Comprehensive customer view with dbt Cloud: A walkthrough of Campaign 360 analytics at dbt Labs from Coalesce 2023

“So, how do we know if we’ve been successful? Well, as of today, over 94% of dashboard usage for the Campaign 360 [dasboard] is coming from our non-data team members. This is proof that we’ve been able to reduce the dependency on our data and operations teams and actually allow our stakeholders to analyze this information all on their own.”

Brandon Thomson, Analytics Lead at dbt Labs, discusses the economic challenges facing marketing teams and how his team developed the Campaign 360 dashboard to address these issues. He also delves into how they used dbt Cloud, including how others can incorporate it into their marketing operations.

Modern marketing teams facing economic headwinds can benefit from data-driven decisions

Brandon explains the challenges marketing teams face today, such as reducing customer acquisition costs, cutting inefficient campaigns, increasing average contract values, and operating with less headcount and budget. "As we know right now, macro conditions have been generally unfavorable, and this is especially impacting marketing teams of today. They're being asked to basically help reduce customer acquisition costs, identify and cut inefficient channels and campaigns, and double down on the ones that work," he explains.

To navigate these challenges, the speaker describes the creation of a comprehensive dashboard called the Campaign 360 dashboard, which provides a single view of various marketing metrics. He adds, “It's designed to be incredibly easy to use and intuitive so that every member of the marketing team can effectively use this and get value from it.”

The Campaign 360 dashboard allows dbt Labs to improve accuracy and consistency, reduce dependency on operations and data teams, and empower their marketing with access to key insights.

Standardization and optimization are key to successful data-driven marketing

Brandon emphasizes the necessity of a structured approach to data in marketing: "First you must standardize, and then you can optimize.” After standardizing the measurement framework, he recommends embedding business logic into the data model and promoting self-service enablement.

"We needed to embed this business logic into our data model, and we did that using dbt. We needed to drive that self-service enablement. We can't just launch a dashboard and expect people to go use it. We needed to make sure we had all the information knowledge assets that the team could reference," he explains.

A data-driven approach can boost confidence and efficiency in marketing teams

Brandon explains how the Campaign 360 dashboard transformed the dbt Lab’s marketing team and empowered Global Campaigns Manager, Jakki Jakaj. "Jakki says that she feels more confident and more engaged in data conversations at dbt Labs. The team is incorporating daily dashboard checks into the routine…”

These improvements are a result of improved trust in data by stakeholders. “Jakki has now transitioned from discussing data accuracy to focusing on the action items and the results.

Brandon’s key insights

• Marketing teams are currently challenged with reducing customer acquisition costs and identifying inefficient channels and campaigns, all with less headcount and budget
• dbt’s marketing team uses the Campaign 360 dashboard to analyze various marketing data in a single place, leading to improved accuracy, consistency, and self-reliance
• The marketing team transitioned from discussing data accuracy to focusing on action items and results
• Standardizing and optimizing were key steps in making the dashboard impactful
• The use of macros and packages in dbt helped to streamline and manage the data effectively
• Over 94% of dashboard usage for the Campaign 360 dashboard is coming from non-data team members, indicating a successful reduction in dependency on the data and operations teams