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.

Google just uploaded the videos from last year's Think Auto events in Sydney and Melbourne so I thought I'd share that with you. Check out the below recording including slides on how we think the automotive industry could crack cross-channel media attribution and finally give digital the credit (and budgets) it deserves.

The presentation covers basic media attribution best practice as well as some suggestions on how to track offline media responses online and link offline car sales back to online campaigns and website behaviour. Have a look, especially if you work in marketing in the automotive industry, as everyone seems to know how important digital is in the research process but no-one seems to be able to quantify exactly how much - here's a few ideas.

In case you missed our presentation on Re-thinking Media Attribution at the recent Google Go Measure event, check out the slide below. 

Thes slides obviously need narration, but the gist of the presentation is that the new Google Analytics multi-channel funnels are an awesome way to measure the full path to purchase as long as you're not a heavy display advertiser (the Google data only contains clicks and not mere impressions) and don't want to track offline responses via search calls to action (needs custom JavaScript otherwise just comes through as organic search traffic). You can track offline sales influenced by online media through email receipts.

On my recent visit to ad:tech in Singapore I came across the Global Web Index which I thought was rather cool. Check out the below infographics showing the state of global state of social networking. 

According to the vendor, the study is based on a global survey which will soon expand to over 120,000 participants and 36 markets (i.e. we don't know what the below is based on for now). The overlapping circles in the below chart shows the number of social networkers in each market by type: Messagers, groupers and content sharers. Have a look at the US and China, quite a different profile.

The use cases Global Web Index suggests below sound a bit made up, but I still thinks this is awesome data that can definitely help shape social media strategies for different markets around the world.

1. Discover the online behaviour of your target audience

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I have been called (and pardon my French) a LinkedIn 'whore' before by a very good friend and I always denied it but now that I have visual proof I can't really any longer!

Check out my network map below and the new LinkedIn Maps application that visualises and lets you explore all your connections in one big interactive colour coded map (and connect to me and help me grow my map :)

Apart from being pretty cool, this is also an amazing tool to find out how well connected some of your friends and colleagues are and in what circles (i.e. colours) they move (job titles can sometimes be deceiving but the people you know and connect with not so much).