Benefits & Results

Enhanced Visibility: Clear attribution of conversions to specific campaigns, tactics, sources, and channels.
Optimized Resource Allocation: Improved efficiency in deploying marketing resources based on accurate insights.
Increased ROI: Better return on marketing investments through targeted and effective strategies.
Data-Driven Decision-Making: Empowered marketing teams and the CMO to make informed decisions.
Strategic Budget Planning: Facilitated more effective budgeting and investment planning for future campaigns.
Improved Marketing Performance: Significant improvements in overall marketing performance and achievement of growth objectives.

Background

Adobe Inc. is a multinational software company headquartered in San Jose, California. It is known for its digital media and marketing solutions, including widely-used products like Photoshop, Acrobat Reader, and Adobe Creative Cloud. Adobe also offers cloud-based products, enhancing digital experiences and creativity globally.

Challenges

Issue Identification: Adobe faced significant challenges in their cross-channel marketing efforts. The sheer volume of marketing messages made it difficult to discern which strategies were effective and which were not. This lack of clarity hindered their ability to identify the drivers of success and failure. Despite increasing their spending and expanding their marketing teams,Adobe struggled to see a corresponding impact on revenue. This disconnect between marketing efforts and financial outcomes created an urgent need for precise insights to optimize their marketing strategies and ensure that investments were yielding tangible, measurable results.

Issue Impact:

Inefficient Resource Allocation: With no clear understanding of which marketing messages were driving results, Adobe risked wasting resources on ineffective strategies. This inefficiency led to higher costs without guaranteed returns, reducing overall marketing efficiency.
Decreased ROI: The inability to pinpoint successful marketing tactics meant that increased spending and staffing did not translate into increased revenue. This lowered the return on investment (ROI) for their marketing budget, making it difficult to justify continued expenditure.
Strategic Uncertainty: Without clear insights into what was or wasn't working, strategic planning became challenging. Adobe struggled to make informed decisions about future marketing initiatives, potentially missing out on opportunities to capitalize on successful tactics or pivot away from failing ones.
Stagnation in Growth: Ultimately, the disconnect between marketing activities and revenue growth hindered Adobe’s ability to achieve its financial targets and growth objectives. This stagnation could impact overall business performance and shareholder value.

Solution

NowVertical undertook a comprehensive assessment of Adobe's marketing channels, mapping out the hierarchy for each channel in use. We then developed a sophisticated attribution model that tracked each digital footprint from the lowest level to the topmost hierarchy of marketing channels. This approach enabled precise attribution of all conversions to their respective marketing efforts, including specific campaigns, tactics, sources, and channels.

We further enhanced the solution by developing intuitive dashboards that provided actionable insights and key performance indicators (KPIs), such as return on marketing investment for each tactic and channel. These strategic insights empowered Adobe's marketing teams and the Chief Marketing Officer(CMO) to make informed decisions, optimizing their investment and budgeting strategies for the upcoming financial cycle. This solution not only clarified the effectiveness of various marketing efforts but also drove improved resource allocation and strategic planning.

Implementation

Data Exploration, Standardization, and Normalization: We began by exploring Adobe's existing marketing data, identifying inconsistencies and standardizing formats across all channels. This ensured uniformity and accuracy, facilitating effective analysis.
Model Implementation and Customization: We implemented a bespoke attribution model tailored to Adobe's marketing structure. This model tracked digital footprints across the hierarchy, ensuring each conversion was accurately attributed to its corresponding marketing efforts.
Initial Reporting and Optimization: Initial reports were generated to validate the model's accuracy. We then optimized the model based on feedback, refining it to enhance precision and reliability.
Dashboard Development: We developed interactive dashboards that displayed actionable insights and KPIs, such as return on marketing investment. These dashboards empowered Adobe’s marketing teams and CMO to make data-driven decisions for future campaigns and budgeting.