11 things we heard at Google’s Measurement & Effectiveness Summit

Marketing has the power to be the ‘unifier’ within organizations, with the gateway to the tools and strategies helping to drive immediate marketing wins, as well as long-term business success. With strong data and measurement foundations, the power combination of people + AI working together will be the driver that elevates the credibility of marketing in the boardroom.

Google’s annual Measurement & Effectiveness Summit in London brought together marketing, measurement and analytics specialists to explore this new world of AI-led measurement through a series of keynotes, fireside and lightning talks and breakout workshops, with marketers from Asda, Asos, Boots, Carwow, Colgate, Dell, John Lewis, Skyscanner, Vodafone, and a number of agencies and partners.

Keep scrolling for a quick round up of 11 interesting soundbites we heard across the day and visit here for a deep dive into the learnings in our full event exposé.

Sarah Byrne, director of sales for agency, UKI, Google: “Measurement is kind of like nutrition. You are what you eat. Quality in, quality out. But it sounds easier than it is. Changing habits is hard but it’s easier to do it with the right support around you. It’s not just about using data and measurement to surface what’s happening now but as a capability to project and predict. That’s where things go into sixth gear very soon. This is marketing’s moment - as a team, as a function, to harness AI and become champions and leaders in this space.”

Paul Stringer , managing editor, research and advisory, WARC: “There’s a tendency in our industry to treat numbers and data as an objective truth. While it’s true that data is useful for challenging our preconceptions about the world, it also comes with its own limitations and biases that we need to be aware of if we want to make smarter, and better informed decisions. Measurement is a fantastic tool for calibrating human-decision making. But we mustn't forget the human in that process, particularly with the advent of artificial intelligence.”

Dyana Najdi, managing director partners and specialists UKI, Google: “It’s not AI versus humans, but with humans. AI is the enabler to help you transform and grow businesses and realize the value from your marketing investments. But despite all of the incredible power that AI can drive, AI is not a marketer. AI is the enabler that will support you, the marketer. We ran a study with BCG that showed the combination of AI and the skills and experience brought by people delivers a 15% increase in potential performance, versus AI on its own.”

Richard Wheaton: managing director, fifty-five UK: “Getting the brilliant basics right is important. You need to really understand how data is operating with platforms and apps, working with media partners to consistently adhere to best practices. Based on that, you’ll be able to build robust results.”

Vanisha Vaghela, media lead, Vodafone: “As our evaluation needs change, our measurement evolves, enabling more empowered conversations. Don’t worry about striving for perfection, it will continuously evolve. Contextualizing results and cascading insights across the business will enable more interesting and impactful conversations.”

Nadia Sotiropoulou, head of marketing and product analytics, Carwow: “It’s the sexy yet frustrating intersection of marketing and analytics [but it] can be the secret weapon towards an organization’s sustainable growth. Once you start - whether it’s Pringles or data - you unlock more opportunities to improve. But you can’t solve the measurement challenge alone.”

Shari Cleary, global head of reach and third-party measurement, Google: “Next gen third-party cross-media measurement must be comprehensive, fair and comparable, privacy preserving, independent and trustworthy and, importantly, actionable for advertisers.”

Hannah Walley, head of media, Kantar: “Building brands isn’t easy, marketers are under increased pressure and budgets aren’t always generous. We often say that ‘difference makes the difference’, that means that successful brands are seen to be meaningful, different and salient. Not only does difference make your brand stand apart but it is a powerful profit-driver. Digital is key in driving that difference.”

Peter Grant, head of media effectiveness, Boots: “The word traction is the most important for media effectiveness. Having that traction with the finance team is what’s really important. We don’t talk about media as a cost, we talk about media being an investment.”

Rachael Green, finance business partner, Asda: “Celebrating metrics that look good on screen but don’t mirror business outcomes is a dangerous game to play. [Attributed] ROAS is just an indication of campaign efficiency but not a multiplier for revenue.”

Biren Kalaria, managing director, data, measurement and analytics, Google: “Whilst all this change is exciting, it can be incredibly uncomfortable. It feels like having to change the engines of an airplane when it’s still in flight. The future of marketing belongs to those who embrace the powerful combination of capturing durable signals, proving value and driving growth.”

Visit here for The Drum’s in-depth exposé of the key learnings and actionable takeaways from Google’s Measurement & Effectiveness Summit.