There seems to be an increased buzz around cross-channel media attribution from many vendors lately and although we posted on the subject of attribution before we never really got into the nuts and bolts of the different platform options so here you go.

Check out the below slides we recently pulled together for one of our clients - the 1st part is a recap on cross-channel media attribution best practice in case you're new to the topic but the 2nd part goes into the detailed pros and cons of the various different technology platforms we've had experience with.

• Google Analytics multi-channel funnels
• Adobe SiteCatalyst Cross-Visit Participation JavaScript plugin, Light Server Calls and DoubleClick/Mediamind Genesis integration
• Atlas, Mediamind and DoubleClick ad server based purchase path tracking plus custom media attribution modelling
• Specialised ClearSaleing media attribution platform and out-of-the-box reports

Finally, it's important to make a distinction between media attribution and purchase path tracking, one is necessary to enable the other but they are not the same. Tracking the complete purchase path, i.e. every paid and organic campaign touch point leading up to a conversion is a necessary requirement to be able to actually do media attribution or the allocation or conversion credits back to those touch points. The purchase path tracking is the data collection if you so want and the media attribution the actual analysis or modelling part - given attribution modeling is only as good as the underlying data the below slides are focusing manly on the data collection aspects of the different options.

If you are a website or database developer (or an analyst with exceptional technical skills) with anywhere between 1 to 4 years of work experience (ideally in a digital agency environment) who would like to get into marketing analytics then you should apply. More experienced developers are welcome to apply as well.

+ Keen interest in all things web analytics and online optimisation
+ Basic understanding of marketing principles provides a head start
+ Entrepreneurial spirit, business or marketing degree would be good 

+ Strong JavaScript and SQL coding skills, PHP and HTML a bonus
+ Experience with other database related technologies another bonus 
+ Experience with Omniture and Google Analytics would be fantastic
+ Experience with Google Web Site Optimizer would also be useful
+ Basic understanding of HTTP and FTP protocols an absolute must
+ Flexibility, lateral thinking and attention to detail are crucial
+ Ability to respond to client deadlines when necessary
+ Basic Excel, Word and PowerPoint skills

+ Exposure to a growing list of interesting blue chip clients

+ Highly flexible working hours in a dynamic team environment
+ Young start-up with a "work hard, play hard" company attitude
+ Training on industry leading analytics and marketing platforms
+ Freedom to experiment with emerging technologies and new tools
+ Plenty of development and career opportunities in fast growing business
+ And of course you get a salary, maybe even a bonus plus other perks

If the above sounds interesting, please email us at jobs@datalicious.com so we can have a look at your resume and arrange a quick initial phone interview to ask you a few questions before we meet for a proper interview.

If you're in account management (preferably with a digital agency background) who is keen to enter the world of data and analytics, don't miss this opportunity! We are looking for a highly organised Account Director (with the view of becoming the Client Services Director) with proven success in client servicing and project management.

The account manager will primarily be responsible for managing client relationships through effective communications and account/project management. This will include writing proposals and recommendations as well as project management and reporting. Apart from building great client relationships and delivering quality work, there will also be an expectation to deliver on sales targets.

What you should bring to the table
+ Passion for web analytics and all things digital
+ Positive and results-driven approach at all times 

+ Challenger spirit to deliver to client expectations
+ 5-7 years experience in digital agency environment
+ Strong communications skills, both written and verbal
+ Strong planning, organisation and time management skills

+ Proven ability to manage multiple tasks and projects
+ Ability to build relationship with diverse groups and personalities
+ Advanced Microsoft Word, Excel & Powerpoint a must have

YouTube just announced the next generation of their video analytics feature which uses the same data as the old Insights tool. To be honest, not much has changed apart from an interface design upgrade but it's nice to see that this has become a focus again and we can only hope this will get included into Google Analytics at some stage.

Check out the video stats from our recent AFL Grand Final Twitter data visualisation to get an overview of what's on offer in the new youtube.com/analytics tool. As you can see we're certainly not a video production house and don't get millions of views but the AFL video was a nice spike for us - never had more than a hundred views before!

The data shows us that the majority of views originated in Australia and came mostly from males between 25-54 (surprise surprise). Interesting to see is that mobile was much bigger than anticipated with almost 25% of views. I really love the video retention reports though, they're are awesome to optimise your actual video content (and I hope more companies will start using this to improve their TV ads). In the case of our AFL video you can see that we have a fairly steady drop-off of total viewers during the video but compared to the average (which is great benchmarking data) are actually doing pretty well in getting viewers to watch the video to the very end. 

Read the YouTube analytics guide for a more detailed explanation of the various reports.

Below are yesterday's slides from the Competitive Intelligence presentation at the Online Marketer conference in Melbourne.

We used the recent grounding of the Qantas fleet as an example to showcase some of the free (and paid) online tools that can be used to collect competitive intelligence - in our example, insights informing a Virgin campaign designed to poach Qantas customers.

Check out the tools we used and please leave a comment on this post if you know of any other great competitive intelligence tools!