DE-YAN Becomes First Company to Earn MASB Certification for Experiential ROI
DE-YAN, a global brand experience studio, has officially become the first company to receive certification from the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) for its Experiential Revenue Impact Calculator (ERIC), marking a major milestone for the experiential marketing industry.
The company announced that ERIC has been added to the MASB Marketing Metric Catalog after successfully meeting the organization’s rigorous standards for marketing measurement, accountability, and financial attribution. The certification positions experiential marketing alongside digital, broadcast, and programmatic advertising channels with measurable ROI frameworks.
What Is DE-YAN’s ERIC Platform?
ERIC, short for Experiential Revenue Impact Calculator, is a proprietary analytics framework designed to measure and predict the financial impact of live brand experiences. The tool enables marketers to evaluate experiential campaigns before launch and measure actual returns after execution.
According to DE-YAN, the certification followed an independent study conducted in partnership with market intelligence firm Avasta, Inc.. The research aimed to validate whether live brand experiences generate measurable commercial outcomes — and the results significantly exceeded expectations.
Stephen Martell, Chief Innovation Officer at DE-YAN, stated that brands have traditionally relied on “press coverage and vibes” to evaluate event success. ERIC changes that by providing a measurable revenue-focused framework for experiential marketing campaigns.
MASB Certification Signals a Shift in Experiential Marketing
The MASB certification was granted after ERIC was evaluated through the Marketing Metric Accountability Protocol (MMAP), which examines metrics across multiple categories including predictive validity, transparency, reliability, causality, and quality assurance.
Frank Findley, Executive Director of MASB, said the certification introduces much-needed rigor and transparency to financial attribution in experiential marketing.
This development could reshape how CMOs and finance teams evaluate experiential campaigns, giving marketers a standardized way to measure ROI and justify event investments.
Key Findings from the Study
The study behind ERIC revealed several major insights into the effectiveness of live brand experiences:
- 89% of attendees said the event directly influenced their purchasing decisions.
- Experiential campaigns improved the effectiveness of other marketing channels by an average of 47%.
- Some underperforming digital placements became profitable when paired with live experiences.
- One Instagram Priority Placement reportedly shifted from a negative 14% ROI to a positive 24% return after integration with an experiential campaign.
These findings highlight what DE-YAN describes as the “halo effect” of experiential marketing — where live events not only drive direct engagement but also enhance the performance of social, digital, and broadcast campaigns.
How DE-YAN Built Its Measurement Ecosystem
DE-YAN’s focus on measurement began after the company observed unexpected sales lift during a luxury retail activation initially designed as a branding initiative.
That discovery eventually led to the development of Hyperion, the company’s real-time behavioral analytics platform. Hyperion tracks attendee engagement metrics such as dwell time, interaction points, movement patterns, and drop-off behavior during live activations.
The platform has been used across campaigns including the NBA 2K League All-Star activation and Louis Vuitton Beauty experiences.
During the NBA 2K League activation in 2025, Hyperion recorded:
- Average attendee dwell times of 42 minutes
- Peak wait times exceeding 90 minutes
- A 78% completion rate across a five-stage branded experience
At Louis Vuitton Beauty activations, DE-YAN reportedly used live engagement data to optimize creative performance in real time.
Why This Matters for CMOs and Brand Leaders
Historically, experiential marketing has often been viewed as a discretionary branding expense due to limited attribution models. DE-YAN believes ERIC changes that narrative by positioning experiential campaigns as measurable revenue drivers rather than cost centers.
With ERIC now included in the MASB Marketing Metric Catalog, marketing leaders may have stronger financial justification for allocating budgets toward live brand experiences.
DE-YAN also argues that experiential marketing acts as a “multiplier effect” across the broader marketing ecosystem by increasing consumer responsiveness to digital advertising, social campaigns, earned media, and broadcast messaging.
The Future of Experiential Marketing Measurement
The certification of ERIC could represent a turning point for the experiential marketing industry as brands increasingly demand measurable outcomes and performance accountability.
As marketing budgets face growing scrutiny, platforms that connect experiential engagement to revenue attribution may become critical tools for CMOs seeking data-driven investment strategies.
DE-YAN’s milestone suggests that experiential marketing is evolving from a branding tactic into a performance-driven media channel capable of delivering measurable business impact.
