This year we invited our clients from all over Europe to Dublin to attend our the Annual FINCH Summit. Over the course of two days, we celebrated customer and FINCH growth and learned from leading industry experts. But this year was extra special. FINCH has been innovating paid media for the last ten years. Thus, we put a lot of effort into arranging an appealing program for all participants. We featured engaging thought leadership from Google, Amazon, Microsoft (and FINCH). For those who weren’t able to attend, we wanted to offer impressions and summarize the key takeaways from the summit.
The first day kicked off in the heart of Dublin, Ireland–at Google Headquarters. The first keynote speech was given by Sandra Scherr, Agency Lead Germany at Google. Scherr touched on technological advances and customer experience and expectations in paid media. Scherr also revealed how the customer journey has changed over the last few years. Additionally, consumer understanding has grown much more important.
Scherr mentioned that, as marketers, we need to create better customer journeys. The ideal journey consists of multiple touchpoints and interactions throughout the funnel. The customer is always right. Thus, it stands to reason that online customers demand better efforts from marketers. The key statement from Scherr’s speech was that we need to “reach the right person, at the right moment, with the right message.” To achieve that, one needs “to be there, be useful and be quick.”
Following up this insightful keynote was an impacting speech from Jason Lowry, COO, at FINCH. True to its title, “10 Years of FINCH – What Did We Learn,” Jason gave us a journey through our history. His speech reminded all of us why paid media automation is now more crucial than ever before. He pointed out that the FINCH campaign structure–as well as the FINCH platform’s adaptability–are what make the platform successful. These features allow FINCH customers to solve the complexity of paid media and achieve scale. Working with granular audiences and click profiles are necessary to achieve full-funnel optimization. Most importantly, the use of metric-driven display (in combination with Search and Shopping data) is key to realizing a profitable, full-funnel solution for our customers.
Lowry also gave insights about the future direction of vision ofFINCH. The FINCH platform depends on insights, proactive collaboration, and a streamlined workflow. Going forward, we will provide our customers with direct access to the FINCH platform! This will increase workflow, collaboration, and results. FINCH aims to become a SaaS-driven business. We want to empower our customers to leverage automation and insights for paid media performance, placing our technology in their hands.
To drive home each keynote’s major takeaways, we wanted our attendees to do some homework. We held a working session to offer each customer and staff member an opportunity to ask questions that had come to mind during the presentations. We wanted to know what people thought of the new FINCH direction and their contributions to the future of paid media. Several FINCH employees led the discussions. The outcome was amazing: we gained very valuable insights from our customers. This was also a great opportunity for our different clients to build up networks.
The end result was a mutual exchange. Customers got to vocalize everything on their minds and we listened. This event was a wonderful opportunity to create a collaborative atmosphere for our participants. To cap off a perfect day, we invited everyone over to the Hairy Lemon Pub to celebrate. Each participant toasted over a cold, milky glass of Guinness; live Irish music; and some typical Irish Pub food. All agreed: it was the best way to wrap up the first day of the FINCH Summit!
The second day of our Summit commenced at the picturesque Dean Hotel. As a captivating, historical location, the Dean Hotel offered great new surroundings. We discussed present topics and future-focused items in regards to Paid Media. Sean O‘Connor, EMEA Marketing Director at Microsoft Search Advertising kicked off the first keynote of that day. Mr. O’Connor delivered an insightful presentation about the rebranding from Bing Ads to Microsoft Advertising. Microsoft chose the titular name in hopes of emphasizing a broader focus on personalization. Additionally, Microsoft Advertising is powered by the company’s advancements in artificial intelligence. Also, the rebrand isn’t for strictly for namesake. There are multiple new offerings including powerful, expansive advertising products with built-in artificial intelligence. These advancements intend to better connect Microsoft client data and business goals.
Following up Mr. O’Connor’s presentation, Tony Hrnek (Director Sales Europe at FINCH and Peter Kilkenny (Senior DSP Product Specialist EMEA at FINCH) focused on the opportunities of Metric-Driven Display. For most digital advertisers, one of the biggest challenges is reaching target groups. Typically, Display causes high cost of sales and lower conversions–missteps that we can avoid. Most digital marketers are all-too-familiar with the “Black Box” of Display data. They don’t have insights into what’s working in their campaigns. But there is a way we can override this glitch. By using historical Search and Shopping data we can power our Display campaigns! When we unify the “missing link” between Display advertising and Search and Shopping, we can identify high-quality customers. Additionally, we can expand audiences by targeting similar audiences. And, we’ll increase conversions by engaging with these audiences. These tactics drive better and more predictable results.
Last but not least, Moritz Kliewer, Partner Manager at Amazon Advertising, concluded our summit. In his presentation, he showed us the power of advertising with intent. With the ongoing growth in the e-commerce market, there are many challenges for everyone who sells online. Kliewer pointed out that it is important to build relationships with customers and to use a variety of channels to reach them. We also need to focus more on success metrics. These data sets are important variables for understanding and segmenting customers.
Thank you to everyone who attended our third European Partner Summit in Dublin. We are grateful to work with such amazing customers and partners who place their trust in us. We hope everyone had an amazing and educational experience. We’re excited to have your feedback! We’ll implement the next set of innovative changes to bring the FINCH platform to its next level.
Warmly,
Your FINCH Europe Team