Data Restart 2024, held on 24 October 2024, as is traditional, thrilled us and moved us up another level. Marek and Veronika attended on behalf of our team.
First of all we must highlight that the conference was truly beneficial, with as many as twelve practical talks focused on data, web and non-web analytics, data science and business intelligence; the whole event was superbly organised and, on top of that, took place in the great space of the Staropramen brewery in Prague.
The conference was moderated by Michael Koch, who works in digital marketing and talent development and also publishes for the Digichef magazine.
We would like to present the experiences, insights and inspiration we are taking away from the event. It is all thanks to experienced professionals who spoke at the event and who gained their experience in their own practice. If you are interested in the detailed structure of the individual talks, you can download them for free on the Data Restart website.
MMM and Incrementality: Evaluating Campaigns in the 21st Century, Jan Tichý
Jan Tichý, co-owner of the digital agency Taste, presented a talk on “MMM and Incrementality: Evaluating Campaigns in the 21st Century”. He discussed the challenges of measuring marketing campaigns in an environment where it is hard to track anonymous users across different devices and channels. He stressed the importance of incrementality, experiments and Marketing Mix Modelling for effective campaign evaluation. He also stressed the growing importance of using artificial intelligence.
How MMM Helps Marketers Increase Their Business Influence and the Impact of Their Work, Andrej Winter
Andrej Winter from Kantar focused in his talk on how Marketing Mix Modelling (MMM) helps marketers measure precisely the impact of marketing campaigns on revenue and profit. He showed how, thanks to MMM, to optimise investments, better connect online and offline channels and obtain measurable results that increase business influence and the return on marketing investment. Andrej tied everything he said to practice and revealed how he himself works with MMM. He did, however, highlight the importance of building the brand, without which the volume of transactions will not be effective in the long run.
Measuring the Source of Installs and Traffic in Mobile Apps, Michal Nováček
Michal Nováček dealt with measuring the sources of installs and traffic in mobile apps. He presented methods and tools for tracking campaigns, explained the importance of deep links, and covered the use of Google Analytics 4 with the Firebase SDK and other attribution platforms such as AppsFlyer. We also work with Michal from time to time, and this technically focused talk was very interesting for us.
Analytics and Campaign Optimisation from the CMO’s Point of View, David Janoušek and Robert Čížek
David Janoušek and Robert Čížek focused on analytics and campaign optimisation from the CMO’s point of view. They discussed how one phone call can save a million and whether it is possible to make a loss at a lower cost-to-revenue ratio. They stressed that analytics is moving forward in leaps and bounds and that AI, margin optimisation and custom attribution models are standard today. We see this too, and so we try to develop our clients in these directions as well. The speakers also pointed to the data that is often forgotten when planning marketing and how to incorporate it correctly into campaigns. The talk was elaborated in detail and so was a great inspiration.
How to Estimate the True Value of a Customer Using VBB, sGTM and AI, Pavol Lukáč
Pavol Lukáč presented how to estimate the true value of a customer using VBB, sGTM and AI. He stressed that the constant pressure to achieve higher profits requires new approaches and advanced technological solutions. Data collection, its enrichment and subsequent activation are key for long-term effective campaigns. He presented a specific ecosystem that makes this approach possible, because every customer has a different value for the company, which it is willing to pay for. Pavol confirmed what we often say in workshops with clients: that focusing on profit and bidding on margin through value-based bidding is the path that e-shops that are serious about it should take.
AI is currently a big phenomenon, so more or less all the Data Restart talks touched on it to some extent.
Practical Use of Modern Evaluation Methods, Marek Kobulský
Marek Kobulský, in our eyes a fixture of the “big marketing statistics” that we are all heading towards, discussed in his talk how important it is to evaluate marketing campaigns correctly. He focused on the most common mistakes marketers make when analysing results and presented procedures for preventing these problems. He stressed the importance of connecting data from different channels and interpreting it correctly in order to optimise campaigns and increase return on investment. A big topic was experiments within marketing, and Marek revealed how far Czechia has moved in this area in recent years.
How Bayesian Modelling Can Help Us in MMM, Mário Vozár
Mário Vozár, head of OMG Research, presented an innovative approach to Marketing Mix Models (MMM) using Bayesian modelling. In his talk he explained how this method, supported among others by Google, makes it possible to better interpret the relationship between media investment and its effect. He showed how to get started with Bayesian modelling in MMM, its main benefits and the key mistakes to avoid. The benefit of this technique lies above all in capturing non-linear relationships in marketing data more accurately.
TV and Online: Can They Work Together?, Magida Sukkari and Robert Novák
Magida Sukkari and Robert Novák from Seznam.cz examined in their talk the question of combining television and online advertising. They presented specific examples and data showing what benefits a combination of these two media channels can bring. They convinced the listeners that, despite certain differences in user behaviour on these platforms, there is considerable potential for effectively linking these powerful media types.
Privacy Sandbox Under the Bonnet, Tomáš Komárek
Tomáš Komárek focused on news about the Privacy Sandbox and the future of ad targeting without third-party cookies. In his talk he explained the principles of auctions, interest-group targeting and the impact of these changes on publishers and marketers. He showed how the new rules will affect retargeting and how to prepare for the change.
Who Watches Your Data in BigQuery?, Mája Remešová
Mája Remešová from Heureka Group shared her experience of effective data monitoring in BigQuery. In her talk she explained how to ensure that key data parameters do not escape attention. She presented automated tools and procedures that make it possible to detect outages or changes in the measured data in time, which makes managing projects easier without unnecessary stress.
Augmented Analytics: Professional AI Tools in the Analyst’s Service, Tomáš Kapler
Tomáš Kapler showed the power of advanced analytics tools using AI, such as Tableau Pulse. In his talk he explained how machine learning can speed up data analysis and help organisations in decision-making. He focused on the key functions and benefits of these tools and showed how to implement them to make company processes more efficient.
With Google Gemini, Working with Data Will Be a Breeze, Ivan Kutil
Ivan Kutil, the biggest expert on Google Cloud in Czechia, presented the possibilities of using the Google Gemini platform. He showed how analysts can get deep insights from BigQuery, marketers can enrich product data, and programmers can call functions for advanced work with data. His talk highlighted the versatility of this platform and its benefit for various professions.