Leading Mobile Measurement and Deep Liaison Platform Branch provides solutions that unify customer experience and measurement across multiple devices, platforms and channels. As one of the exclusive partners of Parternize, we took the opportunity to discuss this month’s Partner Chronicles with Michelle Lerner, Director of Business Development.We discuss the technology of the platform and how this fits into cross-channel marketing and the future of mobile measurement, and why marketers should take advantage of this opportunity in the growing world of mobile and app marketing.
Before we get into the world of mobile tracking and how Branch drives increased efficiency and revenue, it would be great to hear about your path to your role. Can you give us a quick overview of how you’ve played your current role?
Michelle: My career started with traditional advertising. I worked at an agency that focused on printing, direct mail and signage at a time before digital and social services were launched. I was intrigued by all the innovations, technology and start-ups that were happening around me, so I made a leap from the agency to the start-up of the social media platform.
There has always been a question of measurement, assignment, cross-channel and cross-platform. Everyone was talking about it, but no one had figured it out, and I asked myself, “Why are people okay with not knowing it?” That’s what brought me to Branch. I looked at it as “wow, finally, there’s technology that can precisely combine cross-channel and cross-platform management” and now I’m here.
Can you talk about Branch technology and how it fits into cross-channel or omnichannel marketing?
M: Branch is in a unique location as we can measure across every channel, e-mail, search, social ads, mobile, app, and web. We’re integrated with all email service providers, self-assigned networks, DSPs, affiliate networks, etc., so no matter where you’re trying to reach your customers, Branch is able to deliver seamless user experience through deep-linking capabilities, and measure assignment more precisely across each channel.
Why is measuring consumer journeys (that include apps) so important for e-commerce today?
M: Branch is in a unique location as we can measure across every channel, e-mail, search, social ads, mobile, app, and web. We’re integrated with all email service providers, self-assigned networks, DSPs, affiliate networks, etc., so no matter where you’re trying to reach your customers, Branch is able to deliver seamless user experience through deep-linking capabilities, and measure assignment more precisely across each channel.
However, you may be blocked because, among other obstacles, you can’t remember things like the confirmation code. These kinds of inefficiencies in the customer journey can have an effect on e-commerce in two ways: the user will associate the bad experience with the brand and the brand will lose out to the customer. Second, the brand lacks the opportunity for the customer to convert, so it’s important to provide a seamless experience in the customer’s journey from email to app or to app ads, for example.
This will also give marketers a better understanding of what is actually working across these channels so that they can make better-informed marketing decisions and have a more efficient path to conversion.
In your work with Partnerize, and other platforms and networks, how has comprehensive mobile measurement affected channel sales?
M: At Branch, we’ve seen up to 30% increase in conversions due to the way we measure across channels and platforms. We use a deterministic way of measuring attribution and are therefore able to match a mobile app user with 100% certainty. It is therefore the increase in attribution and also the increase in channel coverage that gives this real increase in the value of the channel / sales efforts of the brands.
If you’re thinking about attribution marketing right now, the organic bucket is so big. By using a more deterministic way to reduce the immeasurable or unattributed bucket down, it will be more precisely distributed across your channels.
For those who aren’t familiar, can you explain the concepts of deep linking and deferred deep linking?
M: If you’re thinking about connecting back to the days of the desktop, you’d enter www.example.com and be taken to the place you need to be. Then mobile came into play, and now there are multiple browsers and apps that have changed the entire linking experience.This made it almost impossible for someone to get from one place to another, or to carry any initial context across the mobile and the app. With a deep link, you can easily get from point A to point B in the app. In the meantime, with the deferred deep link, this carries the initial context from point A to point B, even at post-install. Overall, it makes a seamless experience the same way the desktop used to do.
What do you say to people who say they are interested in comprehensive mobile measurement, but that it is not their highest priority?
M: I’m going to ask them: what’s holding you back? It can be daunting to make changes to your marketing mix, especially if your mobile is new, so you need to look at the impact that people spend more time on apps as people spend more time on mobile devices. If it isn’t a priority right now, it will eventually be, so you might as well get a headstart.
From a product standpoint, what’s coming up for brands and partners from Branch?
M: We’re going to see a continuous shift in channel and partner sales to mobile, and that’s why we value our partnership with Partnerize because they’re leading the charge and adapting to this shift in the market. I think we’re starting to see the need for additional measurement capabilities, especially with ConnectedTV and OTT and new apps on other platforms. Soon we will begin to see all these elements take shape.
Lastly, what parting words of advice do you have for clients looking to fill their mobile measurement gap?
M: Don’t wait for that. The longer you leave it and don’t have a comprehensive strategy, the more money and time you waste as a marketer. You want to make these formal decisions that affect both the bottom line and the customer experience, so it really helps the brand to have this cross-channel and cross-platform coverage. Also, make sure that you have the right tech stack in place to measure accurately and efficiently across multiple channels and platforms.
Looking at 2020, where do you see the mobile measurement strategy heading and what could we expect from Branch in utilising that strategy in the next 12 months?
M: We’re going to continue to measure partnerships from app to app, as I know historically from the affiliate side, where a lot of channel sales are going through. We will also continue to focus on app-to-app partnerships and the ability to link and measure appropriately across all of them. On the channel sales side, to be able to pay more precisely on the different commission structures.It’s all part of the strategy as we get more aligned next year with the mobile-focused app-to-app world. We will continue to leverage great technology to meet the different partnerships and their needs, while maximizing the Branch for those campaigns, which remain a recipe for success.
