Multi-channel campaigns generally mean better results for your organization. But when a single constituent receives consistent messaging through multiple channels, how does your organization know which source to attribute the response? We’ll discuss our attribution model for integrated multi-channel campaigns that helps organizations determine which channel gets “credit” for which conversions. This powerful insight allows organizations to more accurately allocate budget to the channels that their constituents are most responsive to and understand how one channel influences another.
1. Where did that gift come from?
Attributing multi-channel gifts
#attribution
Angela Struebing
The Lukens Company
Amy Katherine Radick
Art Institute of Chicago
3. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
• What is attribution?
• Various methods
• “In theory”
• Art Institute of Chicago
Case Study
• Best Practices for
Multi-channel
campaigns
3
web ads
your website
teleseminars/
webinars
direct mail
email
blogs
broadcast media
pr
print ads
social media sites
videos
mobile
telemarketing
outdooradvertising
Where did that gift come from?
Attributing multi-channel gifts
4. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
According to Webster…
1.to regard as resulting from a specified cause; consider as caused by something
indicated (usually followed by to): She attributed his bad temper to ill health.
2.to consider as a quality or characteristic of the person, thing, group, etc., indicated:
He attributed intelligence to his colleagues.
3.to consider as made by the one indicated, especially with strong evidence but in the
absence of conclusive proof: to attribute a painting to an artist.
4.to regard as produced by or originating in the time, period, place, etc., indicated; credit;
assign: to attribute a work to a particular period
4
at·tri·but·tion [v. a-truh-byoot-shun]
5. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
Why does it matter?
• Prospects don’t see a single message
• There are multiple channels to devote
resources to
• Each channel has different metrics
($, emails, sign-ups, etc.)
• Lifetime Value of Donors
• Channel decay
5
6. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
60 days 30 days 2 weeks 1 week
mail
digital ads
phone
email
Response Decay
7. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
Choose your own adventure
email
mail
telemarketing ads
email
mail
telemarketing
email
ads
7
8. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
Neither factor in organic joins
Neither gives credit to marketing touches (no ROI tied to ads)
Neither allows for fractional allocation for multiple touches
Current Practices
Confirmed Response – using mail/promo
codes to assign channel (i.e. mail, phone,
lobby, email, online)
• Only get results when reply device is used,
email links are clicked or ad landing pages
are completed
• Lots of unidentified responses
Matchback – when no code is present, we
match respondent data with outgoing
messages
• Fewer unknown respondents
• Follow-ups are most likely given undue
credit
8
9. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
• First Touch/Last Touch – whatever the first
or last channel of outward communication
was with the respondent receives 100%
credit for donation
• Linear – each touchpoint in the
conversion path shares credit for the
donation
• Tiered– the touchpoints closest in time to
the donation get most of the credit
• Position Based – more weight is given to
the first and last touchpoints with
midstream touchpoints marginalized
9
Fractional Allocation
10. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
10
Mail Email Phone Email 2 Cookie Ad
First Touch $100.00 – – – –
Fractional Allocation $17.00 $18.60 $20.00 $20.90 $23.00
Weighted Allocation $15.64 $13.59 $39.85 $15.17 $15.75
One big math problem
11. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
• Drop date*, not in home
• Doesn't include multis
• Could have received multiple display
impressions (7-8 recommended)
• Doesn’t account for varying tail lengths
• Still doesn’t factor in organic donations
11
Mail Email Phone Email 2 Cookie Ad Donation
$100
3/18/13* 3/27/13 4/1/13 4/3/13 3/18-4/12/13 4/10/13
Frequency 1 1 1 1 1
Recency 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 1
Weighting 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 2 8.6
Attribution 17% 18.6% 20% 20.9% 23%
Allocation $17 $18.6 $20 $20.9 $23 $100
based on 1 month shortened timeframebased on 1 month shortened timeframebased on 1 month shortened timeframebased on 1 month shortened timeframebased on 1 month shortened timeframebased on 1 month shortened timeframebased on 1 month shortened timeframe
Taking it a step further with weights
12. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
There is a better way
12
membership purchase
control mail email cookies facebook
14. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
14
Multi-channel AttributionControl Groups
• No Touch – randomly selected targets
withheld from all direct touches
• Single Touch – randomly selected targets
given a single touchpoint (i.e. mail, email,
Facebook Custom Audiences, Cookie
Matches, phone)
Bucket Test
• Multi Touch – combination touchpoints (i.e.
mail and email) to test if effects are
additive versus multiplicative compared to
the control
*For best results, no other correspondence
should be directed to these audiences for
60 days after the mailing!
15. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
15
Channel Weights
Mail Email Phone Cookie Ad
Single Touch Response Rates 1.25% 0.40% 8% 0.10%
Control (organic) 0.09% 0.09% 0.09% 0.09%
Difference* 1.16% 0.31% 7.91% 0.01%
Weight 0.49 0.13 3.37 0.004
*collective difference 2.35%
16. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
16
Mail Email Phone Email 2 Cookie Ad Donation
$100
3/18/13* 3/27/2013 4/1/2013 4/3/2013 3/18-4/12/13 4/10/2013
Frequency 1 1 1 1 1
Recency 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 1
Attribution Weight 0.49 0.13 3.37 0.13 0.004
Adjusted Weighting 1.99 1.73 5.07 1.93 2.004 12.724
Adjusted Attribution 15.64% 13.60% 39.85% 15.17% 15.75%
Allocation $15.64 $13.59 $39.85 $15.17 $15.75 $100
Putting it all together
17. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
17
Mail Email Phone Email 2 Cookie Ad
First Touch $100.00 – – – –
Fractional Allocation $17.00 $18.60 $20.00 $20.90 $23.00
Weighted Allocation $15.64 $13.59 $39.85 $15.17 $15.75
Complete Dashboard
18. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
18
Reduce Mail Quality
Maintain email, already
contacting everybody
Increase phone contacts
Eliminate cookies
Need to make investment decisions based
on right combination of touchpoints.
52%
14%
33%
1%
Mail
Email
Phone
Cookie Ads
Channel Attributed Revenue
66%
5%
20%
9%
Mail
Email
Phone
Cookie Ads
Channel Expenditures
What does all this mean?
20. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
March Lapsed Campaign
Tested in Deep (60+ months) and
Recent (12 months) Lapsed Segments.
Split into the following segments:
1. Control (no contact)
2. Direct Mail
3. Email
4. Facebook Advertising
5. Cookie Matching
6. Telemarketing
Bucket tests to see if lift is greater than
the sum of their parts:
1. Direct Mail and Telemarketing
2. Direct Mail and Cookie Matching
20
Art Institute of Chicago Case Study
21. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
Art Institute of Chicago Case Study
22. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
22
Art Institute of Chicago Case Study
Direct mail
23. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
23
Art Institute of Chicago Case Study
Short form
Email template
24. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
24
Art Institute of Chicago Case Study
Display and
Facebook Ads
25. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
• Withholding prospects during testing
• Some organic donations will be made no
matter what
• Still need to look at campaign results “the
old fashioned way”
• Will need to update model yearly as
communication preferences change
• SPAM and digital privacy issues will make
online communications tougher
• Don’t know which people are particular
channel responsive
• Additional channels complicate the
equation
• Need a sophisticated data warehouse and
tracking system in place
• Ability to act on the information
• What specific issues did AIC have to
confront?
25
Considerations
Art Institute of Chicago Case Study
26. email
Where did that gift come from? #attribution
Noise
26
tv
phone
facebook
onsite
twitter
ads
outdoor advertising
search ads
27. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
Best Practices for Multi-Channel Campaigns
• Creative should match across channels
• Offer should match
• Fewer clicks the better
• Contact people as many times as possible
until diminishing returns (or opt-outs)
• Analytics as part of planning process (not
an afterthought)
• Coding is Queen
27
28. Where did that gift come from? #attribution
Evaluate This Session!
Each entry is a chance to win an NTEN engraved iPad!
or Online using #attribution
at www.nten.org/ntc/eval
Questions??
Angela Struebing
The Lukens Company
703-845-8484
angela@thelukenscompany.com
Amy Katherine Radick
Art Institute of Chicago
312-443-3116
aradick@artic.edu