pointmarc enables high-tech client to
measure & optimize marketing ROI.

challenge:

In the Fall of 2008, one of Pointmarc's clients was less than a year from releasing a revamped and newly branded search engine. The task was significant on a number of levels, not the least of which was the need for robust measurement of a sizeable marketing investment planned to build awareness, establish perception, and drive trial. In the digital space, our client had aggressive goals coupled with the largest consumer-focused online spend in company history. Marketing performance data needed to be normalized, attributable across all marketing dimensions, and readily available for data insight and optimization. Pointmarc was engaged to play an integral part in the development and execution of this measurement framework.

methodology:

Data Management Prior to launch, our client's search offering was a mix of different online experiences and marketing budget was focused solely on sustaining query share. Naturally, core online behavioral data was highly fragmented across different systems, with the majority housed in a complex propriety database. Pointmarc worked closely with the marketing team to drive data requirements and conduct multiple audits to fully understand key data correlations within this database. This effort also required the integration of marketing data by standardizing the use of a single GUID across all agencies and their corresponding advertising technologies. The collective effort normalized data across multiple systems and dramatically improved the ability to profile users as they consume online marketing and engage with the search experience.

Instrumentation With improved data flow, our client was well positioned to drive critical enhancements in performance measurement. The marketing analytics team scoped a process to parse proprietary data logs using custom URL parameters, allowing for marketing attribution at a tactic, publisher, creative, keyword and other levels. This process also highlighted the need to evaluate 3rd party measurement tools to determine feasibility of using this same custom parameter distinction in lieu of proprietary instrumentation. Pointmarc participated in all pieces of this effort, drove the development of this custom taxonomy, and owned provisioning campaign variables globally to ensure data integrity. Pointmarc instrumentation specialists also played a key role in the evaluation and deployment of Omniture's on-premise Insight tool for improved data mining and visualization. Analysis Six months before launch, a weekly reporting rhythm was established to surface KPIs and trends for marketing stakeholders.

Pointmarc played a key role in establishing this rhythm and owning the reporting deliverables and data presentation. At launch, this process evolved into a mixture of daily, weekly and monthly reporting mandated by the business to track progress towards very aggressive marketing goals. Pointmarc analysts supporting this process benefited from having intimate knowledge of Omniture's Insight tool and a foundational understanding of our client's proprietary data structure. Post-launch, these analysts also played a key role in the production of an integrated reporting scheme, ranging from daily/weekly channel level reporting to a bi-weekly executive review that focused on informing a much broader audience of marketing's overall impact.

actionable insight

The real-time nature of an online search experience and our client's multi-million dollar investment in driving query share highlighted the need for immediate action on marketing strategies/tactics that weren't working. Since the marketing analytics team was closest to the data, it was critical for analysts to quickly translate surfaced data into learning and recommendations. While Pointmarc analysts were paid to be objective, their tenure with this engagement provided the context necessary to offer insight that was both efficient and actionable. A year post-launch, their expertise and recommendations are still called upon weekly to help inform and drive marketing strategy.

results

Over the course of twelve months following the launch, the our client engaged in a systematic optimization effort utilizing the tools and reporting schemas developed by Pointmarc.

During that time:

• Acquisition efficiency improved by more than 64% from launch, with efficiency at 30% against goal for the year
• Customer engagement was 1.7 times higher for customers acquired by the digital marketing team than for the product overall
• Overall traffic driven by the marketing team was 32% above goal

Our client's marketing analytics team became a central repository of quality data and analysis, providing business insights to cross functional teams. The success of the launch was largely attributed to their powerful and aggressive approach to measurement. Our client made it a point to internally evangelize this results-driven approach and establish a company-wide standard. Pointmarc continues to play an integral role in the maintenance and evolution of this measurement framework, driven largely by our overall

 

Pointmarc leveraged its deep expertise in instrumentation and analytics to help accelerate the client's business and to position the client as a market leader to online services.