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Does Google's 360 Suite change the game for large-scale analytics?

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Google are rarely ones to be left in the dust, so when they announced their new suite of analytical tools, which have been designed with larger firms in mind, I wasn't exactly surprised. When I looked into it, however, I was pretty impressed. The suite of tools is known as the “360 Suite,” and is aimed at large firms looking to gain more insights from today’s multi-screen consumers, and it takes on the likes of Adobe, Oracle, Salesforce and even Facebook Atlas with reliable aplomb.

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Whilst it's currently only in the beta stage, and has been available to the public for just a little over a week, the suite has already been winning fans, and converting former Adobe loyalists. Google are well aware, of course, of the difficulties in converting big businesses from Adobe and Oracle, as transitioning from one system to another is obviously more of a logistical problems depending on the size of the company, but this is Google, and they are not ones to back away from a fight.

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For those unaware of how these kind of suites work, it's essentially a set of integrated data and marketing analytics tools, designed specifically for marketers (in this case at large companies) that want to transition their practice to facilitate the increasingly multi-screen media consumption of consumers. The 360 Suite marks Google’s long awaited move into offering a data management platform (DMP), something which was notably missing from its previous analytics offering.

Google Analytics 360 Suite

A DMP (in simple terms) is a piece of software that processes and presents information in a way that's useful for businesses. For marketers, they’re most often used to manage cookie IDs and to generate audience segments, which are then used to target specific users with online ads. Google has claimed that the new suite lets marketers see the entirety of their customers’ path to purchase and can integrate with other tools such as Google's own AdWords and DoubleClick, as well as other third party platforms. The package also contains rebranded and updated versions of Tag Manager, Analytics and Attribution, which will now benefit from additional features.

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Paul Muret, Vice President of Analytics, Display, and Video Products at Google, said: “Sophisticated marketers who use analytics platforms are three times more likely to outperform their peers in achieving revenue goals. It’s no wonder enterprise-class marketers have been telling us they need more from their marketing analytics tools. Many toolsets can’t cope: They’re too hard to use, lack sufficient collaboration capabilities, are poorly integrated, and require hard-to-find expertise.” Google Analytics 360, evidently, is a toolset that most certainly can cope, or at least will be able to once the beta testing phase has been accomplished.

Google Analytics 360 Case Study – Nest

The Suite consists of six tools, the first four of which are brand new:-

Audience Center 360 (beta): This is Google’s first data management platform (DMP) which will help marketers understand their customers and find more like them across channels, devices and campaigns. It offers native integration with DoubleClick and AdWords, and can also be utilised with other demand-side platforms (DSPs) whilst also pulling in data from third-party providers. This is definitely the star player in the pack, and is the aspect of the suite that has been drawing the most attention.

Optimize 360 (beta): This is a site testing and personalisation product to help marketers deliver better experiences. It is designed so that marketers can show consumers multiple variations of their site (e.g. landing pages) and then choose the version that works best for each audience.

Data Studio 360 (beta): This is a new data analysis and visualisation product that integrates data and generates interactive reports and dashboards. It’s features of real-time sharing and collaboration are based on Google Docs technology.

Tag Manager 360 (beta): This is based on the tag manager feature in Google Analytics, however this is now a standalone product and it offers a simplified way to gather site information and powerful APIs to increase data accuracy and streamline workflows.

Attribution 360: Formerly known as Adometry, Google say “it has been rebuilt from the ground up to help marketing investments and allocate budget with confidence.” It will allow marketers to analyse performance across all channels and systems to achieve their most effective marketing mix.

Analytics 360: Formerly known as GA Premium. The tech giant said the product will “serve as the measurement centrepiece by analysing customer data from all tough-points,” with integration into the company’s ad products. Giving you a deeper understanding of customer experience.

Google Analytics 360 Case Study – L'Oreal Canada

In essence, what sets the 360 Suite apart from its competitors is just how complete a package it is. These are six incredibly powerful products designed to help large brands better unify and syndicate marketing and advertising data across all channels, and they do so in (from what I can gather) a remarkably straight-forward way.

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While companies like Adobe and Oracle already offer marketing and data management solutions, Google’s move into the space presents an opportunity to deliver more humanised advertising. The 360 Suite promises to give brands faster and easier access to customer, performance, and third-party data across all channels so that they can create an advertising experience that more closely aligns with how consumers actually research and shop. Where customers have, until now, seen ads based solely on information like keywords and intent data, they should now start seeing content based on their preferences and past online behaviours, and this shift away from keyword-based targeting should mean more relatable, relevant content that’s tailored to what you like and less for the masses.

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In theory, the Google Analytics 360 Suite should be a win-win for both brands and consumers. It’s not perfect, as marketers will still need to determine who their highest value customers are and how to best target and acquire them, and consumers can’t expect the industry to change overnight, but this is definitely a step in the right direction, from a company who (let's be honest here) very rarely put a foot wrong.

Google Analytics 360 Case Study – Progressive

Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and struggling musician from the dark heart of Kidderminster in the UK.

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