Table 26 Sept 2026From “What is marketing efficiency ratio (MER)? A blended signal, not a causal answer”

What does a MER boundary card look like?

Table 2What does a MER boundary card look like?

ID	Boundary	Revenue numerator	Spend denominator	Period	Result and limit
B-01	Net whole-business MER	€480,000 net revenue	€120,000 total marketing spend	Q2	4.00x. Baseline blended ratio under the declared boundary.
B-02	Gross whole-business ratio	€500,000 gross revenue	€120,000 total marketing spend	Q2	4.17x. The numerator changed; do not call it a performance lift against B-01.
B-03	Media-only ratio	€480,000 net revenue	€80,000 paid-media spend	Q2	6.00x. Tools, agency, production, and other spend are outside this denominator.
B-04	Channel ROAS-like row	€240,000 revenue attributed to one campaign	€80,000 paid-media spend	Q2	3.00x. This is attributed campaign return, not whole-business MER.
B-05	Fully loaded MER	€480,000 net revenue	€150,000 total marketing plus agency, tools, and production	Q2	3.20x. A wider denominator lowers the ratio without proving weaker demand.
B-06	Same boundary, later period	€510,000 net revenue	€120,000 total marketing spend	Q3	4.25x. Period changed, so compare only after checking mix, seasonality, and data completeness.

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Source: Table from this essay. Sources and interpretation are given in the article.

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From the essay

Growth that compounds

What is marketing efficiency ratio (MER)? A blended signal, not a causal answer

Marketing efficiency ratio is total revenue divided by total marketing spend for a declared period. Keep the numerator and denominator visible.

6 Sept 2026

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APA 7

Isoglu, S. (2026). What does a MER boundary card look like? [Table]. isoglu.com. https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-marketing-efficiency-ratio-fig03/

BibTeX

@misc{isoglu-2026-what-is-marketing-efficiency-ratio-fig03,
  author = {Isoglu, Sinan},
  title = {{What does a MER boundary card look like?}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Table 2, isoglu.com},
  url = {https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-marketing-efficiency-ratio-fig03/},
  note = {From the essay {What is marketing efficiency ratio (MER)? A blended signal, not a causal answer}}
}

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  <a href="https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-marketing-efficiency-ratio-fig03/">
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  <figcaption>Table 2: What does a MER boundary card look like?. Source: Table from this essay. Sources and interpretation are given in the article. <a href="https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-marketing-efficiency-ratio-fig03/">View exhibit</a>.</figcaption>
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