While marketing has risen to the C-level at the majority of asset management and insurance firms--which compete in an environment of consolidation and commoditization--its leaders still struggle to demonstrate a calculable impact on profitability.

The powerful combination of digital advertising for a digital product in a digital environment has meant that game marketers have a greater ability to measure the effectiveness of their advertising, tracking at least some portion of sales and customer lifetime values in ways that are still elusive to other marketers. Video game marketers can measure the ROI of their online advertising with the detail and precision of direct marketers.

In 2010, the company enabled mobile ads that could be tapped to make a call, speed dial in disguise. Now, Google ads generate more than 10 million calls a month. The hitch? Figuring out how to track the impact mobile advertising has on consumers.

Building a cross-channel marketing organization requires three processes: creating a cross-channel marketing strategy, integrating cross-channel activity, and measuring a common cross-channel metric. Here's a closer look at what each one involves.