Data-driven, AI, automation, store visits, privacy, and user experience were the very topics on everyone\u2019s mind and the same questions remain after these 2 very interesting days. Marketers have no clear idea of what to do or how to position themselves in the future of digital marketing. Let\u2019s navigate the main takeaways.<\/p>\n
Artificial intelligence and machine learning were obviously amongst the most followed topics during these 2 days and conferences about these subjects easily filled up the conference room. Let\u2019s temper the expectations right away, there is no groundbreaking AI that\u2019ll replace marketing teams nor awesome hacks to crack the code and master algorithms.<\/p>\n
Like Frederick Valleys from Optimyzr had explained very well, AI is a tool and we need experts to add the final touch. This final touch is \u00ab context \u00bb that any algorithm will never be able to fully understand.<\/p>\n
These automation solutions allow us the work \u00ab smarter \u00bb and more efficiently and we should totally look into it to streamline our processes, but we need experts to master them. Machine-to-machine marketing is not likely to be the answer. As mentioned by several speakers, algorithms have increased in quality and capabilities exponentially for the past 10 years, but this curve is plateauing and computers won\u2019t get any much better.<\/p>\n
The conclusion would be to find a soft spot between man and machine, keeping the final user in mind.<\/p>\n
You can have the smartest bidding algorithm and the better attribution algorithm, if you provide a bad user experience, you\u2019ll fail.<\/p>\n
Fun fact, a speaker asked, \u00ab Do you think chatbots are interesting, and would you add them to your marketing mix \u00bb. 98% of the audience hands up. This was followed by a second question \u00ab As a customer, do you like and use chatbots? \u00bb.<\/p>\n
2 hands up. It summarizes quite well the situation, technical tools are available but we need marketers to create a great experience.<\/p>\n
\u00ab You have to leverage your 1st and 3rd party data to the moon. \u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00ab You have to make the best out of audiences and uber complex customer journey. \u00bb<\/p>\n
You could hear that in a lot of talks and see nice examples of how the data was mastered showing awesome results.<\/p>\n
But very few dare to speak openly about the core issue and dodge the main question in the Q&As.<\/p>\n
How to tackle GDPR, ITP, e-privacy, walled gardens challenges, and overcome hurdles in an ecosystem where cookies are dying?<\/p>\n
We know it\u2019s happening, we know we should think about it, we know it\u2019s not going any better anytime soon but no one is really taking the bull by the horns.<\/p>\n
Blindly trusting data and data-driven model\u2019s in a world where that very data is not going to get any better is not \u00ab smart \u00bb. Thinking that we can map complex customer journeys and provide a tailor-made solution at every touch-point based on biased data to skyrocket performances is a fantasy.<\/p>\n
These questions remain big question marks and marketeers are clueless.<\/p>\n
Few solutions were discussed, but are either very complicated\/costly or not applicable in most cases. Also, everyone agreed these workarounds won\u2019t probably work anymore in a few times. It\u2019s a cat and mouse game.<\/p>\n
The opening talk featured Rory Sutherland, and we can say it, he rocked the party!<\/p>\n
He gave a very smart (and fun) talk on why we should focus on user experience \u00ab in a world where we have to pretend that everything makes sense \u00bb.<\/p>\n
He showed that video where they put Ed Sheran in a 2$ peep show with a creepy sales guy on the driveway trying to get people in. Even though these people would very likely pay 100$ tickets to live the experience of an Ed Sheran\u2019s show, they won\u2019t enter for 2$ dollars private show since the user experience was terrible.<\/p>\n
This analogy was very easy to understand in our digital marketing jobs. We have to make \u00ab people marketing \u00bb not \u00ab spreadsheet marketing \u00bb. We usually spend more time analyzing data and tweaking algorithms\/automation rather than writing new ad copies or creating new banners right?<\/p>\n
Very often, the most effective way to increase conversions is to increase conversion rates by providing a better user experience, not just throwing more budget into the machine.<\/p>\n
Agencies used to jump on last marketing shiny objects but tend to forget the incremental value. Don\u2019t get us wrong, research and testing is a very important part of the process. As Rory Sutherland mentioned in his presentation, luck and irrationality matter too.<\/p>\n
Store-visit is one of these stories. After a speech about bridging the gap between online marketing and offline behavior, the Q&A has been very interesting but the conclusions stayed the same :<\/p>\n
\u2022 Revenue could be bad on a PPC or shopping campaign be could have a positive impact on store visits<\/p>\n
\u2022 A very good ROI campaign won\u2019t necessarily impact in-store traffic.<\/p>\n
\u2022 In-store results are extrapolation.<\/p>\n
\u2022 We can\u2019t split organic and paid \u201cgo-to store\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Incrementality is very hard to measure.<\/p>\n
\u00ab Trust the tech and let it be \u00bb was the final word.<\/p>\n
We can\u2019t really agree with that…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n As Fred Valleys mentioned, as digital marketers today, we are PPC doctors. Taking context into consideration to provide the best treatment. We are also PPC pilots, managing auto-pilot for 95% of the flight and putting our hands on the bar for the most important moments or if something is going wrong.<\/p>\n The PPC manager role is evolving. We used to crunch numbers in spreadsheets and make manual changes with slow tools. The role is evolving toward settings goals\/KPIs, picking automation and monitoring them, teaching the machines, and troubleshooting as well as leveraging insights across platforms.<\/p>\n \u2022 We have to challenge tech and ad tech. Not blindly follow it to avoid self-fulfilling prophecies.<\/p>\n \u2022 We have to challenge ourselves as marketers. Cut the bullshit, place user experience in a central position, look at the big picture and think \u201cincrementality\u201d.<\/p>\n \u2022 We have to challenge our organizations. Stop working in silos, think about integrated marketing and open communication and reporting.<\/p>\n But most importantly, we have to use our common sense more than ever. As things are evolving so fast, there is no time for the status quo.<\/p>\n Thanks again to all the speakers and a special shout-out to the staff for making this event possible. The app to interact with the speaker was great. Following these events allow us at Clicktrust to be on top of what\u2019s going on and try to find answers to help our clients and partners to overcome the hurdles in their digital marketing journey in a world in constant evolution.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][nectar_global_section id=”31229″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":43003,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"two_page_speed":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[184],"level":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-37800","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"tag-conference-recaps-nl"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nConclusion: Where are PPC managers going in 2020?<\/h2>\n