The Data-Driven Marketer Podcast

Join Greg Dolan, CEO and Co-founder of Keen Decision Systems, for an essential conversation with Olga Yurovski, Founder and CEO of Shopperations, about transforming CPG marketing from reactive annual planning to proactive continuous optimization that drives better business outcomes.

In this episode, Olga reveals how the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) business environment has made traditional annual planning obsolete, and shares the systematic approach that leading CPG brands are using to build closed-loop planning processes that adapt to changing market conditions in real time.

Discover why establishing proper data taxonomy and systems of record is the critical first step before implementing analytics, and learn how to break down organizational silos by integrating retail media capabilities with shopper marketing teams to maximize the 70-80% of budgets now flowing through retail media channels.

Key topics include:

• Transitioning from annual to continuous planning cycles
• Building proper data taxonomy and systems of record
• Integrating retail media with shopper marketing operations
• Eliminating the 52% of time spent on administrative tasks
• Implementing self-service systems for stakeholder efficiency
• Future applications of AI and automation in marketing operations

Olga shares practical insights from over eleven years of building solutions for CPG marketing operations, including real-world examples of how proper systems have enabled clients to complete financial audits in 20 minutes instead of weeks, merge company portfolios seamlessly, and reduce agency scope by bringing budget management in-house.

Whether you're a CPG marketer, shopper marketing professional, or marketing operations leader, this conversation provides actionable strategies for building the foundation needed to thrive in today's rapidly changing business environment.

Performance data isn't the same as decision clarity. Many marketing teams have more measurement tools than ever, yet still get stuck on the question, "what should we do next?"

In this episode, Derek DeGroat, Director of Marketing Analytics at Iridio by RRD, walks through the four-part measurement framework his team built to solve exactly that problem. Instead of treating analytics tools as a stack of standalone reports, the framework connects them into a system where each layer answers a different question across the campaign life cycle.

What you'll learn:

• Why more dashboards haven't solved the measurement problem
• How segmentation, marketing mix modeling, in-campaign testing, and weekly optimization work together as a system
• When to refresh each layer (annually, quarterly, weekly)
• How MMM connects upper-funnel impressions to bottom-line revenue and profit
• What it takes to reconcile MMM forecasts against actual performance
• Why data infrastructure is the foundation underneath any framework
• How to set expectations with CMOs, CFOs, and CEOs about which insights come from which layer

This one is for marketers ready to move past last-click attribution and build a measurement system that actually informs decisions.

About the guest:

Derek DeGroat leads marketing analytics at Iridio by RRD, where his team designs the analytics tools and frameworks that help clients make data-informed decisions across the campaign life cycle.

Host:

Jesse Math, VP of Strategic Partnerships at Keen Decision Systems.

Learn more about marketing mix modeling at keends.com.

Join Jesse Math, VP of Strategic Partnerships at Keen Decision Systems, in conversation with Devyn McHugh, Director of Programmatic at Quigley-Simpson. They unpack full-funnel measurement that goes beyond weekly reports and last-touch attribution, with practical ways to capture both upper-funnel brand impact and lower-funnel conversions.

You’ll learn how to:

• Apply layered measurement combining multiple attribution approaches

• Treat programmatic as a cross-channel technology for journey measurement

• Balance short-term KPIs with long-term brand growth

• Move beyond last-touch to reflect the complete customer journey

• Choose channels based on full-funnel performance, not isolated metrics

• Use probabilistic methods to understand complex journeys

• Navigate independent agency realities while sustaining growth

Devyn shares hands-on tactics: educating stakeholders on journey complexity, using retargeting as a gateway to broader strategies, and maintaining user experience while meeting performance reporting needs.

Perfect for: programmatic pros, media strategists, measurement specialists, customer journey analysts, and digital advertising leaders seeking full-funnel, sustainable growth.

• Discover why your marketing performance is likely stronger than you think due to attribution gaps.
• Understand the risks of over-investing in bottom-of-the-funnel tactics.
• Learn how to shift to a holistic measurement approach centered on incrementality.
• Gain insights into facilitating change within your organization to adopt better measurement.

For the full show notes, visit https://keends.com/podcast/episodes/ep-207-code3-fixing-the-measurement-gap/

• Why real-time optimization capabilities are now essential for marketing success
• How to balance upper-funnel brand building with bottom-funnel performance marketing
• The organizational changes needed to integrate strategy with tactical execution
• How technology partnerships enable both strategic planning and real-time adjustments
• Why early adopters of integrated approaches are gaining competitive advantages

Read the full show notes here: https://keends.com/podcast/episodes/ep206-real-time-marketing-optimization-mikmak/

How do you prove marketing's value when everyone thinks success is just about price? Uncover how Cabot Creamery uses data to make every single dollar in their marketing budget count.

In this episode, Brad Keefer of Keen Decision Systems talks with Sean Thompson from Cabot Creamery about the journey of implementing a modern marketing mix modeling practice. They discuss how the iconic, farmer-owned brand moved beyond a "black box" approach to marketing to one driven by predictive data and optimization, even with a lean budget.

Listen in to learn:

• How to build the case for marketing analytics in a skeptical organization.
• Strategies for overcoming the fear that MMM is just a "report card" on performance.
• Why the concept of diminishing returns is critical for budget optimization.
• The difference between a historical model and a forward-looking planning tool.
• The importance of finding an internal champion to push data-driven initiatives forward.

Learn More:

• Full show notes: https://keends.com/podcast/episodes/ep205-cabot-prove-brand-value-mmm/
• Keen Decision Systems: https://www.keends.com
• Cabot Creamery: https://www.cabotcreamery.com

The marketing playbook is changing faster than ever. With hundreds of channels and endless data points, how do you build a winning strategy for 2025? In this episode, we cut through the noise with actionable insights from Keen Decision Systems' first annual report, a deep analysis of $7.5 billion in real marketing spend.

Join Keen CEO and cofounder Greg Dolan as he welcomes Justin Jefferson, VP of Strategy and Insights and the author of the report. Together, they translate this massive dataset into a practical guide for marketers looking to drive sustainable growth, maximize ROI, and future proof their brand.

In this episode, you will discover:

• How to Master the Funnel: Learn the optimal budget split between top-of-funnel brand building and bottom-of-funnel conversions, and see how that mix should change as your business grows.
• The Right Channel Mix: Find out how much you should allocate to new and emerging channels versus established platforms to balance innovation with reliable performance.
• Which Channels Are Working: Get a data-backed look at the real performance of digital channels like TikTok, Meta, and Google Search, and see why legacy channels like TV and radio still play a crucial role.
• The Power of Timing: Uncover one of the biggest mistakes marketers make with seasonal spending and learn how to capitalize on the "shoulder" periods before and after your peak season.
• Measuring What Matters: Go beyond short term sales to understand how to measure the long term impact and decay rates of your marketing, which is the key to building a resilient brand.

This episode is your guide to building a smarter, more profitable marketing plan for 2025, backed by one of the most comprehensive datasets in the industry.

Download the report and learn more about Keen Decision Systems by visiting their website.

You spend $5 on Google and $5 on Meta, but only make $8 in revenue. Sound familiar? If you're a marketer struggling to find a single source of truth in your data, this episode is essential listening.

The reports from your ad platforms rarely add up, leaving you to question every budget decision. In this episode, host Brad Keefer of Keen Decision Systems sits down with guest Ryan Koonce, CEO of Attribution App, to reveal a powerful framework for solving this problem. They detail how to unite two critical methodologies, Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA) and Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM), to connect your daily execution with strategic growth.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why the data from “walled gardens” like Google and Meta is inherently biased and how to account for it.
• The critical red flags to look for when evaluating any attribution tool.
• How to use granular, deterministic MTA data to inform your high-level, probabilistic MMM strategy.
• The practical steps to move your team from backward-looking reporting to accountable, forward-looking forecasting.
• Why clean, foundational data is the most important asset for the future of AI in marketing.

View the full show notes here: https://keends.com/podcast/episodes/ep-203-multi-touch-attribution-marketing-mix-modeling/

Learn more about our guest and host:

Ryan Koonce, CEO, Attribution App: https://www.attributionapp.com

Brad Keefer, CRO, Keen Decision Systems: https://www.keends.com

BirdDog CEO Shaun Brown shares how audience-first strategies and marketing mix modeling transform retail media performance across channels. The conversation explores three critical gaps in the retail media market: the disconnect between brand and performance agencies, underserved mid-market brands, and limited access to advanced marketing technology. Brown advocates for brands developing their own source of truth rather than relying solely on retailer data, using marketing mix modeling to drive business results, and leveraging cross-retailer halo effects for enhanced performance.

Key takeaways for modern commerce marketers

• Brands need their own source of truth because "every branch should have its own source of truth" rather than relying solely on retailer data.
• Marketing mix modeling enables agencies to answer "where does the next best dollar go to achieve the business result we're looking for" instead of just optimizing performance metrics.
• Cross-retailer audience duplication "is not always a bad thing" and can create valuable halo effects across platforms.
• Successful retail media requires "a more full funnel approach" where brand building and performance marketing work together.

Join Steve 'Lounge' Price, CEO of 85SIXTY, and Jesse Math from Keen Decision Systems as they explore how marketing mix modeling has evolved from expensive enterprise CPG solutions to accessible software platforms for travel, hospitality, and outdoor brands. Learn how MMM helps brands balance performance marketing with brand building, incorporate environmental factors like seasonality, and make data-driven budget decisions in a cookieless world.

Discover the complementary roles of marketing mix modeling, multi-touch attribution, and incrementality testing in today's measurement landscape.

Steve shares insights on building first-party data ecosystems, the challenges of long purchase cycles, and how 85SIXTY helps clients navigate the changing digital landscape with platforms like Meta, Google, CTV, and programmatic display to optimize their marketing investments.