Adobe Analytics offers a suite of tools that can transform your data into actionable insights. Our mission is to elevate your analytics skills and transform you into a Pro Analyst. To do so, this Mini Masterclass gives you five essential Adobe Analytics tips.
Mastering these techniques will help you improve marketing strategies, make informed decisions, and ultimately drive better business outcomes. Every tip has been carefully selected by our Senior Consultant and expert in the area, Martine Jorgensen.
Here's what you can expect:
1. Conditional formatting: highlighting trends and patterns in large datasets, making it easier to identify significant data points and create segments based on observed patterns.
2. Utilizing histograms: segment data based on specific metrics, such as product views, to visualize data distribution and understand the impact on conversion rates.
3. Scatter plots for product performance: classify products based on metrics like product views, cart additions, and average unit price, helping to quickly assess and improve product performance.
4. Analyzing content depth: Content depth analysis uses the approximate count distinct function to measure user engagement with different types of content, providing insights into popular and underperforming products.
5. Campaign performancetracking: create cumulative metrics and compare current performance with historical data to assess the effectiveness of ongoing campaigns.
Bonus tip: Anomaly Detection: Anomaly detection identifies unexpected trends to help better understand deviations from expected values.
Don’t miss this opportunity to boost your marketing strategy make better data-driven decisions and drive better business outcomes.
Understand the differences between Customer Journey Analytics and Adobe Analytics with our Senior Analytics Consultant Martine Jørgensen
Customer Journey Analytics vs Adobe Analytics Data analysis is crucial for businesses to make informed decisions, and Customer Journey Analytics and Adobe Analytics are two prominent tools that aid in achieving this goal. Although both tools serve the purpose of providing valuable insights, there are key differences between them. In this blog post, we will explore these differences, discuss the benefits of implementing Customer Journey Analytics, examine successful case studies, and dive into the user profiles of both tools.
But first – What is Customer Journey Analytics? Customer Journey Analytics (CJA) has become a hot topic lately – and understandably. It is a powerful tool for businesses to track, analyze, and optimize customer interactions online and offline. It visualizes the entire journey from awareness to advocacy, helping identify pain points and preferences. By creating detailed customer personas, businesses tailor marketing and products accordingly. Businesses can use these insights to enhance marketing effectiveness, optimize resources, and create a seamless customer experience. It looks a lot like Adobe Analytics in relation to the UI and offers many of the same functionalities – so what’s all the hype about? Although it looks a lot like Adobe Analytics in terms of UI and functionality, there are fundamental differences between the two tools that we will discuss later.
What is Adobe Analytics? Adobe Analytics is the more widely used web analytics tool that focuses primarily on tracking and analyzing website performance. It provides businesses with valuable insights into website traffic, user engagement, conversion rates, and other website-related metrics. Users can create reports with tables and data visualizations in a workspace to analyze and distribute insights.
Adobe Analytics offers a wide range of features, including real-time tracking, segmentation, data visualization, and reporting. It enables businesses to understand how users are interacting with their websites, identify the most effective marketing channels, and optimize website experiences to drive conversions.
What are the Key Differences Between Customer Journey Analytics and Adobe Analytics? As mentioned above, Customer Journey Analytics and Adobe Analytics differ in various aspects. Below are the most essential differences:
The data approach One fundamental difference is their approach to the breadth of data – meaning the variety of data sources. Customer Journey Analytics focuses on capturing and analyzing the entire customer journey, from the initial touchpoint to conversion and beyond. This comprehensive approach allows businesses to gain insights into the various touchpoints and interactions that lead to a conversion, providing a holistic view of the customer's experience. However, Adobe Analytics mainly concentrates on measuring website traffic and engagement metrics, providing valuable information on user behavior within the digital space.
Connect to any data source on the Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) for cross-channel analysis. It is essentially a analysis workspace sitting on top of the AEP whereas Adobe Analytics is an analysis workspace on top of an Adobe Analytics implementation – specifically designed for collecting data within the digital realm. In CJA, instead of report suites in the workspace panels, you will see “data views”. This is your ‘view’ into the data connection that you or other admin users have created containing relevant data sources stitched together. Data views are like virtual report suites. Here you can work with the data, create derived fields, classify values etc.
The Architecture Thus, the architecture looks different for CJA and Adobe Analytics. CJA leverages the technologies of AEP. Here, data collection can come from various sources such as through Adobe's SDK, other Adobe solutions, third-party tools and more. The data is received in the AEP through streaming or batch files. Then, data is organized into a unified set of schemas and cataloged in the Experience Data Model (XDM) which enables a consistent view of the data. To get data from AEP to CJA, one must create a data connection in CJA. When CJA accesses the data lake in the AEP, it essentially pulls a copy into CJA. Then data from the data connection can be curated into a single data view. So CJA can be seen as an extension of the AEP – an analytics interface builds on the AEP.
An illustration of Customer Journey Analytics architecture
When it comes from Adobe Analytics, data is collected from web or app and is sent directly to an Adobe Analytics server where it is mapped into dimensions and events. This difference is vital to understand as it will also be important from a reporting perspective.
An illustration of Adobe Analytics architecture
Customization Another key difference is the level of customization. CJA offers a highly configurable platform, allowing businesses to tailor the analysis to their specific needs. This level of customization empowers organizations to create bespoke analytics solutions that align with their unique business objectives and KPIs. For instance, the derived fields feature in CJA. This can be compared to processing rules in Adobe Analytics but offers even more customization. With derived fields, the user can clean up data more easily, classify data and create more complex data manipulations. This can all be applied retroactively to the data which means that it will be applied to all the collected data and not just data collected after applying the logic.
In contrast, Adobe Analytics provides a comprehensive suite of pre-built features and reports, making it easier for users to start analyzing data without extensive customization. This out-of-the-box approach can be beneficial for organizations looking for quick and standardized analytics solutions.
Advanced Segmentation Additionally, Customer Journey Analytics offers advanced segmentation capabilities, enabling businesses to target specific customer groups based on their behavior and preferences. This granular level of segmentation allows companies to personalize their marketing efforts and create targeted campaigns that resonate with different customer segments. On the other hand, Adobe Analytics, although capable of segmenting data, places more emphasis on general website trends rather than individualized segmentation. This broader focus can be useful for organizations looking to understand overall website performance and trends across different user segments.
Benefits of Implementing Customer Journey Analytics Implementing Customer Journey Analytics brings several benefits to businesses. Firstly, it enables the organization to utilize the powerful technologies within the AEP. It provides a holistic view of the customer journey, enabling companies to identify pain points, bottlenecks, and areas of improvement across online/offline data sources. This knowledge empowers businesses to optimize their marketing campaigns, website experiences, and customer engagement strategies.
Furthermore, Customer Journey Analytics enables businesses to gain insights into highly engaged and potential prospects. By understanding the behavior, interests, and preferences of these prospects, companies can segment them and target them with tailored messaging and offerings. Advanced segments based on these 360-degree views of the user journey can be created and sent to the Adobe Experience Cloud to activate on these segments using other Adobe Products such as Journey Optimizer to leverage the value of the integrated tools. It is also possible to send these segments to other parties such as Google Ads, Meta etc.
Moreover, Customer Journey Analytics can also help businesses in predicting future trends and customer behavior. By analyzing historical data and patterns, companies can anticipate potential shifts in customer preferences and market demands. This proactive approach allows businesses to stay ahead of the competition and adapt their strategies, accordingly, ensuring long-term success.
Additionally, Customer Journey Analytics can be instrumental in improving customer retention and loyalty. By tracking customer interactions across various touchpoints, businesses can identify loyal customers and understand the factors that contribute to their satisfaction. This information can be used to create loyalty programs, personalized offers, and exceptional customer service experiences, fostering long-lasting relationships with customers.
Who Would be the User of Adobe Analytics and CJA? Adobe Analytics and Customer Journey Analytics have distinct user profiles. Adobe Analytics is commonly used by marketing professionals, web analysts, and digital marketers. Its intuitive interface and pre-built features make it accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise.
Customer Journey Analytics, on the other hand, offers more advanced technical features. The level of customizable may appeal to users who require in-depth customer journey insights and tailored analysis. Nonetheless, given its user interface closely resembling Adobe Analytics, Customer Journey Analytics can offer value even to users who don't necessarily need highly customized reports but prioritize comprehensive insights into the customer journey. It retains familiar drag-and-drop functionalities and right-click options within the Analysis Workspace. Thus, transitioning from Adobe Analytics to Customer Journey Analytics wouldn't present a significant adjustment for users accustomed to working in the Analysis Workspace.
Before deciding which analytics tool to use, consider the following factors: 1. Data approach: Consider the variety of data sources that you need to analyze. If you need to capture and analyze the entire customer journey, Customer Journey Analytics might be the better choice. If you only need to analyze website traffic and engagement metrics, Adobe Analytics might be sufficient.
2. Architecture: Consider the technical requirements and resources needed for each tool. Customer Journey Analytics requires a connection to Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) and leverages its technologies, while Adobe Analytics is an analysis workspace built on top of an Adobe Analytics implementation. it's worth noting that while Adobe Analytics is optimized primarily for web and app tracking, it is indeed feasible to transmit data from alternative sources to Adobe Analytics. Yet, this process may not be as streamlined as it is when using CJA.
3. Customization: Consider the level of customization needed for your analysis. If you need more flexibility and control over your data, Customer Journey Analytics might be the better choice. If you only need to analyze website and/or app-related behavior and don't require as many on-the-fly data processing and customization abilities as CJA offers, Adobe Analytics might suffice.
4. User profiles: Consider the profiles of the users who will be working with the tool. Customer Journey Analytics might be more suitable for business analysts, data scientists, or marketing professionals who need a comprehensive view of the entire customer journey. Adobe Analytics might be more suitable for web analysts or digital marketers who simply need to analyze website traffic and engagement metrics.
5. Budget: Consider the cost of each tool and how it fits into your budget. Customer Journey Analytics is a more advanced and comprehensive tool, which comes with a higher price tag when migrating or setting it up. Adobe Analytics is a more affordable option, but may not provide the same level of insight and detail on every customer touchpoint as Customer Journey Analytics. Nonetheless, there are a lot of actionable insights that can be derived from using Adobe Analytics.
By considering these factors, you can make an informed decision on which tool to use for your data analysis needs.
Summary In conclusion, Customer Journey Analytics and Adobe Analytics are both powerful tools in the data analysis realm, but they have key differences. Customer Journey Analytics focuses on the entire customer journey, offers advanced customization and segmentation, and enables businesses to gain insights about highly engaged prospects. Adobe Analytics, on the other hand, primarily concentrates on website performance analysis, provides pre-built features, and targets a wider user based.
By understanding the strengths and characteristics of each tool, you can make informed decisions about which one best aligns with your specific requirements and goals. Whether it's optimizing the customer journey or analyzing website metrics, leveraging the right analytics tool can pave the way to data-driven success.
Are you just starting or looking to optimize your current operations?
We are happy to set up a quick, no-strings-attached chat to talk through potential CJA use cases and help you explore which path might make most sense in your case. Contact us here!
Who are we?
At Accrease, we bring data to life. Most companies track their customer's behavior on the website but don't understand the data they collect. We help ensure to gather relevant data, make sense of the data, and present it back to you in a simplified manner.
Overall, we help you make decisions based on data so that you can improve your business.
Are you currently using Adobe Campaign Standard today? With all the current updates, it's time to consider your transition options to a more advanced solution from Adobe's tech stack.
In this webinar, our very own Jonas Pabst will guide you through the 'when', 'why', 'how', and various migration plans to help you stay ahead of the changes. The objective isn't just about the transition — it's about helping you make informed decisions and take the steps toward a more optimized and future-proof marketing solution.
Here's what you can expect:
* Gain insights into why the transition is crucial for your business growth and sustainability.
* Learn about the different migration paths and identify the best approach for your business needs.
* Receive expert guidance on how you can optimize customers' personalized experiences and leverage the advanced features for enhanced customer engagement.
Takeaways
Bonus: As an added bonus, all attendees will receive a complimentary pre-counseling offer! This includes a free one-on-one strategy session with our experts to discuss your current setup and transition options. Don't miss out on this exclusive opportunity to gain personalized insights and recommendations tailored to your business.
We understand that migration can be daunting, but we are here to make it as straightforward and seamless as possible. In this webinar, you will learn about the features and advancements of the Web SDK that make it a significant leap forward in providing a streamlined, user-friendly, and efficient way of implementing Adobe's marketing technologies. The webinar will also provide insights into making the transition smooth and hassle-free.
Join Kasper Andersen from Accrease, together with Peter Arenfeldt Larsen from Saxo Bank, on October 3, 2023, at 13:00 CET, as they provide an insightful exploration into migrating to Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK. You'll learn about the key benefits, hear firsthand experiences from Saxo Bank's migration journey, and get expert guidance on how to approach your migration.
Stay until the end of the webinar to receive a step-by-step playbook for a seamless migration to the Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK. This is your opportunity to redefine your data management, boost your website performance, and confidently navigate your migration journey.
Agenda in this masterclass:
Why migrate to Web SDK? Learn about the benefits. Real-life migration experience: Insights from Saxo Bank that have gone through the migration process - learn about what they did, the roles involved, the process, and the impact. How to approach a migration? Deep dive into a proven migration process. Bonus: distribution of migration step-by-step playbook
Takeaways
* Understanding of the benefits and features of Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK
* Real-life insights from Saxo Bank’s migration experience
* A step-by-step migration playbook to guide you through a smooth transition to the Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK. (stay until the end of the webinar to get the URL to the playbook)
Adobe Real-time Customer Data Platform (RTCDP) offers a powerful solution for data-driven marketing, but operating an RTCDP can be complex and challenging. In this webinar, industry experts Axel Schaefer from Adobe and Maria Aagaard from Accrease will break down the key components of successfully managing an RTCDP.
Join to gain insights on how to effectively manage your CDP, maximize its potential, ensure proper governance, and navigate common challenges. We'll equip you with actionable strategies, hands-on examples, and insider tips to transform these challenges into opportunities. This webinar is designed to help you enhance your understanding, sharpen your skills, and make the most of your investment - ultimately driving superior results for your business.
Agenda in this masterclass:
Introduction RTCDP 101: understanding the fundamentals and different perspectives RTCDP Management: justifying Investments, maximizing capabilities, and structuring your organization Governance in RTCDP: data accuracy, security, and compliance Hacks & Tricks for RTCDP Success
Takeaways
* Understand the fundamentals of a Real-Time Customer Data Platform (RTCDP), its benefits, and its unique perspectives.
* Gain strategies on how to justify your investment in an RTCDP.
* Learn how to maximize your RTCDP's potential and capabilities.
* Get insights on the optimal organizational structure for managing an RTCDP.
* Discover the role of governance in RTCDP, ensuring data accuracy, security, and compliance.
* Overcome common RTCDP challenges with actionable strategies and hands-on examples.
* Implement effective hacks and insider tips for RTCDP success.
* Walk away with a clearer understanding of how to use an RTCDP to drive superior results in your business.
The 2024 Adobe Summit has come and done. It was not just a tech event, but a great mix of ideas, innovations, and strategies aimed at transforming how marketers engage with consumers and how brands deliver personalized experiences. Spanning various themes such as AI, personalization, omnichannel solutions and breaking down data silos, the summit provided a comprehensive overview of the current trends shaping the digital landscape.
Let us delve down our 7 key takeaways from the summit.
1. AI bridges creativity with productivity
Adobe's AI ecosystem, highlighted by products like Adobe Firefly, now significantly enhances productivity across the entire content creation process. With features expanded to include audio, video, 3D, and custom models, Firefly empowers content creators to produce diverse and engaging content while reducing manual tasks and ensuring brand consistency. Moreover, the introduction of AI assistants across Adobe products streamlines tasks such as audience segmentation and content approvals, driving efficiency and productivity. With these innovations, brands can accelerate content production and delivery without compromising on quality or creativity. This is really a significant leap forward within content production workflows.
2. Personalization at scale is achievable
Achieving personalization at scale is no longer a pipe dream but a concrete actualization. Through AI integration and tools like Firefly services/APIs, brands can produce personalized content efficiently and cost-effectively. The enhancements in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) enable variant generation, allowing brands to tailor content to specific audience segments at scale. This focus on personalization not only enhances customer engagement but also strengthens brand loyalty across multiple channels.
3. Breaking down data silos is essential
Seamless personalization relies on breaking down data silos and centralizing data to facilitate connected experiences for consumers. Adobe's Real-Time Customer Data Platform (RT-CDP) with Federated Audience Composition allows companies to blend data from various enterprise platforms (e.g. Azure, Snowflake) without duplicating efforts. The solution enables companies to leverage data where it exists while enhancing Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) capabilities. This unified approach to data management enhances customer profiles and facilitates targeted, contextually relevant experiences across channels.
4. The importance of the content supply chain
Efficient management of the content supply chain is essential to meet the increasing demand for personalized experiences. Adobe's Content Supply Chain solutions orchestrate the creation, distribution, and sharing of content efficiently. Combined with the right operating model, these tools deliver improved quality, velocity, and efficiency in content creation and deployment, driving enhanced customer engagement and brand loyalty.
5. Adobe Journey Optimizer (AJO): B2B edition
With the upcoming launch of Adobe Journey Optimizer (AJO): B2B Edition in summer 2024, marketers will gain the ability to execute campaigns targeting specific buyer groups and tailor messaging based on the roles within those groups.
This marks a significant advancement in customer journey orchestration. Serving as an extension of Marketo Engage, this tool empowers marketers to efficiently manage account and buying group journeys on a large scale
These groups, enable marketers and sales teams to identify the members of a particular buying group, track the group's lifecycle status, note the group's interests in solutions, and assess the overall engagement and completeness of the group.
6. Seamless Customer Experiences
Adobe's emphasis on omnichannel experiences underscores the importance of engaging customers across various touchpoints in real-time. The introduction of GenStudio as a central hub for end-to-end campaigns integrates Creative and Experience Cloud capabilities, facilitating seamless content creation and activation across channels. Additionally, Adobe's Federated Audience Composition enriches customer profiles with data from enterprise platforms, ensuring consistency and relevance in omnichannel interactions.
7. Enhancing Customer Journey Analytics (CJA) with AEP integration
Another highlight from Adobe Summit was the focus on Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) with integrated Customer Data Platform (CDP) and Customer Journey Analytics (CJA) alongside Adobe Journey Optimizer (AJO) integration. Particularly within CJA, there is an emphasis on enhancing analytics capabilities like Content Analytics, Audience Analytics, seamless insights experience between CJA and AJO, and support for summary data. These features provide marketers with a deeper understanding of customer behaviour, content performance, and audience engagement across touchpoints. The CJA-AJO integration allows marketers to analyse customer journeys seamlessly and optimize experiences based on real-time insights. This integration improves content usage measurement from AEM assets and enhances audience tracking from RT-CDP, empowering marketers with precise analytics for data-driven decisions and marketing strategies.
Should you seek more detailed information on the key takeaways covered in this blog post or have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.
In the marketing automation space, Adobe has four similar offerings: Adobe Journey Optimizer (AJO), Adobe Campaign Classic (ACC), Adobe Campaign Standard (ACS) and Adobe Campaign v8 (AC v8).
If you are wondering why so many options and what the difference between them is, you are not alone.
However, when you understand them, you realize that they make a lot of sense and each one has its own space in the Adobe stack. Sure, there are overlaps, but there are also important differences we need to address to get the full picture.
Jonas Guldberg Pabst, Principal Consultant
I hope this post will help you better navigate these options and help you choose the best offering for you and your company.
If you are looking for the a comparison do not want to read all the details and conclusions, go directly to the comparison by clicking here.
Platform Question
When talking about the Adobe Campaign platforms, there are currently three in the list there is originated from the same system, but with years of development between them.
The AJO platform is the newest automation offering from Adobe, which is built on top of Experience Platform with the ability to combine online and offline data at a granular event level creating a real-time customer profile.
When I am saying there currently are three platforms, the oldest ACC platform is being decommissioned within 2027* and the ACS platform is being decommissioned in 2026*.
This is to make room for the new kid in the stack called Adobe Campaign v8 also referred to as - Adobe Campaign Managed Cloud.
The new AC v8 is a good combination of the two older Adobe Campaign platforms, with an injection of features from AJO.
So we have the strength and speed from ACC, the marketer-friendly web UI from AJO (with added features) and the 360 profile view known from ACS.
AC v8 can be controlled from a web UI, which is created in an extended design from the current Experience Cloud UI, used in Experience Platform and Journey Optimizer, through a powerful user-friendly drag-and-drop interface.
You are also able to connect from the console as you have done until now in ACC, where all you do will be automatically reflected in the web UI, including the folder structure which is a totally neat feature.
AC v8 is placed as a standalone product with all the strengths and weaknesses that come with this and it's a more siloed, but powerful database structure.
AJO is a full web solution which is intertwined with AEP and can leverage all the cool functionality that AEP has to offer. Taking advantage of the rtCDP and the streaming segments we can create journeys that can be joined when data from an action is added.
There is a large number of sources that can add data through the edge network, which all will be combined into the profile.
AJO is placed on top of AEP as a service and will share its data directly and will also leverage the power of the more simple rtCDP and the segmentation features.
So, which platform should we invest our money in, when departing from ACC/ACS?
That question is after my belief, the most important question we need to ask ourselves and is something that we need to have an answer on, within the first half of 2024, or we will be left in the dark age when ACC and ACS are gone.
Put the tech on the sideline
To start the conversation on the subject, I will take us a bit back from the tech and look at the platforms from a cleaner perspective, where we can define our business rules before settling on the tech and investing in a platform that does not quite fit all of our future needs or has to much to offer.
So, we need to talk about how we would like to place the marketing automation platform in the solution architecture, and if it should be a headless or more controlling factor of the automation in terms of how we collect and use the data.
The headless will be AC v8 would be running primarily on offline data and sending batch-based experiences. Where AJO will be leveraging offline and online data in batch and real-time communication.
In a few non-tech separations you should go with AJO for the real-time trigger experience and pick AC v8 for advanced offline batch communication through planned experiences.
Working with data
We can say that the biggest difference between the two is that AJO is a service on top of the Adobe Experience Platform (AEP), where AC 8 can be acquired as a standalone platform, just like ACC or ACS was placed in the Adobe automation stack.
In AJO we are leveraging on the AEP XDM data model which works with having a flat profile model with many fields and few relational schemas, whereas we in AC v8 are working with a postgres relational database where the profiles can be linked to data in a nested model rather than the flat model as we see in AJO.
From a non-tech perspective, this will mean that in AJO, we are publishing the same data on several profiles whereas in AC v8 we are linking the profiles to a schema containing all the data needed e.g. company. In AJO we have faster access to the profile data and the real-time or event updates there will be combined into the 360 customer profile.
Cool features
Both AJO and AC v8 will deliver the coolest features to help you deliver a heck of a customer experience, personalized at many data points for delivering the best customer experience.
Each of the platforms will have a bit different view on how we can deliver that experience, even if they are quite similar when looking at them from a big perspective, there are small but larger differences.
AJO will keep a good focus on having a finger on being able to trigger experiences based on online and offline behaviour, where at the same time they can create custom actions sending event data for internal usage in another system.
All of the above can trigger communication in real-time using both offline and online data arriving in batches or through real-time events.
AC v8 will use its power to have a relational data model, create complex user journeys with advanced workflow elements, leverage powerful built-in web apps, ability to send attachments in emails and export modulated data from the platform.
AC v8 can trigger communication through API or make use of the data placed in the database from various custom sources.
Comparison table
When we have looked a little under the hood on the two platforms, we have made this table with a few simple one-liners about the two platforms.
Journey Optimizer (AJO)
Campaign v8 (AC v8)
Ability to combine online and offline data at a granular event level creating a real-time customer profile
Offline data, limited view of online data to trigger communications
Real-time segmentation and activation based on big data architecture
Batch segmentation and activation reliant on traditional SQL database
Powerful segmentation capabilities across online and offline data inputs
Strong segmentation capabilities using offline data. If including online behaviour, there is a delay in absorbing online data.
High personalisation capabilities – online content into offline (e.g showing the last product viewed but didn't purchase in emails) and vice versa
Personalization is possible with what data is imported into the daily or delta loads. Limited online or real-time behavior-driven personalization is possible
High-scale sending capabilities (millions in minutes)
More limited sending capabilities (20 million per hour)
Offer decisions across all channels.
Offer decision capabilities limited to email, direct mail and SMS
Ability to talk to all customers at once through 1:1 behavior-driven communications
Batch communications and limited web-triggered communications
If you can see yourself and your organization in one of the below bullets, AJO is not the right choice for you.
- Will only use on-premise data
- No plan to use a Customer Data Platform (CDP)
- Looking for a "lift & shift" of existing campaigns
- Teams and processes are not aligned in achieving the organization's goals at a bigger and no need for an extensive automation setup
Make the decision
It is known, that it can be hard to pick the next platform and have your organization with you in understanding the need for a “new” platform, but this decision must be, as mentioned earlier, made within the first half of 2024.
If you need help making the decision and have the advantage of seeing the platforms in action, you can contact Accrease to get you started.
What about the development
If you are interested in the history of the Campaign platform, and how it developed from ACC into AC v8 and AJO, I will roll out a few details about it here below.
The original product was called Neolane and was owned by a French company called Neolane Inc. until it was purchased by Adobe in 2013 for $600 million.
The Neolane product was released in 2001 and has from 2001 till 2013 gone through 4 major releases with new revolutionary features for a cross-channel platform of that era.
It was first released by Adobe as Campaign Classic in 2013, and the original product has kept that name up until today where its in final years as version 7.
During the years, Adobe released its “little brother” in 2017, called Campaign Standard which was released as a cloud version of Campaign Classic there was more marketer-friendly than the big brother ACC was.
Campaign Standard did gain a lot of market reputation and many customers made the jump from Campaign Classic to Campaign Standard due to the lightweight possibilities that marketers saw in the new platform.
With Campaign Standard came a new email editor, the introduction of Fragments and a simple but advanced editor fully based on drag-and-drop functionalities.
Later in 2019 AEP was announced and unveiled at Summit to everyone's excitement, a full-blooded CDP, created from Adobe's own hands (and not bought as earlier products).
With the release of AEP, we also got Journey Orchestration, which was a marketing tool that could leverage the power from AEP and trigger communication through various automation tools eg. ACC and ACS.
In 2021 AJO was announced to the public and will be a tool placed on top of AEP which could leverage the AEP CDP power and put it into automation with its built-in actions for email, SMS and push.
In the same year as AJO was announced Adobe also unveiled that they will continue the ACC lane and build a new version of the ACC platform that will be better implemented in the Experience Cloud and have the power of Snowflake from their new partnership with Microsoft.
In 2024 the new web user interface was released, which was a revolution since marketers now easily can create experiences in an advanced automation tool like ACC without the technical console and old-looking platform.
* Dates are as currently mentioned by Adobe, but they can change in the years to come.
Summit US is around the corner, so like everyone else, we here at Accrease prepare for which sessions are relevant for us and what announcements we will see to ensure we can include these when working with our clients.
If you have yet to hear, then 'rumours' are that there won't be a Summit in London this year. This only means that there will be more focus on the US one and potentially more EMEA-based clients attending the US one.
Currently, 249 sessions are available if you're attending in person and 28 online. As in previous years, I expect recordings to be available for everyone post-summit. So regardless of whether you'll be attending in person or expecting to watch the recordings afterwards, I've asked our Specialists which sessions they would recommend to help you prioritise in the large selection of sessions. So, let's jump straight into the recommendations:
Fulton Yancy
He has experience in digital analytics since 1996 and spent the last decade getting his hands dirty digging for insights in Adobe Analytics. Remember to check out his blog on www.webbanalys.se.
Reason: Meeting the rockstars of Adobe Analytics is always a great way to boost inspiration and learn new ways to work with Adobe Analytics. This has always been my all-time favourite session at Summit as - regardless of my experience in the tool - I always walk away having learned something new. You should definitely take advantage of this session!
Jonas Nielsen
Former Consulting Manager at Adobe and Founder of Accrease. Jonas is a Swiss army knife for the Adobe stack, particularly AEP, and often finds himself by a whiteboard drawing the client's architecture around AEP.
Reason: I usually focus on sessions that give a deeper understanding of the architecture behind the solutions. I tried looking for a relevant one this year but found no one. Instead, I personally find this session really interesting.
Often, a CDP is only thought of as something for bought media strategies, but to take full advantage of a CDP, it needs to be thought into the entire marketing funnel.
Sharath Kumar
Former Consultant at Adobe - Well experienced in Adobe Campaign and migrations to/deployments of Adobe Journey Optimizer.
Reason: At Accrease, we collaborate directly with the product teams for the different solutions we support. And especially when it comes to AJO, as the solution is evolving extremely fast with new releases every month. They can only give us some insights, so the roadmap sessions at Summit are my favourite ones. Understanding the product's direction will allow us to ensure the implementations we plan take any new features into account.
I find optimising the flows and scaling the personalisation using AI fascinating, so my second recommendation is precisely this. Many clients we work with don't have huge teams, so the efficiency and scaling of personalisation come down to working smarter, and I have no doubt AI is a big part of the solution for this.
Samuel Rajkumar
Marketo specialist unlike any other. Experienced in building digital strategies using technologies like CDP and combining them with Marketing Automation.
Reason: I always find it inspiring to hear from clients about what they have achieved using Adobe Stack. What I find even more inspiring is the Adobe on Adobe sessions. I recall they started doing these years ago, and I love seeing how Adobe are using their own solutions - simply because they know all the ins and outs of its products to ensure it fully gains the most from them.
This is an excellent opportunity to gain insights directly from industry experts who have successfully set up a Global Marketing Ops.
My second recommendation is similar to Sharath's. Regardless of whether you have a large team, AI will be part of your workflow one way or the other. I don't necessarily believe that AI will be able to fully automate personalisation or something similar in the near future. But I 100% believe AI will make you and your team more efficient.
Jonas Guldberg Pabst
Campaign specialist, who was raised - not by wolves - but alongside Neolane, which later became Adobe Campaign. A companion of his ever since.
Reason: Adobe has announced that they will unveil their new Campaign v8 web user interface (UI) as part of Summit. These two sessions introduce the new interface and how to leverage the power to build customer experiences. As for the new UI, you may have noticed that the documentation has been updated with a few previews.
The new interface is a revolution for marketers and is a good blend of the more sophisticated UI from Campaign Classic and the simple marketer-friendly UI from Campaign Standard.
It will embrace new powerful features and help you elevate campaigns, build audiences, and unleash the true potential of cross-channel experiences through a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface.
This is super exciting news. We here at Accrease look forward to introducing all the new features it gives our customers.
Kasper Andersen
Former Manager at Adobe for Proof of Concepts in EMEA & JAPAC. He has been working with Adobe Analytics since it was known as SiteCatalyst; however, his favourite solution is and always will be Adobe Target.
Reason: With Target as my favourite solution, how can I recommend anything besides Target sessions?
The top tips session is my clear winner - if I could watch only one session, it would be this one. Ryan Roberts is a former colleague and friend, and he's been doing similar sessions in previous years and always received high ratings from the attendees. I love his sessions. During my time with Adobe, I ran a similar session at Summit in London. Needless to say, it was with great sparring and input from Ryan.
Just like Samuel, I enjoy watching the Adobe on Adobe sessions. Combine that with AI, and you have my second favourite session. Not many Adobe Target customers have Target Premium, which allows for using the Recommendation add-on. Most think that it is only relevant if you're an e-commerce site. However, that certainly isn't the case. I'm working with B2B companies that have successfully promoted training videos and FAQ articles.
There you go. These were the recommendations. Check back after Summit, as we'll be providing a summary of the biggest and most important takeaways.
Accrease is proud to announce the achievement of ISO 27001 certification, marking a significant milestone in our unwavering commitment to safeguarding client data with the utmost integrity.
ISO 27001 requires a systematic risk assessment, the implementation of robust security controls, and a continuous commitment to management and improvement. As we celebrate this achievement, we are mindful that our journey towards excellence in data protection is ongoing.
Our dedication to enhancing our services remains steadfast, as we uphold the highest security standards for our customers, partners, and employees. This certification underlines our promise to protect information and demonstrates our proactive approach to managing information security risks.
Moving forward, we pledge to maintain our ISO certification standards and strive for continuous improvement, ensuring our information security management systems are equipped to counter evolving risks.
We extend our deepest gratitude to our team for their relentless hard work and dedication, which has been instrumental in reaching this milestone.
What this means for you
For our clients and partners, Accrease's ISO 27001 certification offers solid assurance that their data is in safe and secure hands. It affirms that our practices are not just pledges, but are actions aligned with one of the most rigorous and respected information security standards in the world.
With this achievement, Accrease reinforces its position as a trusted, security-conscious organization ready to face the challenges of a dynamic digital landscape.
If you have been around for as long as I have, you may remember the old SiteCatalyst/Adobe Analytics H. code that got replaced with AppMeasurement.js to increase performance and make it more up-to-date. The same happened for mbox.js, which was replaced by at.js. Well, it's time to replace EVERYTHING with the new Platform Web SDK.
Kasper Andersen, COO & Partner
What is Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK?
In the past, each Adobe product functioned with its own JavaScript library, server endpoint, database, and visitor identity management system. This led to a scattered and often confusing array of instructions, documentation, and installation processes. However, with the introduction of the Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK, these disparate elements have been unified into a single JavaScript library, bringing together identity, audience, analytics, and personalization capabilities under one roof.
The Web SDK communicates with Adobe's Experience Platform Edge Network, a network of servers designed to handle and respond to the data and requests the SDK sends. This unified approach drastically simplifies debugging and makes managing data across different Adobe products more efficient.
The Web SDK also introduces semantic data modelling, allowing users to name and structure their data more meaningfully and intuitively. This feature significantly simplifies the process of keeping track of data mapping.
All these features and advancements make the Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK a significant leap forward in providing a streamlined, user-friendly, and efficient way of implementing Adobe's marketing technologies on a website.
The Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK significantly improves over the previous standalone JavaScript library, appmeasurement.js. The primary benefits of the Web SDK can be broken down into the following categories:
1. Unified Library:
One of the most notable advantages of the Web SDK over appmeasurement.js is unifying various Adobe product libraries into a single JavaScript library. Previously, appmeasurement.js was just one of many libraries, including at.js, visitor.js, and dil.js, each associated with a different Adobe product. With the Web SDK, these are consolidated, simplifying the implementation process and reducing the possibility of bugs and compatibility issues.
2. Simplified Debugging:
Debugging is made simpler with the Web SDK. Instead of tracking data going to and from different servers with individual JavaScript libraries, the Web SDK enables data related to identity, audience, analytics, and personalization capabilities to occur within the same request to a single Adobe endpoint. This feature allows for more precise tracking and debugging of data.
3. Open Source and Transparent:
Unlike appmeasurement.js, the Web SDK is open source. This transparency allows developers to follow along with changes, submit their issues or improvements, and understand the workings of the library in more detail. Furthermore, minified and un-minified libraries provide a more transparent debugging experience.
4. Asynchronous Loading:
The Web SDK provides asynchronous loading, which can reduce the time it takes to deliver valuable content to users. This feature significantly improves over the traditional synchronous loading of libraries like appmeasurement.js, which could slow down website performance.
5. Semantic Data Modeling:
The Web SDK allows for semantic data modeling, enabling users to use more intuitive and meaningful names for their data fields. This approach contrasts with the system used in appmeasurement.js, which often requires users to keep track of less intuitive names like "eVar21" or "prop42".
6. Improved Performance:
The Web SDK consolidates libraries rewritten from the ground up to be smaller, leaner, and faster—the reduced network traffic and latency lead to improved website performance.
7. Future-Proof:
The Adobe team is continuously working on new features and improvements for the Web SDK, ensuring it stays relevant and beneficial in the long term.
In conclusion, the shift from appmeasurement.js to Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK represents a substantial step forward in simplifying the implementation and management of Adobe's marketing technologies on a website.
Why migrate to Web SDK?
There are two primary factors to consider when deciding whether to migrate. The first is the evolution of Adobe Solutions and the new Adobe Experience Platform. The second one is the external technical landscape with the death of third-party cookies and Apple's ITP.
Evolution of Adobe Solutions
Just as with the previous releases of new JS libraries, the development of the early Alloy.js (code name for Web SDK) came from ensuring that the JS files were using the most up-to-date technologies and, at the same time, trying to reduce the redundancy of functions that were shared across the different legacy JS files.
In parallel, Adobe worked on the Experience Platform (AEP), which is the foundation for solutions, Adobe Customer Journey Analytics (CJA), Adobe Journey Optimizer (AJO) and Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform (RTCDP).
All these solutions depend on the Web SDK as the data collection method. So, if you are considering any of the solutions within the AEP stack, it will require that you migrate. From a project perspective, you're in a much better position to show quick ROI for the investment in these solutions if you're already using the Web SDK instead of having to migrate as part of a deployment of, e.g. RTCDP.
Over time, the vision is that AEP will replace the current solutions like Adobe Analytics and Adobe Target.
External technologies
Working in digital marketing is more challenging than it used to be, as external technologies constantly complicate our lives. The death of 3rd party cookies has been underway for several years now, and Apple is continually pushing updates to their ITP to increase privacy for their users. This has started many conversations around cookieless tracking and server-side tracking.
The Web SDK is a way to better future-proof your data collection while respecting users' privacy. With the support of Event Forwarding to destinations server-side and the possibility of keeping cookie IDs based on a server-side cookie, you're in much better shape to tackle the challenges that will and will certainly come.
New features to benefit from with Web SDK
Ability to use first-party IDs to generate longer-lasting ECIDs.
A tighter integration between Adobe Analytics and Adobe Target does not rely on stitching separate network calls.
Faster sharing of audiences from Adobe Real-Time CDP to Adobe Target.
Real-time data transformation and mapping in Datastreams using Data Prep.
What is required by my team to migrate to Web SDK?
The migration to Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK is relatively straightforward and requires minimal changes to existing implementations. No updates are needed to your existing data layer, meaning you don't have to involve your IT team.
We recommend a few prerequisites - they aren't required, but they will benefit you in the long run. Depending on which solutions you're using within the Adobe Experience Cloud, there are different things to consider. We'll cover the most common solutions.
Adobe Analytics
You need to ask yourself whether you're getting value from the current implementation (i.e. are you acting on the data you're collecting?). If not, get rid of it so you don't have to take the time to migrate it.
Ensure your Solution Design Reference (SDR) is up to date. There's no point in migrating variables if they are not used anymore. If you don't have an SDR, now is the time to create one.
While updating your SDR, you should also clean up your variables in Adobe Analytics - disable them if they are irrelevant or not used anymore.
Adobe Target
Review your mbox and profile parameters and ensure they are still required.
Update your SDR so that you have a column that lists your Target parameters.
Most of the migration is done within the UI of Experience Platform UI. From a high-level perspective, the steps required are:
Creating and defining an XDM Schema
Configure a Datastream
Install the Web SDK Extension in Adobe Tags (former Adobe Launch)
Create data element for XDM variables
Duplicate existing rules and update them to make use of Web SDK Extension
Add the necessary services (e.g. Adobe Analytics) to your Datastream
Test and Validate
Clean up by removing legacy extensions and rules
If you involve a partner like Accrease, we can lift 95% of the tasks without you or your IT team's involvement. The only time you or your IT team would have to be involved would be in step 7, validating and coordinating the release of the migration.
We don't use Adobe Launch as our Tag Manager Solution
Even if you're not using Adobe Launch, you can still migrate to Adobe Web SDK, which is still recommended due to the benefits mentioned above. With that said, the process may be smoother with Adobe Launch.
At Accrease, we are deep specialists within Adobe Technology, so if you're using another Tag Manager, there may be better teams to do the actual Tag Manager work. However, we are happy to spar and guide you in deciding whether to migrate and what to be aware of.
We've already done several migrations with other clients if you're using Adobe Launch.
Remember, Adobe Launch is free if you're using Adobe Technology. Migrating to a free Tag Manager Solution could reduce your current cost.
What happens if I don't migrate?
Nothing. Adobe is not forcing anyone to migrate - at some point, we expect that you eventually will have to migrate, but nothing indicates this as of the date for writing this.
If you're like most other companies, you're part of conversations where things like load speed and server-side are being discussed. If so, migrating will address some of the concerns typically raised during those conversations.
If you're considering investing in Adobe Experience Platform together with Real-Time CDP, Customer Journey Analytics or Adobe Journey Optimizer, then the Web SDK will be a requirement, and you will be better positioned for success if you're already using Web SDK.
