NEW YORK: General Motors, the automaker, is looking to potentially supplement its existing marketing metrics with new measures of success developed alongside partners such as Facebook.

Mary Barra, Chief Executive Officer of the Detroit-based automaker, discussed this topic during a keynote session at Advertising Week 2016.

More specifically, she said that the manufacturer of brands including Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac is interested in establishing new gauges of progress in a rapidly-changing digital ecosystem.

"So, there are the traditional metrics we measure across the globe – every brand, every day. But what are other ways that we can look at, again, getting to the ultimate sale?" asked Barra. (For more details of General Motors' evolving strategy, read Warc's exclusive report: GM's formula for marketing success.)

Drilling down into this subject, Barra asserted that General Motors has robust procedures in place to help prove the impact of its messaging.

"We do have a common scorecard. So we're looking at not only the creative, but: What was the reach? Are we building the brand? Are we building opinion, and awareness, right down to purchase intent?" she said.

As a growing number of channels find their way into the media mix, though, brands face an increasingly complex marketing landscape.

"We want to make sure that it's metrics-driven and [that] we're choosing the right channel, because we're still using multiple channels," Barra said.

"But how can [we] be most effective for the dollar invested in communicating with the consumers around the world?"

One necessary consideration in answering that question involves developing metrics that are more appropriate for today's communications landscape.

And GM is discussing these possibilities with operators like Facebook, which possesses a unique read on consumer behaviour and habits.

"One of the things we're trying to do with our Facebook partnership is to look at: What are some new metrics? What are some new ways that we can measure to look at the effectiveness?" Barra said.

Data sourced from Warc