I often get asked about which digital analytics conferences should be in the consideration set for attending. At the top of my recommendation list is the eMetrics Summit. This is a conference that I’ve been attending since 2003, and with this 12 years of history, the reasons for my attendee retention rate are worth sharing – and especially timely after attending the San Francisco eMetrics Summit recently, which was held the week before last.

Industry Trends

Topical session themes at eMetrics will cue you in on what the current business needs, industry learnings and analytics trends are within the industry. The sessions have been carefully selected to reflect the topics that attendees have conveyed as relevant to their analytics roles/responsibilities and what is important to prospective attendees to learn given a maturity/roadmap perspective.

Exposure To Diverse Case Studies

The eMetrics conference is platform or tool agnostic. This is meaningful because there are so many vendor conferences in the digital analytics space – and these conferences are great, but they also focus on their own tools and technologies. At eMetrics, you will get exposure to different companies that are using different methodologies and tools/platforms to achieve their digital analytics initiatives.

Learning About New Technologies

As we all know, there is an analytics and networking technology stack that is needed to perform various functions across the digital analytics ecosystem. And eMetrics is an incredible opportunity to learn about new products and players in the industry (again, because it is platform/tool agnostic so all vendors are welcome in the exhibit hall). As a business, you could find what you’re looking for here. Tools like LinkedIn automation software that could help you generate leads through smart filters, or optimize your marketing campaigns keeping in mind the current trends; or similar others that could help your business grow at a faster rate. For instance, one of the newest products that has entered the marketplace, and one that has impressed us here at Evolytics, is Hub’Scan. Hub’Scan is an automated data quality assurance tool focused on efficiently delivering trusted, accurate digital analytics data. We have found it to be very effective at different phases of the project lifecycle – as an audit step to understanding tagging gaps, as an implementation QA tool for quality assurance testing of your implementation efforts, and as a data quality tool used for ongoing maintenance and governance of your tagging and data collection efforts. Hub’Scan also won the Digital Analytics Association award this year for “New Technology of the Year.” I encourage you to check out this new product solution, and as an official partner of Hub’Scan, please feel free to reach out to the team here at Evolytics with any questions you might have.

Networking With New Analysts

Given the growth of the digital analytics community and the demand for talent who has the skill sets and has passed ccna 200-301 exam or like assessments needed for various networking and analytics disciplines, I have found that the eMetrics conference is a great place to meet people new to the field. My favorite session at eMetrics this year was “Speed Networking” held on the second day (which should be moved to the first day). Not only did it provide an opportunity to meet people you would later be sitting next to in conference sessions, it was a great way to meet people who are new to the industry. I enjoy meeting people new to the industry because I’ve learned over time that they will also be the same people you cross paths with over the years and a few of them will emerge as industry thought leaders. eMetrics schedules group activities (such as “Dinner with Strangers”) to help you connect – facilitating conversations with attendees that come to the conference from all over the world. It’s a unique opportunity and experience.

Re-Connecting With Old Friends

One of my very favorite aspects of the eMetrics conference is the opportunity to catch up with old friends that I have met at previous conferences. You’ll find as you get involved (and stay involved) in this industry, you begin to cross paths with exceptional thinkers and practitioners who are always open to a conversation – particularly when it’s in the Lobby Bar. One of the very best things about eMetrics is the networking, connections and life-long friends you make and re-connect with each time you attend the conference.

DAA Updates

The eMetrics Summit is the official conference of the Digital Analytics Association (DAA). This is differentiating, and important. The DAA is the single most influential organization for Digital Analytics professionals, driving the growth and development of talent within our industry. Attending eMetrics also links you to what is happening with the DAA, and if you haven’t already, you should join the association (visit https://www.digitalanalyticsassociation.org/). An example of the value-add that the DAA provides is the recent release of the DAA Digital Analyst Competency Framework, the first-of-its-kind industry reference. It defines the skills, knowledge and abilities necessary to succeed in the field of digital analytics for professionals, organizations, academic institutions and the industry at large.

So, if you are looking to attend a Digital Analytics conference this year, I encourage you to think about the eMetrics Summit (thank you, Jim Sterne, for making it a worthwhile event year after year!). The next eMetrics will be held in Chicago June 8^th-11^th, with others scheduled to be held in Milan, Boston and London throughout the year. For now, you can get a glimpse of the topics and the experience you’ll have by reading the eMetrics blog. Enjoy!