Multi-touch attribution, media mix modeling, matched market testing. Are these the three Ms of marketing measurement (Egad! The alliteration continues!)? Seriously. What's with all the Ms here? Has anyone ever used experimentation to build a diminishing return curve for the impact of a media measurement technique based on how far along in the alphabet the letter of that technique is? Is "M" optimal?! Trust us. You will look back on this description after listening to this episode with John Wallace from LiftLab and find it… at least mildly amusing. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

We've always said that the genesis of this podcast was the lobby bar of analytics conferences across multiple continents, and this year's Marketing Analytics Summit in Las Vegas was a reminder of our roots on that front. All three co-hosts made the trip to Caesars Palace for the event. Moe presented on bringing a product mindset to analytics (by "presented on," we mean "workshopped content for a future podcast episode"), and the closing keynote was a recording of the show in front of a live (and thoughtful and engaged) audience. Give it a listen, and it will almost be like you were there! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Sure. GPT-3 and large language models in general can take a prompt and spin out in any of a million human-sounding directions. That's neat, but maybe not exactly what you'd want to turn loose as your guide through a narrative multiverse of AI-boosted creative play and community. "A what?" You say. Exactly. In this episode, we dug into Hilary Mason's latest endeavor, Hidden Door, and how she and her team are working to apply the right level of "human" to AI-driven narrative play. Intrigued? You should be! It's fascinating! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Every consumer is now aware, at some level, that they are constantly generating data simply by moving through the world. And, every organization that puts physical devices or digital experiences into the paths of consumers has to make decisions about what data they collect, how they manage it, and what they do with it (both the immediate plans and what unknown plans may emerge in the distant future). The questions, decisions, and mindsets that this reality brings into play are just one big gray area after another. Angela Bassa grapples with these issues on a daily basis both professionally and personally, so we sat down with her for a lively and thought-provoking discussion on the subject. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

The Web3 world—blockchain, cryptocurrency, NFTs, and more—seems to be everywhere these days. And, as analysts, how could we not salivate at the idea of a data set that is just one flat, immutable, ever-growing table with a handful of columns (aka… a blockchain-powered public ledger)? We sat down with Anthony Mandelli from Coin Metrics to see whether Tim and Moe could be moved from "totally clueless" to "barely knowledgeable" on the topic in a single hour (Michael was already a knowledgeable enthusiast). The jury is out as to whether we were successful, but stay tuned for the upcoming announcement of the Analytics Power Hour DAO we're starting up (we're minting RockFlag coins to make it happen). For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

The workplace is changing! Even before COVID, the look, feel, and layouts of offices went through various phases: the rise of cubicles in the 1960s (ick!) and then, decades later, the rise of the open office ("Headphones…deployed!") are just two examples. What does the "next" workplace look like in a world that supports remote work, hybrid work, and in-office work? It looks… complicated (but exciting). On this episode, David Stella from db.19 joined us to discuss how data (and experimentation!) can be an important tool when it comes to designing productive and effective professional environments. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

It's easy to get sucked into the "technology" side of things when it comes to improving the effectiveness and scaling up data teams, but, much to Tim's dismay, shoring up the people, process, and culture is often just as (if not more) critical. So, sure, we can talk about the modern data stack, but what about the modern data CULTURE stack? Prukalpa Sankar, co-founder of Atlan, joined us for a lively discussion of the topic! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

If you're like most data workers, you probably spend a little bit of time reacting to and servicing data requests, a bit more time on some larger analysis projects, and then you've got a big pile of free time where you're wondering what else you should be doing. Oh. No? You're absolutely drowning in work and questioning whether you're actually providing value? Yeah. That's actually much more common. We were just kidding with that opener. The great news, though, is that Emilie Schario joined us to talk about different tactics (strategies?) for finding the capacity to do more and better work, regardless of your level in your organization. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

"The people" are often the most valuable asset for a company, so getting the ones who are a good fit, supporting them in their work and their careers, and figuring out what motivates (and demotivates) them is critical. And data—both quantitative and qualitative—can help with that. It's a topic we've wanted to tackle for a long time (well, Moe and Michael have; Tim was confused, as he thought it couldn't be that hard to analyze a data set consisting of a single "Do they do their f***ing job?" boolean flag), and we finally got to it, with Andrew Marritt from OrganizationView! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

"Modern art" was a terrible label because, ya' know, time would pass and here we are 50 years after the end of that period shaking our heads at what a short-sighted semantic gaff that was. We share that observation for no particular reason. On this episode, we sat down with broad, deep, and entertaining thinker Benn Stancil from Mode to talk about one facet of the modern data stack: the metrics layer. What is it? Who's thinking about solving for it? What is a monthly DAU? These are questions to ponder that, hopefully, won't leave you impersonating a piece of modern art. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

We are excited to announce APH+, a subscription that includes bonus content and other perks for our most dedicated listeners. 

Can a digital analyst make it to the C-suite? And, if she does, will she wonder, "Oh, dear. WHAT have I gotten myself into?!" The answer to the first question is "Yes!" And our guest for this episode is a proof point: Mai AlOwaish is the Chief Data and Innovation Officer at Gulf Bank, and she spent a good portion of her career in digital analytics before taking on that role! The answer to the second question is, "Not if you go in with a clear vision and strategy!" But, of course, there's a lot more to it than that! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

What does Machiavelli have to do with International Women's Day? It turns out, if you read his writings through the lens of the challenges that women face in the workplace, then quite a lot! So much, in fact, that a whole book could be written on the subject. And one was! Machiavelli for Women author Stacey Vanek Smith joins Moe and guest host Julie Hoyer for this women-only episode of the show. If you're a dude and think this show isn't for you, too, then think again! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Remember how we used to have bonus episodes? With International Women's Day coming up in a week, it seemed like a good time to bring them back. Tim is joined by Rehgan Avon, the founder of the organization that runs the DataConnect Conference, which will be June 2-3, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio (and virtually). It's a conference open to everyone to attend, but all of the speakers are women or gender minorities. Tim and Rehgan also discuss the current state of gender diversity in the profession and how it has changed since Rehgan started the organization that became this conference back in 2016. And there's a discount code! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

With so many types of companies to work for, and analysts being in high demand, we're at a point where many of us find ourselves in the enviable position of being able to pick which company — and which type of company — we want to work for. Oh, bother! That means… we have to choose! In-house? Consultancy? Agency? Product? What's the "best" option? If you already know the answer is, "It depends," then you just might be the perfect fit for consulting! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Hey, buddy, we've got a good tip for you: buy low, sell high! If you want a more succinct tip, then we've got one word: plastics! If you would like some ACTUAL tips that you might actually want to apply in your day-to-day (or data-to-data) work, then you will have to give this episode a listen. Back by popular demand, we took a meandering walk through some of our go-to tips ("life hacks" if you're in the Bay Area) for productivity, communication, analysis, and more! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Mistakes happen. In healthy work environments, not only is that fact acknowledged, it's recognized as an opportunity to learn. That's something JD Long has been thinking about quite a bit over the past few years, and he joined the show for a chat about psychological safety: what it is, why it's important, and different techniques for engendering it. Michael trolled Tim almost immediately, which is: 1) ironic, and 2) slated to be addressed in a blameless post-mortem. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

We did it! Another year in the books, and 2021 was a bit of a ride. As we do every year, on this episode we reflect a little bit on the podcast and then a lot on the industry: what the major themes of 2021 were, and what we think might be coming in 2022. Google Analytics 4, 3rd party cookies, remote work and Zoom meetings, and even the metaverse! Plus, of course, this is our annual excuse to get our executive producer, Josh Crowhurst, on a mic! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Some would say that, given the breadth and depth of data that is available to businesses these days, a surefire path to business value is to load up a department with smart data scientists, task them with developing a solid machine learning strategy, and then execute that strategy. The people who've said that might take issue with this episode. Cassie Kozyrkov joined the show to discuss decision-making: what it is, how we often frame decisions too narrowly, and the different roles data can play to support the process. And much, much more! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page. 

It's a podcast episode. That's WHAT it is. But… WHY should you listen to it? Exactly. Or, perhaps, that's exactly WHY! Are you confused? You won't be after checking out our discussion with Jenni Bruckman about the vast and varied world of qualitative research and how it is the perfect partner to quantitative data. Give it a listen, and then let us know WHY you did and WHAT you thought of it! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Hey there, mister. That's a mighty nice multi-touch attribution model you're using there. It would be a shame to see it get mixed up with a media model. Or... would it? What happens if you think about media mix models as a tool that can be combined with experimentation to responsibly measure the incrementality of your marketing (while also still finding a crust of bread in the corner for so-called "click attribution")? According to a 2019 paper published by ThirdLove (which happens to have been Michael's last call on our last episode), that's a pretty nice way to go, and we thought it would be fun to see if we could raise Tim's blood pressure by giving him something to vigorously agree with for once. It was. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

What does neuroscience have to do with the work of the analyst? It turns out that neuroplasticity is to the modern analyst what plastics were to Benjamin Braddock, and it all comes down to Hebb's Law. Or, put another way, successfully working with peers and stakeholders can take some focused effort, some feedback, and some practice, and that's what "coach" James Hayes joined the episode to discuss! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

One of our KPIs for the show is to keep the Topic Repeat Rate (TRR) below 1.2%. From carefully monitoring our show dashboard, we had an actionable insight: we could finally revisit episode #002. Conveniently, the topic of that show was dashboards, which explains the self-referential stemwinder of a description of this episode. That show was "a long, long time ago. We can still remember… when the dashboards used to make us smile." For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

What is a system without empathy? What is a show summary without an attempt to overly distill the discussion to the point of sounding like nonsense? On this episode, Hilary Parker (who you may know from the Not So Standard Deviations podcast or elsewhere) joined us to discuss what we can learn from the design process (as in: actual designers) when it comes to analytics and data science. Among other things, that mindset highlights the importance of the analyst empathizing with stakeholders. Tim got very uncomfortable. Michael said he understood Tim's discomfort. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Stop for a minute and think about the highest stakes campaign or test you've ever run. Were you nervous? Now, instead, imagine that you're on an aircraft carrier with a few thousand people on board whose safety you are responsible for, and your team is about to watch 40,000 tons of ordnance detonate (in an environmentally friendly way) right next to the ship... so you can collect data to verify that the various systems are working as expected. On this episode, our guest can't really talk about the former situation, but he can discuss the latter in depth: Capt. Paul Lanzilotta is the commanding officer of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the lead ship in the latest class of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. Perspective, much? For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.