This was the mantra for Google’s two-day conference ‘Think Measurement’ in Dublin that Croud’s PPC Strategy Director, Michael Heaven, and Head of PPC, Emily Giffiths recently attended.
It consisted of a variety of presentations, chats and breakout sessions that were intertwined with plenty of Q&As, networking opportunities and games to play.
Read on for Michael’s insights and top takeaways from the event!
AI is just the enabler
From the first presentation: Put Google AI to work for you, the key takeaway was that ‘artificial intelligence (AI) is just the enabler - you’re still the marketer’. It was emphasised that AI isn’t here to replace us, it’s here to enhance us and our work. A few examples of the many things AI can help marketers with are data-driven insights, predictive analysis, and also the creation of content and optimisation - which aids ad personalisation at scale.
The second presentation: Measure With Care, highlighted the importance of going through the Measurement Journey, and the essential route to follow:
Sitewide Tagging > Consent Mode > Enhanced Conversions > Adopt GA4.
By following these steps you can ensure your data will be fully collated, processed and modelled, and then reported to give the greatest accuracy possible.
The afternoon consisted of more networking and games to earn points for your team - we played guess the number of beans in the jar and guess the items by the emojis. There was even a Crystal Maze-esque wind chamber where you had to collect notes as they flew around you. (Our Blue team won, of course).
Day one ended with my highlight of the whole conference - a fascinating presentation by Benedict Evans, an independent analyst and consultant - on the role AI has played in technology advancement, along with its impact on the industry and where it could be going. My key takeaway here was that AI isn’t necessarily something new, but has been in discussion even since the 70’s. What really resonated with me was his quote, ‘everything is AI until it’s given a name’ - hinting towards perception being a big factor into the role it plays.
All things data
Day two’s presentations started along the same vein as day one, though taking on a more technical aspect. The merits of server-side tagging were discussed, including how it can help:
- take control of your data and what is shared with third-party marketing platforms;
- improve your data collection which in-turn, gives better signals to paid media activity;
- speed up page load times which enhances the customer journey.
In the following fireside chat, the importance of powerful partnerships between marketing, data science and legal teams was emphasised.
A key point I took from day two was that “75% of CMOs feel pressured to achieve more with less to drive profitability” and so measurement and our role as marketers play a big part in that.
At Croud, we recognise that in today's data-driven world, the role of analytics in shaping business decisions can’t be overstated. So we put together a guide that explores how brands can enhance the effectiveness of their analytics initiatives. You can download the guide here.
A lunch and more networking opportunities rounded off the whole event. It was incredibly well-run, and good to hear examples from smaller clients who aren't working with the big network agencies, to ensure a more diverse representation. With such a wide audience in attendance, it was interesting to note that opinions and concerns are relatively universal across the board.
To sum up...
I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Dublin - learning a lot as the talks progressed.
My key takeaways from the event are:
- Measurement is very complex and no one has nailed it yet - we’re all learning together.
- Measurement doesn’t just sit with one team - marketers, data scientists, business owners and legal teams all have some involvement.
- AI isn’t threatening, or here to take our jobs. It’s been around in different guises for years and is here to help - but it’s only as good as the inputs it’s given.
- And finally, the key to success is to embrace the changes coming - and don’t panic if you don’t understand these right away!
If you’d like to talk more about measurement - get in touch with our team today.
