This Is Attribution

Google’s announcement about the removal of third-party cookies sent shockwaves thru both the advertising world and Wall Street. Is this an Attribution Apocalypse or a necessary cleanse to the advertising ecosystem? The changes and potential impact was the topic of an industry conference call held with Shyam Patil, Internet Analyst, at Susquehanna Securities and C3 Metrics Co-Founder and Chief Attribution Officer, Jeff Greenfield.

Today we welcome Jane Clarke whose knowledge, experience and initiatives continue to push the attribution and measurement market forward. Tune in for an in-depth discussion on the future of standards in attribution and measurement as well as some good tips on choosing a vendor! Guest bio: Jane Clarke has more than 40 years of experience collecting and analyzing global strategic insights for Time Warner, Children’s Television Workshop, and National Geographic. As a CEO and Managing Director of CIMM, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement, Jane is responsible for developing CIM strategy, vision, and overseeing all day-to-day operations. Most recently, she was Vice-President of Insights and Innovation at Time Warner Media Group where her work fuelled marketing solutions across television, online, mobile and print. She is on the board of the Advertising Research Foundation and Icon Global, was a broadcasting and cable digital all-star in 2014, and received a leadership award from Interactive TV Today in 2016. Key takeaways: [1:30] I introduce today’s guest, Jane Clarke, and ask her how her journey took her from an internship at National Geographic to Sesame Street to advertising and CIMM, where she is today. She touches on what the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) is and its purpose. [7:12] Cross-platform analysis evolution has been long and slow, Jane explains how it started for her all the way back at National Geographic and how the advent of digital technology revolutionized expectations and enabled the progressive de-siloing of the analytic process. [10:56] Jane dives into the multitude of different data levels that enable an unprecedented level of analysis granularity as well as how each media offers a unique type of information. She expands on CIMM’s mission in this evolving concept as well as the different systems that will be required in the future. [16:20] Jane explains why she says that the data systems currently in place will need to change, starting with the massive differences in who owns the data as well as privacy issues. [21:22] The lack of standardization is currently an issue; Jane details some of the more promising initiatives underway today. [25:23] Some tools are in place to protect brands against fraud but standards will increase trust and incentivize brands to jump into attribution. CIMM is looking at creating some best practices to start things off. [29:10] Data that is used for measurement is sensitive business data, yet a lot of it is available easily, Jane and I discuss the necessity to tighten up security in an environment whose pace is increasing so rapidly! [31:10] Jane shares her tips and advice for advertisers to find and choose a trustworthy vendor. [34:52] I mention control groups and their importance for measuring incrementality. Jane and I go back and forth with some eye-opening moments clients have when they realize most of their sales would have happened anyway — even when siloed attribution was taking credit for everyone walking into the stores! [40:35] The word attribution like the word organic should be used with certification or people falsely using it should be fined! [42:23] Jane offers her vision on the future of attribution. [44:06] Jane shares one thing she knows that no one else knows and I thank her for coming on the podcast to share so much of her experience. Be sure to tune in for the next episode and thanks for listening! Connect with our guest: Jane Clarke on LinkedIn Jane Clarke at CIMM About your host: Jeff Greenfield is the Co-Founder and Chief Attribution Officer of C3 Metrics. As the chief architect of the platform, Greenfield worked directly with the former CEO and Chairmen of Nielsen to solve advertising’s attribution problem. Greenfield’s history of technology and marketing initiatives has served blue-chip clients including GlaxoSmithKline, Kimberly-Clark, Sony BMG, Black & Decker, Forest Labs, Plum Creek, and...

Izzet Agoren knows: Accurate attribution models cannot be built by data scientists alone…you need a team who understands how media operates in the real world. An electrical engineer who launched his own ISP in 2002 in Cypress, Izzet search for the signal in the noise led him to AdTech. As the VP of Data Science for Rauxa, hear how he’s overcome the barriers to better measurement. Guest bio: Izzet is a technically trained engineer who found his way to ad tech and data science. His vast contributions include the VAST 4.0 and VAST 4.1 standards with the IAB Tech Lab, he has served on the Mobile Marketing Associations Messaging and Programmatic Committees, IoT Council; and the Internet Advertising Bureau's Programmatic and Data councils. While at Penn State, he co-authored multiple, peer-reviewed publications in the area of real-time video communications for 4G wireless communications and his work at Motorola lead to focused development of efficiencies in IEFT standards that defined VOIP on packet networks for mobile carriers. He founded Extended Broadband in 2002, a regional fixed wireless internet service provider that spanned four countries — all of which had strained diplomatic and political circumstances. In 2007 Izzet joined a team that won four media awards for a Semantic targeting technology in marketing technologies. Izzet’s further engagements with Integral Ad Science and TRUSTe exposed his technical background to the enabling capabilities that verification and privacy provide the digital marketing and advertising landscape. He is currently serving as the VP of Data Intelligence at Rauxa, where he leads Artificial Intelligence and machine learning product development. He is an elected Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, and is a Fulbright Scholar. Key takeaways: [2:00] I introduce today’s guest, Izzet Agoren, and ask him about how he came to be where he is today. [5:24] Izzet remembers when he launched his own ISP in Cypress in 2002, climbing on roofs and boosting microwave signals with antennas and amplifiers. [9:12] Moving into his position at Rauxa, Izzet was tasked with elevating the function of the department from being descriptive to prescriptive with data. [12:17] Izzet and I unpack the concept of viewability and the issues surrounding it — a lot of ads aren’t seen but models don’t take it into account — most of the models are made by data scientists who have zero media experience and the model outputs don’t make sense. [15:53] Izzet shares his steps to making a business, a department, or a team more proactive: it always begins as a philosophical concept. He also touches on the two ways data & better measurement can be proactivity presented to a client: (i) as a media product or (ii) as a data product. [18:56] In some cases, clients know that they’re missing out by not using attribution. They are unable to pursue this ROI either because they’re not ready or because there’s a perception that it’s either too complex or too expensive to deploy or that there will be political barriers. [20:02] Measurement is ‘table stakes’ to buying media. Izzet has been kicked out of meetings for saying so. [21:37] Izzet hopes that embracing attribution won’t take a new generation of people as the alternative is that the walled gardens will take it on. In the end, this acceptance movement should begin with more marketers bringing this function in-house. [26:56] In terms of the future, Izzet believes that attribution should get progressively easier as offline behaviors and channels become digitized. Data points will become deterministic and make the analysis more accurate, near real-time. [29:52] Is having complete data possible? [32:04] Izzet shares one thing he knows that no one else does — he doesn’t profess to know any more than anyone, but he does share a recent discovery of...

When Alice Sylvester exited the agency side of advertising, she witnessed both the emergence of market research and the explosion of digital advertising. Now as marketers embrace multi-touch attribution for media, will we see a day where brand and media metrics meet in the middle? Hear her thoughts on privacy changes leading to an attribution apocalypse – and what’s next. Guest bio: Alice Sylvester has held a variety of research and planning positions at major advertising agencies including DraftFCB, Young & Rubicam, Leo Burnett, and J. Walter Thompson. She was Chairman of the Board for the Advertising Research Foundation, a member of the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Advertising Research, and was recently inducted into the Marketing Research Council Hall of Fame. She has chaired the David Ogilvy Awards for Research Excellence, as well as The Emotional Response to Advertising Initiative. Alice is a co-author of Advertising in the Mind of the Consumer. She’s currently a partner at Sequent Partners where she is involved in industry ROI initiatives, new media metrics development, and cross media measurement. She is also the content producer for Attribution Accelerator held in October in New York City. Key takeaways: [2:00] I introduce today’s guest, Alice Sylvester, and ask her about how she came to be where she is today. [6:36] I mention the dual roles of advertising — brand preference and sales impact, both of which can negatively affect each other — and ask Alice if she sees any way or any value in resolving this divide. [8:41] I mention a chat I had with a Capital One exec who has been doing brand lift studies and hopes to one day be able to pinpoint the KPIs responsible for brand love. Alice details why she thinks that we don’t have the data to answer these questions today. [12:52] Alice outlines where she sees multi-touch applications fitting into the current landscape of customer journeys as well as the promises it makes. [15:04] Has the industry gone too far with regards to attribution and privacy? Alice touches on privacy issues and coming regulations and what she calls the attribution apocalypse. [16:15] Some unfulfilled promises of attribution. [18:24] I’ve noticed that clients who don’t or won’t do attribution often have a lack of trust in where the data comes from and how it’s attributed. Alice and I discuss the possibility of breaking out of the confines of confidentiality and standardizing the process, or parts of it. [24:05] Alice offers that even if we understand the limitations of the datasets, attribution is something people should definitely jump into. Don’t wait for perfection! [26:02] In the past 10 years, even if it may seem that marketers have had reduced choices in terms of ad placement, Alice finds that digital out-of-home has offered a wealth of possibilities that were none existed before, however, there may less experimentation — everybody in the industry is stressed and overworked. [27:44] A.I. as a tool to alleviate oversight and optimization workloads — and a scary prospect for Alice as a creative person. [29:31] Is the agency of the future just a janitor, turning the lights on and making sure the machine works? [30:54] On the worth of continued measurements, Alice offers the example of a 12-year-old: you don’t know how they feel about your brand, but in four years they may be making purchases. The customer base always replenishes itself and changes. [33:45] Are we moving more towards a short term marketing environment? Alice offers that we’ve been in one for 20 years and touches on why and how attribution can help. [36:48] How much of a marketing budget should be devoted to metrics? Alice has an interesting answer. [38:40] Alice offers up some parting advice: get ready to face privacy restrictions on a mass scale and how it’s going to change the data landscape. I thank Alice for coming on the podcast and sharing so much of her experience. Be sure to...

When Jim Spaeth co-founded Sequent Partners, he had no idea how much the business of measurement would change. After serving as President of the ARF and decade developing new research tools he could not dream of doing anything else. Hear how (and why) he’s embracing industry change. Guest bio: Jim Spaeth, is co-founder of Sequent Partners, the foremost thought leadership consultancy for brand and media measurement, and ROI. Prior to co-founding Sequent Partners, Jim served for seven years as president of the Advertising Research Foundation. Under Jim’s leadership, the ARF expanded its scope to incorporate all aspects of market research practice on a global basis, including marketing and media, ROI, CRM, brand valuation, digital marketing, and the transformation of the research function to a discipline focused on the value creation. Prior to his leadership role at the ARF, Jim spent over a decade developing new research tools to improve client’s business performance, and led media research and planning functions at General Foods, and Young & Rubicam, an inductee into the Market Research Council Hall of Fame in 2016, he was honored by the Advertising Research Foundation in 2017, when he received the Erwin Ephron Demystification Award. He is the co-author of Market Research Matters and numerous articles, as well as a frequent conference speaker. Jim’s a true student of measurement and that’s why I’m excited he’s here with us today. Key takeaways: [2:00] I introduce today’s guest, Jim Spaeth, and asks him about how he came to be where he is today. [7:06] Jim touches on why attribution came to surpass marketing mixed modeling and how it has evolved into the ability to read today and make a change tomorrow. This quick turnaround time and this agility are responsible for attribution’s current spike in popularity — and some of the mistakes and omissions newcomers tend to do! [11:17] I highlight a point made by Jim that attribution is an offshoot of media mix and marketers need to be involved, not just data scientists who don’t have any knowledge of the previous 30-40 years of marketing data analysis. [12:50] Jim shares an example of how he approaches building a mental model for their business with a client and which KPI he helps them pick out and why. Understanding how your business operates is the starting point to any kind of marketing strategy — including attribution. [16:48] Ignoring history will lead to avoidable mistakes, I point out the Netflix problem: “too much is like not enough.” [18:25] Jim uses an example to underscore one of the big issues with data gaps on the publisher side: the missing variable bias. [24:34] Marketers used to be idea people, they would spend time building their customer avatar and fleshing out strategies, but there has been a shift towards the data-driven marketer, which is much more akin to finance. I ask Jim why there is no love for attribution in finance? [26:31] Jim and I discuss the ideal organizational place of attribution. [28:09] Is Insights a wizard? [29:02] Jim and I dive into what we see as the future of attribution, despite the missing variable bias and a few caveats. [37:09] Before closing out, Jim makes a special mention of the value of creative. [39:07] I thank Jim for coming on the podcast and sharing so much of his experience. Be sure to tune in for next episode and thanks for listening! Connect with our guest: Jim Spaeth at Sequent Partners Jim Spaeth on LinkedIn Mentioned in this episode: C3 Metrics Sequent Partners Advertising Research Foundation Book: Market Research Matters: Tools and Techniques for Aligning Your Business, by Jim Spaeth About your host: Jeff Greenfield is the Co-Founder and Chief Attribution Officer of C3 Metrics. As the chief architect of the platform, Greenfield worked directly with the former CEO and Chairmen of Nielsen to solve advertising’s Attribution problem. Greenfield’s history of technology and marketing...

When Ted Moon founded Pathfinder Interactive, he brought with him brand building at a scale only a few have experienced. Starting with a $100,000 ad budget, Ted built Sprint/Nextel into one of the largest marketing programs in the world. Hear about private concerts with Dave Matthews to fireside chats with Bill Gates and why attribution is a necessity in today’s media environment. Guest bio: Ted Moon has almost two decades of experience in digital marketing and has overseen multimillion dollar online media budgets for Nextel, Sprint Nextel, and Capital One. He has leveraged this experience into successful and often record breaking campaigns for all Pathfinder Interactive clients, deploying cutting edge digital techniques while staying grounded in traditional marketing principles. Ted gained his financial services experience with Capital One as director of online media, but it was the nine years of online marketing experience at Nextel as director of digital marketing – he started in 1999 with a $100,000 experiment. That experiment and his focus on attribution and outcome measurement enabled Ted to build one of the nation’s largest digital marketing programs. And by 2008, his annual budget had grown to over $100 million a year. Ted’s recognition includes being named a MediaPost Online Allstar. At Michigan, Ted was co-captain of the men’s lacrosse team and he’s continued to give back by serving as a devoted mentor and lacrosse coach for the last decade. Ted lives and breathes outcomes, both on and off the field, and that’s why I’m excited that he’s agreed to join me in the studio today. Key takeaways: [1:00] I introduce today’s guest, Ted Moon, and ask him about how he came to be where he is today. [7:18] Ted touches on the innovations that occurred in the past decades and how social media and paid advertising drove huge change in the industry which might make it seem that marketers today are less inclined to do new things, or more risk-averse. [9:38] The innovations of the past having become a part of the everyday playbook, Ted finds that his team’s expertise has shifted from a consulting perspective to more of a partnering relationship with clients on their day to day operations. [12:45] “Game experience” for Ted was garnered both in his professional and personal life since he has been coaching Lacrosse for decades; he shares how that experience is brought over into the work he does with clients. [18:18] Coach Moon shares some of his biggest marketing and measurement lessons, including the massively important role attribution plays in media plans and strategy: the goal is always a team goal, it’s not just the one player. [24:36] If a marketer only ever looks at the one highest-scoring medium, they will be missing out on some critical KPI that will lead to poor decision making in terms of budget allocation. [27:32] Having made the case for how important it is, Ted highlights the levels at which something can happen to prevent an advertiser from using attribution: 1. They don’t know it exists 2. They haven’t budgeted for it 3. Internal politics [30:06] Ted places a minimal proportional budget structure in terms of attribution and discusses the importance of having the intel to know where to put your resources. [34:57] Ted touches on who could benefit from its use; for the most part, attribution has been used by acquisition marketers who have more transactional KPIs, however, Ted sees brand marketers having a use for attribution as well. [41:25] I ask what Ted knows that no one else knows! [42:34] Ted shares the story of an exclusive partner summit at Microsoft. Be sure to tune in for the next episode and thanks for listening! Connect with our guest: Ted@PathfinderInteractive.com Ted Moon on LinkedIn Pathfinder Interactive on Facebook Mentioned in this episode: C3 Metrics Pathfinder Interactive About your host: Jeff Greenfield is the Co-Founder and Chief Attribution Officer of C3 Metrics. As...

Rudy Grahn knows: Attribution is the connective tissue that is missing in almost every organization. A passionate idealist who has the future of attribution square in his sights, tune in to hear Rudy’s insights on how and why attribution came about, what the biggest adoption barriers are and what the future may hold. Guest bio: As he enters his third decade in interactive advertising, Rudy Grahn recently joined Publicis as Executive Vice-President of Data Sciences. Most recently, Rudy was Vice-President of Data Strategy for Marketshare Partners — a Neustar Solution — for managing multi-touch attribution, marketing-mix modeling and audience intelligence with clients including Wells Fargo, PwC and Williams Sonoma. Prior to that, Rudy founded and managed the analytics practice for Zenith-OptiMedia for clients including T-Mobile, Liberty Mutual, and Toyota. Rudy also served as Director of modeling for one of the first attribution companies, ClearSailing — an eBay company — and was a Senior Analyst for Jupiter. Key takeaways: [1:35] I introduce today’s guest, Rudy Grahn, and ask him about how he made his way from talk radio to copywriting, to getting hooked on measurement and becoming one of the bigwigs in the attribution business! [9:55] Rudy speaks to the shifting power dynamics towards the consumer and the shedding of social assumptions: demographics and psychographics are predictive, but historical behavior does it better, all without the social baggage. [13:12] There really is no giving people the ads they really want: they don’t want ads… That is part of why Rudy was so interested in measurement and attribution — let’s do less frequency and more impact! [15:32] How does advertising work? Rudy thinks it’s still fundamentally a black box; he speaks to the enormous paradigm shift we’ve seen so far and ponders what the future may hold. [17:48] I ask Rudy if he has any insight on why a lot of people are reticent in adopting attribution. [22:03] Rudy talks about the importance of consumer-brand dialog and how attribution opens up a wider set of possibilities than ‘last click’ ever did. [24:12] Is attribution more of a finance tool? Rudy breaks down the question and reframes the idea that attribution is math, it’s not creative. [29:05] Rudy shares his surprise at the fact that offline still has no standards for measuring for creative impact. He also touches on the rule of thumb surrounding ‘first exposure’ and its tactical implications. [32:11] There are precious few models that even try to account for every dollar spent, MMM and MTA are it. I posit that for public companies, MTA should be mandatory in terms of having a complete accounting of all marketing expenditures. [34:40] I ask Rudy’s take on the validity of a CAO — Chief Attribution Officer. He can’t find any reason why this shouldn’t be, but he puts his finger on — and we discuss — why the adoption of attribution is often so arduous. [41:13] Rudy chances thoughts on the future of attribution, its potential, and pitfalls. [45:33] Rudy shares one thing he knows that no one else knows. I thank him for coming on the podcast and sharing so much of his experience. Be sure to tune in for the next episode and thanks for listening! Connect with our guest: Rudy Grahn on LinkedIn About your host: Jeff Greenfield is the Co-Founder and Chief Attribution Officer of C3 Metrics. As the chief architect of the platform, Greenfield worked directly with the former CEO and Chairmen of Nielsen to solve advertising’s attribution problem. Greenfield’s history of technology and marketing initiatives has served blue-chip clients including GlaxoSmithKline, Kimberly-Clark, Sony BMG, Black & Decker, Forest Labs, Plum Creek, and more. Prior to co-founding C3 Metrics, Greenfield was a recognized thought leader in the area of Branded Content as the publisher of Branded Entertainment Monthly, a joint effort with VNU Media, detailing industry statistics, gaps, and trends....

Welcome to Throwback Tuesday where we share important interviews we believe warrant another listen! Today’s interview is with Anthony Pitts from DraftKings. This discussion managed to touch on most of the critical aspects of attribution as it pertains to qualitative or “squishy” data analysis— like the human decision-making process. Guest bio: Anthony Pitts was the VP of acquisitions at DraftKings from 2012 to 2015. Under his leadership, the company scaled its customer base at a remarkable rate while decreasing the cost of customer acquisitions. Before DraftKings, Tony spent over seven years in the digital ad tech world overseeing the successful completion of thousands of advertising campaigns that spanned multiple industries while finding actionable ways to use his theoretical understanding on how to increase company yield through advertising. Key takeaways: [2:00] I introduce today’s guest, Anthony Pitts, and ask him about how he came from studying voter behavior to finding how to apply all those squishy concepts to advertising and eventually building up to attribution as the way to efficient marketing strategies. [10:04] Tony walks us through his first steps at DraftKings, shares the story of how Google and Facebook shut them off in the beginning! And he breaks down how the first campaign was built as well as the reasons underpinning the decisions they took around it. [13:02] Tony shares how they planned out who to target and what tiny budget he built his first four-week campaign with and what that meant in terms of using logic and empirical thought processes — there was no roadmap for this kind of thing back then! [16:09] With a budget ballooning to 10 times its original size, how do you know what’s good? How do you know where to invest the money: TV, radio, Facebook or whatever digital channel? Where is your biggest ROI? Tony shares his tips. 1. Establish a process Tony took estimates and did data analysis to determine which channels would get the most money (TV has a broader impact and so got more budget allocation.) This allowed for subsequent evaluation and performance reviews for the channels, which, in turn, allows for adjustments for performance. 2. Track your data For DraftKings, getting an email address was the first point of conversion considered, so identifying which channel permitted this was the first part. Each channel was assigned a promo code which allowed for tracking for the original conversion channel through the customer’s existence. [23:48] Tony speaks to the importance of timing. After setting up your process, when do you spend all that money? Each business has its own rhythm in terms of customer acquisitions: seasonal components that will increase the probability of customer acquisition. [25:45] Tony touches on the reasons why he thinks some marketers aren’t doing attribution and what he would suggest for them to start with as well as some tips to convince the decisional teams. [30:00] I ask Tony about the seemingly decreasing popularity of testing among marketers as well as why — and what — they should be testing for. [32:42] Measurement and attribution should not be thought of in the same spending class as media; Tony believes it’s more of an infrastructure functionality. But when it comes to media expenditures, he offers that all things being equal, you should always aim at spending as little as possible to achieve your desired goal! (Unless there is a learning curve, then you should invest in knowledge.) [36:21] Tony answers my question as to where is attribution headed to, five or 10 years into the future. [40:30] I highlight a point Tony made that nothing will give you absolute truth, but a mix of different sources will get you an increasingly more precise picture. [42:56] Tony shares one thing he knows that no one else knows: don’t get bogged down in the minutiae of tactics — at the end of the day it’s about the big picture. I thank him for coming on the podcast...

C3 Metrics' CEO Greg Collins knows: How to listen, build trust and set expectations. As the newly appointed CEO at C3 Metrics, Collins leads a team recently granted MRC Accreditation for Viewability and is now on track to be the first company granted attribution accreditation. Hear how he sees the market growing and why he made the move to attribution. Guest bio: Greg Collins joined as CEO in 2019 to accelerate growth, and scale C3’s software as a service business model. Greg’s...

David Kaplan is an expert in digital customer acquisition and analytics who faced a major barrier -- what can be done about viewability and attribution. He comes on the show to share how he came into attribution, what this has enabled him to do, and how he overcame the challenges of early adoption. David Kaplan started his career with the Tribune Company as a sysadmin for a joint venture with America Online. In the early nineties, David became Director of Special Projects for SportsLine, working on some of the earliest sports websites such as Shaq.com and the San-Francisco 49ers. As digital continued its growth, David built out affiliate, paid search and SEO programs for TicketsNow and Discover Financial. In 2009, David took on all digital media responsibilities for Peapod, including aggregating multiple lines of business and integrating a multi-touch attribution platform to become the single source of truth. Key takeaways: [1:26] I introduce today’s guest, David Kaplan, and invite him to walk us through his career, from starting out as a self-taught developer to creating Shaq’s website to where he is today: Head of Digital Marketing at GrocerKey. [4:14] David speaks to the challenges of acquiring customers while he was at Peapod — Google Analytics taking credit for conversion where the people never even saw the ad, duplicates, etc. — and how he dealt with those before he found attribution. [6:57] David details the priorities he had when he began his search for an attribution partner, starting with viewability. [8:36] Today’s marketing environment is incredibly competitive and the COA is going up, so you definitely need to know what your money is doing! David also touches on the ramifications of customer blindness and resistance. [10:56] David shares his biggest marketing lessons as well as what his aha moment was, with regard to attribution and how he got Peapod to adopt this new technology. [15:23] Getting people to believe the numbers was in part about data warehouse matching but also education about a multi-touch process. [17:10] David explains why the first touch is so important in customer acquisition in non-brand search. [18:12] In 10 years, David predicts that anyone who is serious and can afford it will be doing attribution. [19:04] I thank David for coming on the podcast and sharing so much of his experience. Be sure to tune in for the next episode and thanks for listening! Connect with our guest: David Kaplan on LinkedIn About your host: Jeff Greenfield is the Co-Founder and Chief Attribution Officer of C3 Metrics. As the chief architect of the platform, Greenfield worked directly with the former CEO and Chairmen of Nielsen to solve advertising’s attribution problem. Greenfield’s history of technology and marketing initiatives has served blue-chip clients including GlaxoSmithKline, Kimberly-Clark, Sony BMG, Black & Decker, Forest Labs, Plum Creek, and more. Prior to co-founding C3 Metrics, Greenfield was a recognized thought leader in the area of Branded Content as the publisher of Branded Entertainment Monthly, a joint effort with VNU Media, detailing industry statistics, gaps, and trends. He’s been a featured speaker at NAPTE, The Next Big Idea, and a news source in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, ABC, CBS, CNET, and Investor’s Business Daily. Greenfield studied Biochemistry at the University of Maryland, holds dual degrees from Southern California University of Health Sciences and is an instrument-rated pilot. Jeff Greenfield at C3 metrics Jeff Greenfield on LinkedIn Jeff Greenfield on Twitter

What can marketers learn from Crossmedia's data analytics guru Lee Beale? How to make the right bets with your marketing budget and build your business. From his early days with CPG brands to building Redbox into a world-class offering, Lee learned the only signal that matters in the marketing noise is the truth. Guest bio: Lee Beale started his career managing CPG brands client side at Reckitt Benckiser and GSK in the UK. In 2009, Lee moved to New York to work for Omnicom Media Group’s Analect data science division. Since joining Crossmedia in 2011, Lee has been the brains and driving force behind Crossmedia’s Red Box data analytics practice. He has been instrumental in making Red Box a world class offering that Crossmedia puts at the center of its approach to media planning and buying. In 2017, AdWeek named Lee a media all-star, recognizing his talents overall and for helping translate for clients seas of unstructured marketing data into actionable business intelligence. Lee also provides key support for the company’s new business growth. Key takeaways: [1:34] I introduce today’s guest, Lee Beale, and invite him to walk us through his career, from studying history to CPG, to today. [4:43] Seeking truth may be one of Lee’s drivers in attribution, but his biggest task, as he sees it, is to ensure a smooth running long-term operation for both agency and client. He breaks down some of the moving parts in such an undertaking. [7:20] Lee touches on what kind of resistance he faces in terms of adopting attribution as well as the tactics he uses to melt a cold attribution heart. [14:44] I ask Lee to tell me how big of a mistake it might be only working with last click. He breaks down the amount most brands are overspending by — it’s MUCH more than you would think! — when they leave out multitouch offline data. [17:44] I unpack some really interesting ROI information that Lee provided about non-brand search and the potentially high-cost/low value customers. [20:40] Lee speaks to his experience of when there is a dramatic reduction in spend from certain social media vendors: some have come to his office to challenge his methodology, and some have even become more and more cooperative with their walled garden data in the hopes of getting parts of that budget back! [26:09] Lee touches on how multi touch attribution can affect the fundamentals of advertising, even branding itself. [27:53] Managing expectations with stakeholders may be the biggest lesson Lee has learned while working in the attribution space, he explains why. [31:04] Attribution’s future according to Lee. [34:37] Lee shares one thing that he knows that no one else knows: rethink your channels! I thank him for coming on the podcast and sharing so much of his experience. Be sure to tune in for the next episode and thanks for listening! Connect with our guest: Lee Beale on LinkedIn About your host: Jeff Greenfield is the Co-Founder and Chief Attribution Officer of C3 Metrics. As the chief architect of the platform, Greenfield worked directly with the former CEO and Chairmen of Nielsen to solve advertising’s attribution problem. Greenfield’s history of technology and marketing initiatives has served blue-chip clients including GlaxoSmithKline, Kimberly-Clark, Sony BMG, Black & Decker, Forest Labs, Plum Creek, and more. Prior to co-founding C3 Metrics, Greenfield was a recognized thought leader in the area of Branded Content as the publisher of Branded Entertainment Monthly, a joint effort with VNU Media, detailing industry statistics, gaps, and trends. He’s been a featured speaker at NAPTE, The Next Big Idea, and a news source in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, ABC, CBS, CNET, and Investor’s Business Daily. Greenfield studied Biochemistry at the University of Maryland, holds dual degrees from Southern California University of Health Sciences and is an instrument-rated pilot. Jeff Greenfield at C3...

Nathan Gorenflo is an expert in EDU lead generation. He comes on the show and shares his experience with operationalizing attribution at Franklin University. A case study in technology adoption and a lesson on why you should not attempt to swallow the entire attribution camel all at once. Guest bio: Nathan Gorenflo is the Director of Digital Strategy and Marketing Operations at Franklin University. A computer scientist by training, Nathan became the digital expert at an agency during the birth of the digital era in 1999. After three years on the agency side, Nathan moved to the brand side, spending time with Mountain Top Conferences, Wells Fargo, and Cardinal Health. An experienced digital marketer, Nathan was initially attracted to attribution’s ability to provide a viewable conversion where credit was only provided to digital ads that were seen. Key takeaways: [1:34] I introduce today’s guest, Nathan Gorenflo, and ask him to walk us through his measurement career trajectory from being a programmer in an agency before the birth of digital marketing to today. [3:32] Nathan recounts how he started at Franklin University and what the priorities were nine years ago, and how they have embraced digital as a whole. [7:58] Before the advent of attribution, Nathan’s department was focused primarily on Google Analytics and though they still use it, it’s a fairly limited tool. [11:23] Jeff and Nathan talk about the importance of filling your sales funnel, which touchpoints are responsible, and thoroughly understanding your customer journey in order to generate flow. [13:37] Nathan shares his biggest attribution Aha! [17:16] So you trust your vendor reporting? Nathan encourages you to have multiple independent resources if you want to have any kind of confidence in the picture you’re looking at. [19:40] New tech can be a challenge to operationalize, Nathan speaks to how Franklin managed this new tech adoption. [23:08] Five years in, Nathan talks about where he hopes attribution is heading in the coming years. [25:20] Nathan shares one thing that he knows that no one else knows: understanding how branding and direct response fit together. I thank him for coming on the podcast and sharing so much of his experience. Be sure to tune in for the next episode and thanks for listening! Connect with our guest: Nathan Gorenflo on Twitter About your host: Jeff Greenfield is the Co-Founder and Chief Attribution Officer of C3 Metrics. As the chief architect of the platform, Greenfield worked directly with the former CEO and Chairmen of Nielsen to solve advertising’s attribution problem. Greenfield’s history of technology and marketing initiatives has served blue-chip clients including GlaxoSmithKline, Kimberly-Clark, Sony BMG, Black & Decker, Forest Labs, Plum Creek, and more. Prior to co-founding C3 Metrics, Greenfield was a recognized thought leader in the area of Branded Content as the publisher of Branded Entertainment Monthly, a joint effort with VNU Media, detailing industry statistics, gaps, and trends. He’s been a featured speaker at NAPTE, The Next Big Idea, and a news source in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, ABC, CBS, CNET, and Investor’s Business Daily. Greenfield studied Biochemistry at the University of Maryland, holds dual degrees from Southern California University of Health Sciences and is an instrument-rated pilot. Jeff Greenfield at C3 metrics Jeff Greenfield on LinkedIn Jeff Greenfield on Twitter

Michael Kaushansky is one of today’s brightest measurement leaders. He comes on the show and shares the story of how he came to be in the digital marketing space and how he along with other mathematicians came to birth what is essentially known as attribution today, tune in to this episode to also hear what he foresees as its inevitable future! Guest bio: Michael Kaushansky serves as Chief Data Officer and President of Havas Helia. He has direct oversight and responsibility for the agency’s data, analytics, and marketing technology plus managing and advancing Helia which is Havas’s relationship marketing CRM agency. Michael has been involved in the field of data analytics and business measurement for nearly two decades and has held roles of increasing responsibility at GE, Target, and GlaxoSmithKline. Prior to Havas, Michael led all marketing analytics at Ogilvy where his work spanned leading global brand advertisers including UPS, IBM, Nestlé, CISCO, and SAP. He has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s in applied mathematics and operational research and is an advisor to Rutgers University’s big data graduate program. Key takeaways: [1:49] I introduce today’s guest, Michael Kaushansky, and ask him to walk us through his measurement career trajectory from data set days to today. [3:42] Michael takes the time to break down three use cases from his time at Fingerhut, in the field of healthcare and in the financial services industry. He explains how he identified which data set points to work with for each, as well as what results these applications yielded, at the time. [12:35] After the financial crisis, Michael found a way to translate his knowledge of working with data sets to tracking ads, searches, and behaviors and moved into digital advertising. [15:25] Budgets were getting bigger and bigger for digital, but the way we were allocating our budgets was still based on a cost-per-thousand basis and CTR. Michael shares the work he began to do when he understood the value of the data set available to him with the World Wide Web. [17:30] Michael touches on the information you can gather about consumers, the relative comparison aspect of marketing and how it ties into the debate on privacy. [20:03] In 2009–10, nobody knew where to start in order to reach and engage the customer in the digital world. … Enter mathematicians! Michael shares the story of how they built what is now known as the path to purchase tracking. [24:00] Michael shares his definition of attribution and this leads to an in-depth discussion on the importance of crediting your marketing activities with their success rates in getting consumers to move within your sales funnel. This, in turn, enables you to better allocate budgets and remain competitive in the marketplace. [31:07] You can’t set it and forget it anymore; how targeting and real-time information gives attribution, data and analytics the ability to keep your decision-making process nimble and your costs under control. [34:19] Michael speaks to the new frontier — because consumers are spending more and more time on their devices, doing attribution in the digital space for brick and mortar purchases becomes imperative. [39:10] The failure to adopt advanced analytics and attribution is unfortunately complex; Michael shares what he sees as the three main barriers to adoption. [42:25] I unpack the last barrier to adoption that Michael highlighted — a previous failure — and offer ways to circumvent those and ensure a successful integration. Michael offers that all advertisers and agencies will have to move towards attribution — it is where things are heading whether they like it or not and the faster they do it, the better off they will be. [48:56] Despite attribution not being talked about as much in conference circles, there has been an increase in big players integrating the practice. I talk about the progression of adoption we usually see for new practices, and what big...

Vanessa Branco knows: When you buy digital media at scale, you need to have advertising attribution. She used Attribution to discover the 'halo' of digital advertising which filled the funnel for one public company and increased their ROI over 300%! Tune in for an insightful episode as Vanessa offers important advice on creative performance, what to budget for testing, and how long you should test for (it’s longer than you’d think!). Guest bio: Vanessa Branco has been working with startups, Fortune 100’s and publicly traded companies for well over 15 years. Her extensive experience includes digital branding and marketing, expertise in media and creative optimization, performance-based marketing, traffic growth, attribution, and customer retention. She first started as Advertising Manager for a publicly-traded company which was advertising in-house and operating sites including screensavers.com. She currently serves as Vice president of business development for a white label trading desk and through her digital consultancy, VersaNine, Vanessa provides brands who are looking to in-house their media buying a hands-on expert. Key takeaways: [1:33] I introduce today’s guest, Vanessa Branco, and ask her about how she came to be where she is today from a false start in finance in the early 2000s. [4:42] Vanessa calls herself white-labeled which means that she works in-house but she is still an outsourced asset — a contracted CMO. [6:17] Priorities are always the same: acquiring customers, driving revenue, increasing ROI; it’s the methods that have diversified. Vanessa talks us through her experience at screensavers.com. [10:25] Without attribution, manual reporting, a three-month turnover customer rate and a constant need to acquire new people, Vanessa talks about her strategy to start slow. She also talks about the birth of the affiliate networks, pixels, and the secret sauce back then (the Halo effect). [14:21] After her crazy experience at the very start of MySpace, Vanessa was already trying to prove that display worked. She recounts her experience with over-counting. [21:09] After all this over-counting and inaccurate reporting, what happened when attribution came into this scenario? Vanessa shares a funny story about her big vs. small vendor. [25:17] Vanessa details the results of using attribution: testing different creatives, changing affiliate programs and search terms and changing vendors, the way they’re viewed, and the parts they play, which in turn, changes budget attribution. [27:05] Whatever happened to that small vendor? [28:35] I highlight a great point Vanessa has made: it’s not only about the math, but you also have to move slowly and get the people on board — 3 to 6 months is usually what it takes, according to her. [30:29] Can attribution tell you what creative is performing? Vanessa insists it absolutely can, granted you put in the work and tag it properly. Attribution, along with the CRM data, can also give you the ‘why’ of a customer’s decision, and this is important information for future campaigns. [33:40] Vanessa explains how many sets of creatives you should be running simultaneously for an example budget of 250K a month. She also shares advice on how long to test your creative for! [36:47] Vanessa shares one thing that she knows that no one else knows: if you’re not using attribution for everything — capturing the whole journey and it’s much, much longer than you think — you don’t have attribution. I thank her for coming on the podcast and sharing so much of her experience. Be sure to tune in for the next episode and thanks for listening! Connect with our guest: Vanessa M. Branco on LinkedIn Vanessa M. Branco on Twitter Mentioned in this episode: VersaNine About your host: Jeff Greenfield is the Co-Founder and Chief Attribution Officer of C3 Metrics. As the chief architect of the platform, Greenfield worked directly with the former CEO and Chairmen of Nielsen to...

Straight shooter Kevin Seaman shares his story of how he took a TV-centric organization and moved it into the digital space using cross-channel multi-touch attribution. Tune in to find out what it takes to get attribution adopted, the challenges you may face and what you could expect to learn along the way. Guest bio: Kevin Seaman has made a career out of measurable marketing, spending the last 20 years maximizing outcomes for national consumer and B2B marketers including Scotts Miracle Grow, Valvoline, and Goodyear. Kevin had his attribution conversion in 2013 while at Southern New-Hampshire University (SNHU), realizing that transforming from a TV-centric advertiser was going to require a new way to measure and optimize. In his five years there, SNHU turned into a digital marketing powerhouse and tripled in size, becoming the largest non-profit online University in the U.S. Currently, as the Founder of Results Analytics, Kevin provides analytics, performance marketing, and strategy expertise to help companies maximize outcomes and make analytics part of their DNA. Key takeaways: [1:48] I introduce today’s guest, Kevin, and ask him about how he came to be where he is today — from agency-side direct marketing to client-side at SNHU. [5:03] Kevin tells the story of when he came to SNHU, how they were structured, and the work he did to help pioneer the online studies. [6:54] SNHU was looking to build a brand and drive growth in the online space on a national scale but was spending exclusively on TV. In order to convince decision-makers to fund a more diversified marketing mix, Kevin had to prove that digital was working, so he ran tons and tons of pilots in the digital space. [10:05] Kevin touches on the view through measurement which he calls the “blimp measurement”; he explains how the blimp metaphor highlights the shortcomings and unreliability of this data point. It led to him doing large scale placebo testing to help identify a Goldilocks solution. [13:10] Kevin shares the story of his 2014 New Year’s resolution and the apology he delivered to his marketing team before asking them to fund digital multi-channel, multi-touch attribution! [14:34] Kevin speaks to his achievements throughout the attribution journey he led with SNHU. When you look at any technology, the hardest aspect is to get people to drink the Kool-Aid, so Kevin was constantly gathering proof. [16:04] He shares the challenges he faced and gives his tips on getting the people in an organization to adopt a new technology and to move budget line items. [20:20] Organizational challenges are often the thing holding us back from going all-in with a new solution. Does Kevin see a way to circumvent those challenges? [22:52] Considering that attribution is one of the largest line items in an organization’s P&L, should there be a Chief Attribution Officer? Kevin weighs in with his thoughts on accountability within an organization. [25:44] Kevin shares some measurement lessons he drew from his experience at SNHU: get the house plumbing in order, connect your front-end and your back-end, and make sure you’re optimizing for the right behaviors. [31:23] Creative is a BIG contributor; don’t be just a math person, watch your soft skills and watch your language (opt for the good/better/best rather than the good/bad). [36:34] Jeff highlights the truth in what Kevin is saying: in an organization, math will not sell attribution, you need a different set of skills for that. Kevin shares the example of Google in that sense. [40:37] Kevin and Jeff discuss the importance of partnered relationships in the operationalization of attribution as well as how to recognize those relationships. Kevin opens up about a professional soul-crushing insight with one of his vendor relationships. [43:30] Kevin shares his thoughts on the future of attribution, he touches on the non-measurable sides of attribution, the possible fragmentation of attribution and the impacts of...

Digital marketing trainer Leslie Laredo knows: The biggest challenge to multi-touch attribution is the refusal to challenge assumptions. Knowing how to challenge ROI numbers only comes from training. And after training over a hundred thousand marketing professionals over the last two decades, Leslie knows you have to consistently train to stay ahead and win in today's marketing world. Hear her thoughts on companies increasing revenue by making training a priority. Guest bio: An Internet advertising pioneer with more than 25 years of digital media industry, Leslie Laredo has been instrumental in changing the business face of media and dramatically improving the knowledge and skills of media professionals on how to buy and sell digital media. Leslie has consulted with startups, Fortune 500 companies, small-to-large advertising agencies, and multi-brand media publishers. Her consulting services have been used and valued by C-level executives, Vice-Presidents, sales and account managers, and media buyers and planners. She has worked with CPG and B2B brand and marketing managers spanning many industries including automotive, travel, financial, pharmaceutical and many others to educate their teams on how to plan, buy, and sell digital media. Her insights and training have allowed sales organizations to more effectively meet the needs of their advertisers while maximizing revenues. She has also worked with agencies of all sizes to be more effective in delivering online media strategies as well as transitioning their business to provide the thought leadership and digital media and marketing skills increasingly required to keep and acquire clients. Key takeaways: [2:09] I introduce today’s guest, Leslie Laredo, and asks her about how she came to be where she is today. [6:04] Leslie touches on the differences between executives and teams who believe in training and those who don’t: having a learning culture and being committed creates teams that excel and challenge assumptions about the business and the marketplace. She shares an anecdote about proud members of the dead tree society from an NAA conference she once spoke at. [9:50] Once you understand your business, you can begin to be creative in how you approach things. Leslie shares the three important aspects of training she touches on first: 1. WHY? Why is this happening, why is it important. 2. HOW? How does it happen, how do they create, sell and monetize their content and audience 3. WHAT? What tools do they have to do it with [13:56] People get it now! There was a holy grail moment in 2016-17 where people started talking about attribution and its eventual ability to resolve part of the “which half of your advertising budget is wasted” question. Leslie shares a story from the Advertising Club of New York session where she heard a Toyota rep talk about how their CTR metrics had become institutionalized. [19:52] Institutionalized metrics create a grey area: whose job is it to flag them and enable better measurements to be put in place? Leslie touches on what she thinks is the solution. She also discusses what attribution helps us get to: the why as well as the story; we’ve been very bad at telling a story of decision making out of data, and attribution helps us in this regard because it’s not just data points. [25:48] For the future of attribution, Leslie hopes that it becomes a ubiquitous part of marketing decisions: a holy grail has to be used! The future is about changing the outcomes and getting better at what we do. [28:21] Leslie and I share GPS analogies! Would you get on a plane whose GPS and compass are out? [32:42] There is a fear of telling people they’ve been doing things wrong, and I believe it’s from a lack of certainty which also amounts to lack of training. Leslie shares some tips: learn to fail fast, and don’t wait until things go wrong to try to improve your processes. Changes are coming, the most important...

Izzet Agoren knows: Accurate attribution models cannot be built by data scientists alone…you need a team who understands how media operates in the real world. An electrical engineer who launched his own ISP in 2002 in Cypress, Izzet's search for the signal in the noise led him to AdTech. As the VP of Data Science for Rauxa, hear how he’s overcome the barriers to better measurement. Guest bio: Izzet is a technically trained engineer who found his way to ad tech and data science. His vast contributions include the VAST 4.0 and VAST 4.1 standards with the IAB Tech Lab, he has served on the Mobile Marketing Associations Messaging and Programmatic Committees, IoT Council; and the Internet Advertising Bureau's Programmatic and Data councils. While at Penn State, he co-authored multiple, peer-reviewed publications in the area of real-time video communications for 4G wireless communications and his work at Motorola lead to focused development of efficiencies in IEFT standards that defined VOIP on packet networks for mobile carriers. He founded Extended Broadband in 2002, a regional fixed wireless internet service provider that spanned four countries — all of which had strained diplomatic and political circumstances. In 2007 Izzet joined a team that won four media awards for a Semantic targeting technology in marketing technologies. Izzet’s further engagements with Integral Ad Science and TRUSTe exposed his technical background to the enabling capabilities that verification and privacy provide the digital marketing and advertising landscape. He is currently serving as the VP of Data Intelligence at Rauxa, where he leads Artificial Intelligence and machine learning product development. He is an elected Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, and is a Fulbright Scholar. Key takeaways: [2:00] I introduce today’s guest, Izzet Agoren, and ask him about how he came to be where he is today. [5:24] Izzet remembers when he launched his own ISP in Cypress in 2002, climbing on roofs and boosting microwave signals with antennas and amplifiers. [9:12] Moving into his position at Rauxa, Izzet was tasked with elevating the function of the department from being descriptive to prescriptive with data. [12:17] Izzet and I unpack the concept of viewability and the issues surrounding it — a lot of ads aren’t seen but models don’t take it into account — most of the models are made by data scientists who have zero media experience and the model outputs don’t make sense. [15:53] Izzet shares his steps to making a business, a department, or a team more proactive: it always begins as a philosophical concept. He also touches on the two ways data & better measurement can be proactivity presented to a client: (i) as a media product or (ii) as a data product. [18:56] In some cases, clients know that they’re missing out by not using attribution. They are unable to pursue this ROI either because they’re not ready or because there’s a perception that it’s either too complex or too expensive to deploy or that there will be political barriers. [20:02] Measurement is ‘table stakes’ to buying media. Izzet has been kicked out of meetings for saying so. [21:37] Izzet hopes that embracing attribution won’t take a new generation of people as the alternative is that the walled gardens will take it on. In the end, this acceptance movement should begin with more marketers bringing this function in-house. [26:56] In terms of the future, Izzet believes that attribution should get progressively easier as offline behaviors and channels become digitized. Data points will become deterministic and make the analysis more accurate, near real-time. [29:52] Is having complete data possible? [32:04] Izzet shares one thing he knows that no one else does — he doesn’t profess to know any more than anyone, but he does share a recent discovery of his. I thank...

When Anthony Pitts — the 400 million dollar marketer — joined DraftKings in 2012, no one expected such a massive growth curve: from 651 paying customers to over 2 million in four years! Follow his story to hear what it takes to build a customized attribution framework and why committing to a process is more important than the outcome. Guest bio: Anthony Pitts was the VP of acquisitions at DraftKings from 2012 to 2015. Under his leadership, the company scaled its customer base at a remarkable rate while decreasing the cost of customer acquisitions. Before Draftkings tony spent over seven years in the digital ad tech world overseeing the successful completion of thousands of advertising campaigns that spanned multiple industries while finding actionable ways to use his theoretical understanding on how to increase company yield through advertising. Tony’s slightly unconventional path began with a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Carnegie Mellon which eventually led him to complete a Master’s in Political Science at the University of Rochester. He is an empirical thinker who has a strong statistical background and a studied understanding of the qualitative drivers of the human decision-making process. Key takeaways: [2:00] I introduce today’s guest, Anthony Pitts, and ask him about how he came to be where he is today. [11:34] Tony walks us through his first steps at DraftKings, shares the story of how Google and Facebook shut them off in the beginning! And he breaks down how the first campaign was built as well as the reasons underpinning the decisions they took around it. [16:32] Tony shares what budget he built this first four-week campaign with and what that meant in terms of using logic and empirical thought processes — there was no roadmap for this kind of thing back then! [19:30] How do you know what’s good? How do you know where to invest the money: TV, radio, Facebook or whatever digital channel? Where is your biggest ROI? Tony shares his tips. 1. Establish a process Tony took estimates and did data analysis to determine which channels would get the most money (TV has a broader impact and so got more budget allocation.) This allowed for subsequent evaluation and performance reviews for the channels which in turns allows for adjustments for performance. 2. Track your data For DraftKings, getting an email address was the first point of conversion considered, so identifying which channel permitted this was the first part. Each channel was assigned a promo code which allowed for tracking for the original conversion channel through the customer’s existence. [26:52] Tony touches on the importance of timing. After setting up your process, when do you spend all that money? Each business has its own rhythm in terms of customer acquisitions: seasonal components that will increase the probability of customer acquisition. [29:02] Tony touches on the reasons why he thinks some marketers aren’t doing attribution and what he would suggest for them to start with. [33:36] I ask Tony about the seemingly decreasing popularity of testing among marketers as well as why — and what — they should be testing for. [36:52] Measurement and attribution should not be thought of in the same spending class as media; Tony believes it’s more of an infrastructure functionality. But when it comes to media expenditures, he offers that all things being equal, you should always aim at spending as little as possible to achieve your desired goal! (Unless there is a learning curve, then you should invest in knowledge.) [41:02] Tony answers my question as to where is attribution headed to, five or 10 years into the future. [45:44] I highlight a point Tony made that nothing will give you absolute truth, but a mix of different sources will get you an increasingly more precise picture. [48:26] Tony shares one thing he knows that no one else does. I thank him for coming on the podcast and sharing so much of his experience. Be...

When Alice Sylvester exited the agency side of advertising, she witnessed both the emergence of market research and the explosion of digital advertising. Now as marketers embrace multi-touch attribution for media, will we see a day where brand and media metrics meet in the middle? Hear her thoughts on privacy changes leading to an attribution apocalypse – and what’s next. Guest bio: Alice Sylvester has held a variety of research and planning positions at major advertising agencies including DraftFCB, Young & Rubicam, Leo Burnett, and J. Walter Thompson. She was Chairman of the Board for the Advertising Research Foundation, a member of the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Advertising Research, and was recently inducted into the Marketing Research Council Hall of Fame. She has chaired the David Ogilvy Awards for Research Excellence, as well as The Emotional Response to Advertising Initiative. Alice is a co-author of Advertising in the Mind of the Consumer. She’s currently a partner at Sequent Partners where she is involved in industry ROI initiatives, new media metrics development, and cross media measurement. She is also the content producer for Attribution Accelerator held in October in New York City. Key takeaways: [2:00] I introduce today’s guest, Alice Sylvester, and ask her about how she came to be where she is today. [6:36] I mention the dual roles of advertising — brand preference and sales impact, both of which can negatively affect each other — and ask Alice if she sees any way or any value in resolving this divide. [8:41] I mention a chat I had with a Capital One exec who has been doing brand lift studies and hopes to one day be able to pinpoint the KPIs responsible for brand love. Alice details why she thinks that we don’t have the data to answer these questions today. [12:52] Alice outlines where she sees multi-touch applications fitting into the current landscape of customer journeys as well as the promises it makes. [15:04] Has the industry gone too far with regards to attribution and privacy? Alice touches on privacy issues and coming regulations and what she calls the attribution apocalypse. [16:15] Some unfulfilled promises of attribution. [18:24] I’ve noticed that clients who don’t or won’t do attribution often have a lack of trust in where the data comes from and how it’s attributed. Alice and I discuss the possibility of breaking out of the confines of confidentiality and standardizing the process, or parts of it. [24:05] Alice offers that even if we understand the limitations of the datasets, attribution is something people should definitely jump into. Don’t wait for perfection! [26:02] In the past 10 years, even if it may seem that marketers have had reduced choices in terms of ad placement, Alice finds that digital out-of-home has offered a wealth of possibilities that were none existed before, however, there may less experimentation — everybody in the industry is stressed and overworked. [27:44] A.I. as a tool to alleviate oversight and optimization workloads — and a scary prospect for Alice as a creative person. [29:31] Is the agency of the future just a janitor, turning the lights on and making sure the machine works? [30:54] On the worth of continued measurements, Alice offers the example of a 12-year-old: you don’t know how they feel about your brand, but in four years they may be making purchases. The customer base always replenishes itself and changes. [33:45] Are we moving more towards a short term marketing environment? Alice offers that we’ve been in one for 20 years and touches on why and how attribution can help. [36:48] How much of a marketing budget should be devoted to metrics? Alice has an interesting answer. [38:40] Alice offers up some parting advice: get ready to face privacy restrictions on a mass scale and how it’s going to change the data landscape. I thank Alice for coming on the podcast and sharing so much of her experience. Be sure to...

When Jim Spaeth co-founded Sequent Partners, he had no idea how much the business of measurement would change. After serving as President of the ARF and decade developing new research tools he could not dream of doing anything else. Hear how (and why) he’s embracing industry change. Guest bio: Jim Spaeth, is co-founder of Sequent Partners, the foremost thought leadership consultancy for brand and media measurement, and ROI. Prior to co-founding Sequent Partners, Jim served for seven years as president of the Advertising Research Foundation. Under Jim’s leadership, the ARF expanded its scope to incorporate all aspects of market research practice on a global basis, including marketing and media, ROI, CRM, brand valuation, digital marketing, and the transformation of the research function to a discipline focused on the value creation. Prior to his leadership role at the ARF, Jim spent over a decade developing new research tools to improve client’s business performance, and led media research and planning functions at General Foods, and Young & Rubicam, an inductee into the Market Research Council Hall of Fame in 2016, he was honored by the Advertising Research Foundation in 2017, when he received the Erwin Ephron Demystification Award. He is the co-author of Market Research Matters and numerous articles, as well as a frequent conference speaker. Jim’s a true student of measurement and that’s why I’m excited he’s here with us today. Key takeaways: [2:00] I introduce today’s guest, Jim Spaeth, and asks him about how he came to be where he is today. [7:06] Jim touches on why attribution came to surpass marketing mixed modeling and how it has evolved into the ability to read today and make a change tomorrow. This quick turnaround time and this agility are responsible for attribution’s current spike in popularity — and some of the mistakes and omissions newcomers tend to do! [11:17] I highlight a point made by Jim that attribution is an offshoot of media mix and marketers need to be involved, not just data scientists who don’t have any knowledge of the previous 30-40 years of marketing data analysis. [12:50] Jim shares an example of how he approaches building a mental model for their business with a client and which KPI he helps them pick out and why. Understanding how your business operates is the starting point to any kind of marketing strategy — including attribution. [16:48] Ignoring history will lead to avoidable mistakes, I point out the Netflix problem: “too much is like not enough.” [18:25] Jim uses an example to underscore one of the big issues with data gaps on the publisher side: the missing variable bias. [24:34] Marketers used to be idea people, they would spend time building their customer avatar and fleshing out strategies, but there has been a shift towards the data-driven marketer, which is much more akin to finance. I ask Jim why there is no love for attribution in finance? [26:31] Jim and I discuss the ideal organizational place of attribution. [28:09] Is Insights a wizard? [29:02] Jim and I dive into what we see as the future of attribution, despite the missing variable bias and a few caveats. [37:09] Before closing out, Jim makes a special mention of the value of creative. [39:07] I thank Jim for coming on the podcast and sharing so much of his experience. Be sure to tune in for next episode and thanks for listening! Connect with our guest: Jim Spaeth at Sequent Partners Jim Spaeth on LinkedIn Mentioned in this episode: C3 Metrics Sequent Partners Advertising Research Foundation Book: Market Research Matters: Tools and Techniques for Aligning Your Business, by Jim Spaeth About your host: Jeff Greenfield is the Co-Founder and Chief Attribution Officer of C3 Metrics. As the chief architect of the platform, Greenfield worked directly with the former CEO and Chairmen of Nielsen to solve advertising’s Attribution problem. Greenfield’s history of technology and...