In a world where you are surrounded by endless data, how can you focus on the right one? How can you listen to the data symphony in the hustle and bustle of all the marketing responsibilities? 

The biggest challenges I faced during campaign monitoring and reporting were to answer questions like: What is the audience for this campaign? What criteria did we include in the audience for this other campaign? Is the same audience targeted in multiple campaigns? How many campaigns overlap in audience or content type? How often are we triggering these emails?

Finding the answers to these questions involved opening each campaign, collecting the data, and sharing it with the stakeholders. As you can imagine, the request was time-consuming, and inefficient as sometimes this effort was duplicated, inconsistent because each stakeholder had unique needs, and even frustrating at times. Standardizing, automating, reducing errors, and making processes more efficient and clearer is paramount for success.

In the labyrinth of marketing automation, where algorithms dance and data narrate, advanced campaign metadata emerges as the orchestrator of harmony. Each campaign becomes a note in the grand composition of engagement, shaping the narrative of innovation and strategy in the digital symphony.

What is the Role of Campaign Metadata?

Campaign metadata, often overlooked, is the foundation of campaign reporting success. It usually encompasses traditional elements like the region, product focus, and budget, but our enhanced strategy takes it a step further, incorporating:

• Project Management Details (like Project ID or Project Link)
• Tracking Details (with IDs from tracking systems like Claravine, Aprimo, Terminus, Egnyte)
• Campaign Type (Direct Mail, Nurture, Drip, Webinar, Event, Operational Campaign)
• Campaign Lifecycle (One-off or Always-on)
• Email Cadence (Weekly, Bi-weekly, Monthly, Action Trigger, Contact Creation Trigger)
• Campaign Journey Stage (Welcome, Awareness, Education, Consideration, Decision, Re-engagement, Loyalty)
• Audience Criteria (Including full description of the target audience)

Before configuring the campaign metadata, schedule a brainstorming session with your stakeholders to identify key data that is vital in campaign reporting, monitoring, and optimization. Once identified, evaluate, and prioritize campaign metadata that is trackable and add it to your symphony.

Why it Matters in Marketing?

Implementing a tactical set of campaign metadata brings key benefits like:

• Data-driven insights: Campaign metadata facilitates the analysis of your customer journeys to derive actionable insights. This data-driven approach enhances not just current campaigns but also shapes the trajectory of future ones.
• Optimizing resources: By understanding the nuances of your audience's preferences based on audience structure, buyer journey stages, region, or product interest, you can allocate resources more efficiently. This ensures your campaigns not only hit the mark but do so with minimal resource investment.
• Advanced reporting: Robust metadata facilitates detailed reporting on every facet of a campaign. Marketers gain a comprehensive view, enabling informed decisions for future campaigns and demonstrating clear ROI to stakeholders.

How to Customize Campaign Data

An Eloqua admin can configure custom campaign fields by going to Settings > Fields & Views > Add > Add Campaign Field.

Configure the General (Display Name, Description, Data type, Field type, Display Index) and Campaign Field Options (Required or Read only) and hit Save.

There are 3 data types available for campaign fields: Text, Numeric, and Date. If you need a large text to write more details about a specific aspect, you won't be able to do it here.

Pro tip: You can use the Campaign Description area more strategically by including details relevant to your company. For example, the audience criteria might exceed the 100 characters of a small text field. Placing the audience criteria in the Campaign Description area allows you to compile a descriptive segmentation criterion with around 2000 characters.

You can reorder the Campaign Fields by manipulating the Display Index value. The lower the value, the higher the ranking in the campaign fields.

Once the Campaign Fields are configured, document the process, and train your team for a consistent and harmonious contribution to the campaign metadata symphony.

For each upcoming campaign, make sure to configure the Custom Fields and the Campaign Description.

Custom Fields Setup:

Campaign Setup:

How to Use Campaign Metadata in Reporting

Having your campaigns associated with metadata sets the stage for advanced reporting in Insight.

You will find the campaign metadata in all the campaign-related subject areas from Insight. Drag and drop the attributes and customize the report based on your needs.

You can even take reporting a step further and create a custom dashboard. Below you can see sample sections that could be incorporated into your dashboard.

Sample Section #1

Sample Section #2

Sample Section #3

Sample Section #4

Final Thoughts

As marketers navigate the complexities of marketing automation, embracing the symphony of advanced campaign metadata becomes the key to creating a masterpiece. It's not just about information; it's about configuring campaign metadata that resonates with any stakeholder and leads to data-driven decisions.

By leveraging metadata, marketers can transcend traditional approaches and gain fresh insights into campaign performance. It's not just about how you pull reporting; it's about unlocking a whole new perspective that can reshape your marketing endeavors.

We understand that campaign reporting and analysis can feel daunting, but it doesn't have to weigh you down too heavily. Contact us and let us help you elevate your marketing game, dive into the power of metadata, and watch as your campaigns transform into a finely tuned strategic composition, driving success and growth for your brand.