• Optimizing On Cookie Crumbs
    In all my years in online analytics, I have been waiting to see an online media placement that is so strong, the consumer converts directly from one exposure (either click or view), without a path of influence. I think most people reading this would agree that it's nearly impossible (because if we all knew the secret formula, wouldn't we all be using it?!). But why then is the last click/view attribution the standard model?
  • Twitter Metrics? Why Bother?
    There sure is lots of buzz these days about how to measure Twitter. One recent question was typical: "How do we measure the value of the tweets we're producing every day?" Wrong question. The right question is, "SHOULD we measure the value of the tweets we're producing every day?" For the vast majority of companies out there, I think not.
  • Challenging Web Analytics As 'The Little Engine That Could'
    A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of giving one of the keynotes at the Web Analytics Congress in Amsterdam. Sandwiched in between my regular work and biking around the city, the conference further proved to me that an emphasis on creating a data-driven culture from Web data and other data sources was a global concern.
  • Audience Measurement In A Free Society
    Once upon a time, there was no confusing audience measurement with advertising. Advertising was, you know, commercials. But when the use of consumer data is so inextricably embedded into the targeting and delivery of ads to individuals, that seems to be the place where the privacy watchdogs start to sniff. My concern is that with such targeting models emerging, we need to be sure we distinguish between audience measurement -- which is essentially just a flavor of market research, with its own set of standards and best practices -- and impression targeting and delivery, which depends on intelligent deployment of …
  • How To Get The Budget You Need
    As 2011 planning season approaches, here are a few things you can do to increase the probability that you'll get the resources you need for marketing to help drive business goals. Before you go in with your request, work your way down this checklist:
  • The Death Of CPM, The Birth Of CRM Media Planning
    No doubt, cost per thousand (CPM) had a great run. As a common method for measuring media reach, it helped place billions upon billions of ads. Generations of media buyers learned to embrace CPM as "the" way to do business. But CPM's days may be numbered.
  • Big Brand Theory: The Expanding Universe Of Online Branding
    Can you imagine witnessing the evolution of the universe from its earliest beginning? Imagine small, unrelated bits resolving slowly to form recognizable patterns. Like the hot, dense state that characterized the Big Bang, the evolution of online branding has been fueled by its own explosion of transformational technology (and yes, "black hole" is a fitting term for the recession). This is both a scary and exciting time for our industry, and I believe that leading brands -- big brands, to be specific -- are showing us the way forward.
To read more articles use the ARCHIVE function on this page.