In 2025, the average organisation using the ECAL platform generated a 34.5x ROI on their digital audience engagement.
For any brand or organisation investing in digital platforms, one question ultimately matters: is the technology generating measurable returns? Across our global client network, the answer is a definitive yes. But the more instructive story is why some clients outperform others by an order of magnitude, and what any organisation can do to close that gap.
The 2025 Benchmarks
The global average ROI across our portfolio in 2025 was 34.5x, meaning every $1 invested in an ECAL licence generated $34.50 in measurable media and commercial value, calculated through attributable ticket sales, broadcast and livestream tune-ins, merchandise clicks, and equivalent ad-impression value.
The network also delivered:
- 70,092 average new user subscriptions per year
- 141,408 average Monthly Active Users (MAU)
- 21.9 million average event impressions
- 1.36% average click-through rate (CTR)
- $9.01 average value per MAU
These benchmarks define what strong performance looks like. Organisations tracking below them have identifiable, addressable gaps.
Performance Tiers: Scale and Efficiency Are Not the Same Thing
Segmenting our portfolio into four tiers reveals where calendar marketing ROI is actually being created.
* MAU Loyalty is defined as the percentage of Monthly Active Users who actively engage with calendar events across multiple consecutive months.
High-tier clients are the most efficient converters in the network at $13.96 per active user, outpacing Elite-tier clients at $11.67 despite operating at a far smaller scale. For mid-sized organisations, this is an important signal: strong per-user returns are not reserved for the biggest global enterprises.
Meanwhile, Moderate-tier clients lead on MAU Loyalty at 63.0%. Their immediate priority is converting that existing audience depth into greater commercial yield.
The Content Frequency Gap: The Primary Driver of ROI
The most actionable finding in our 2025 data is the direct relationship between content frequency and marketing ROI.
Elite-tier clients deliver 192 impressions per MAU annually. Developing-tier clients deliver just 66. That 2.9x gap maps almost directly onto the difference in ROI tier, and it has nothing to do with audience size. It is purely a function of how actively organisations use the calendar as a consistent engagement channel.
“Our model projects that moving from 66 to 100 or more impressions per MAU yields a 45% increase in total value, with no subscriber growth required.”
The target for all clients is 80 to 100 impressions per MAU annually.
Scale, Region, and Loyalty
Clients crossing 50,000 MAU reach a meaningful inflection point where the ECAL model outpaces fixed licence costs exponentially. Every 1,000 new MAU generates approximately $9,012 in additional annual value.
Regionally, we see two distinct strengths:
- International clients lead on aggregate ROI at 50.8x through sheer audience scale.
- US clients lead on engagement at a 2.1% CTR through high-frequency, localised content strategies.
International organisations that adopt a US-style content cadence stand to close a meaningful gap in both audience engagement and commercial returns.
On loyalty, clients falling below a 45% MAU Loyalty rate typically see a 30% decline in ROI the following period. The healthy baseline is 55%. Content frequency is the consistent remedy: audiences who find genuine utility in their calendar through ticket alerts, broadcast reminders, and ongoing content remain active. Those who see only a basic event schedule disengage.
Three Priorities for 2026
- Implement commercial deep-linking: Organisations below $9.01 Value per MAU should link directly to high-intent transaction pages, ticketing, tune-in features, and e-commerce platforms, to shift from mere impression value to direct sales value.
- Increase content frequency: Targeting 80 to 100 impressions per MAU through consistent, high-value calendar updates is the fastest, most reliable route to improving audience engagement and elevating your ROI tier.
- Apply the US engagement model internationally: High-frequency content strategies drive results regardless of region. Organisations globally that commit to a consistent calendar content cadence will see their CTR and marketing ROI follow.
The performance gap across our client network is driven by measurable, addressable behaviours: content frequency, commercial depth, and audience loyalty. Brands that treat the calendar as a high-frequency engagement channel generate returns that reflect it.
Ready to see how your organisation stacks up against the 2025 benchmarks? Book a call with an ECAL Expert.
