#2 [Solo] Attribution and incrementality in developer marketing

My thoughts and frameworks for thinking about attribution, incrementality, decision making in the context of developer marketing, optimizing channels, and allocating resources to programs.

Links:

• How to prove ROI of developer marketing?
• Developer marketing metrics and attribution (practitioners guide)

Takeaways

• Attribution should always be connected to decision-making.
• Reporting is often a prelude to decision-making in attribution.
• Attribution can only be directional, not 100% accurate.
• Focus on optimizing activities within channels rather than exact attribution.
• Incrementality is about understanding the growth driven by activities.
• Self-reported attribution can provide valuable insights despite its flaws.
• Early-stage companies should prioritize clear impact from activities.
• Marketing mix modeling helps correlate impressions with outcomes.
• It's crucial to focus on fewer activities for greater impact.
• 100% attribution can lead to risky marketing decisions.

Summary

In this conversation, Kuba discusses the complexities of attribution in marketing, emphasizing the importance of understanding its purpose and the distinction between attribution and incrementality.

He argues that effective attribution should inform decision-making and drive meaningful business metrics rather than merely serve as a reporting tool.

Kuba also explores various methods for attribution, including self-reported attribution and marketing mix modeling, advocating for a focus on directional insights that lead to incremental improvements in marketing efforts.

Chapters

• 00:00Understanding Attribution in Marketing
• 12:26The Importance of Directional Insights
• 18:36Methods for Effective Attribution
• 27:18Driving Incremental Improvements

Keywords

attribution, marketing, decision-making, incrementality, data analysis, ROI, marketing channels, self-reported attribution, marketing mix modeling, insights