeworn linear funnel has become insufficient, if not obsolete. In its place, a new planning paradigm is emerging—one built on influence maps, personalization, and AI-driven agility.

But to thrive in this environment, modern marketers need More Than Data—they need tools, platforms, and partners that help transform data into meaningful decisions. This is the foundation of More Than Data, a marketing effectiveness company that empowers brands and agencies to link real media performance to real business results.

In this article, we unpack the key insights from BCG’s framework shift, connect them to real-world measurement challenges, and show how More Than Data’s platform helps marketers move from traditional models to a future-ready approach.

Why the Linear Funnel Has Broken Down

For decades, marketers relied on the linear funnel to guide strategy: awareness, consideration, decision, purchase. This model worked in a simpler media world—one where TV, print, and in-store experiences dominated, and consumers followed predictable, sequenced paths.

That world no longer exists.

Today’s consumers engage across nonlinear and overlapping touchpoints: watching Netflix while scrolling Instagram, asking Alexa for product suggestions, and making impulse purchases on TikTok. As BCG notes, marketing is no longer a linear persuasion journey—it’s a dynamic web of scrolling, streaming, searching, and shopping.

This shift demands a reimagining of how marketers plan, measure, and optimize media.

Influence Maps: A Better Planning Framework for 2025

The key insight from BCG is clear: marketers must move beyond the funnel and adopt what they call “influence maps.” Unlike traditional models, these maps recognize:

• Consumers behave nonlinearly. There is no fixed sequence from awareness to conversion.
  
• Every touchpoint has the potential to drive influence, not just those labeled as lower-funnel.
  
• Context, relevance, and trust now matter more than impressions alone.

More Than Data’s platform is built around these very principles. We believe that effective marketing measurement must reflect the full complexity of real consumer behavior, not just channel-level metrics.

Redefining Media Value: From Reach to Influence

Not All Reach Is Created Equal

A key mistake many marketers still make is equating high reach with high impact. But as BCG emphasizes, reach alone doesn’t guarantee influence. A consumer who passively scrolls past an ad registers a media impression, but likely not a meaningful one.

Instead, influence is shaped by three factors:

• Attention – Was the ad noticed and engaged with?
  
• Relevance – Did it match the consumer’s need or mindset?
  
• Trust – Did it appear in a context the consumer believes in?
  

At More Than Data, we quantify media performance using incremental impact modelling, not just reach-based KPIs. Our MMM (Marketing Mix Modelling) solution evaluates the true contribution of each channel to business outcomes, accounting for lag, synergy, and contextual relevance.

This means your TikTok spend isn’t just judged by video views—it’s assessed by how well it drives new customers, revenue, or brand preference.

Fragmented Journeys, Unified Measurement

BCG illustrates two contrasting consumer paths: the impulse strategist, who jumps across touchpoints before making a purchase, and the smart saver, who starts with research and ends in an in-app transaction.

These stories reflect what we see daily: no two customer journeys are alike.

Traditional media measurement—especially those still reliant on panel-based metrics or siloed platform reports—fail to capture this complexity. More Than Data addresses this challenge through:

• Unified modelling across paid, owned, and earned channels.
  
• Granular media-level insights, from influencer campaigns to search ads.
  
• Flexible attribution windows, tuned to different product categories and buying behaviors.
  

By combining historical performance data, external variables (like seasonality), and real marketing investments, we help brands isolate what works, for whom, and when.

The Role of AI: More Than Disruption—A Strategic Enabler

Planning for Influence, Executing with AI

As BCG highlights, AI is the great equalizer in modern marketing. Brands constrained by budget or headcount can now scale content production, targeting, and performance insights using AI tools.

At More Than Data, we incorporate inteligent alrogithms at every stage of our modeling and planning platform:

• Predictive budget optimization: Simulate dozens of media scenarios based on expected business outcomes.
  
• Automated scenario testing: See what happens if you increase TV by 15% or shift social media spend toward influencers.
  
• Real-time feedback: Get directional results on which campaigns are most efficient—within days, not weeks.
  

By combining AI and human strategy, we empower marketers to move from reaction to proactive influence planning.

Beyond Tools: A More Human Approach to Measurement

The BCG article underscores the need for customization. No off-the-shelf funnel or dashboard can capture the nuance of real consumer behavior.

That’s why More Than Data doesn’t just offer a self-serve platform. We also provide strategic consulting and modelling services, built on three core principles:

• Accessibility – We believe MMM and advanced attribution should be usable by small and mid-sized teams, not just Fortune 500 companies.
  
• Transparency – No black boxes. Our models are inspectable, explainable, and adjustable.
  
• Partnership – We work hand-in-hand with your media, analytics, and creative teams to ensure insights are actually acted on.

Real-World Example: Optimizing Influence Across the Funnel

A major DTC beverage brand used More Than Data to measure performance across streaming video, YouTube Shorts, retail search, and influencer campaigns. At a glance, their media plan seemed balanced, with decent ROAS across channels.

But our MMM analysis revealed:

• YouTube Shorts and creator content were driving top-of-funnel interest, especially among Gen Z.
  
• In-store search and Amazon sponsored listings were key conversion points.
  
• Meta Ads worked best in synergy with influencer content—but had minimal impact when run in isolation.
  

With this insight, the brand shifted 12% of their Meta budget into influencer partnerships and adjusted their content mix to create more relevance and trust at each stage of the journey.

The result? A 17% lift in marketing efficiency and 28% increase in conversions within three months.

Action Steps for CMOs in 2025

The next generation of marketing leaders won’t win by following the old playbooks. Instead, as BCG suggests, they must:

Plan for Influence

• Conduct influence research to map real-world journeys.
  
• Create influence maps for key personas or use cases.
  
• Align messaging and creative to stages of attention, relevance, and trust.

More Than Data’s platform helps brands do this with pre-built templates for journey mapping, touchpoint scoring, and incremental lift measurement.

Execute with AI

• Automate measurement with always-on MMM.
  
• Use predictive models to allocate budget where it drives the most influence.
  
• Test and learn rapidly, adapting plans as real-world results emerge.
  

We help clients design and run data-driven measurement strategies, whether via our platform or through our strategic team.

Why “More Than Data” Is the Right Partner for the Age of Influence

As BCG rightly asserts, the next decade will belong to brands that master the science of influence—understanding not just where people are, but how to earn their attention, relevance, and trust.

At More Than Data, this mission is at the core of what we do.

We go beyond dashboards and vanity metrics. We provide models that explain, platforms that empower, and people who guide. Whether you’re a global agency looking for modern MMM tools or a scrappy brand trying to make sense of your media ROI, we make sure your marketing doesn’t just reach people—it moves them.