Five days, a plethora of speakers and new and insightful ways to look at metrics and analytics—AMEC Measurement Week in New York City proved itself worthy of the name. The week came to a close Friday, but not before one last session featured an inside look at how NPR measures and developed their new app, NPR One.
Lauren Bracey Scheidt
Speakers Lauren Bracey Scheidt, product manager for consumer engagement, and Nick DePrey, analytics manager and innovation accountant, both took the stage to talk about how they “weaponize analytics” for their digital radio users. We’ve gathered a few key points from their session, below.
Killer metrics don’t lie in pageviews – In July, NPR launched its brand new app, NPR One. Instead of looking at service-level metrics, DePrey dove into the devices that were being used, and the how, when and what of people’s listening habits. He used tools like Google Analytics and a ratings table, to find those metrics that would provide a more detailed look into the ways to create a more personalized experience.
There needs to be a marriage of human- and machine-generated data -The team orignally experimented with using a computer as well as real people to generate the content flow for the app. And in some cases the computer won out. However, when the right person came in, they found that content proved to test better. It told them that there is room for both a human and machine-controlled elements when looking at the data.
Nick DePrey
Focus on the ultimate goal rather than the one that may be closest to you – An email campaign manager might just want to see the open rates or click throughs for a particular campaign—but only knowing those metrics does not give information on the overall goal—in this case, more active listeners for the NPR One app. While open rates and click through rates are still important metrics, when setting a goal it’s important to look at the overall picture, and not just the data that matters to a certain person or department.
Thanks to all who could attend! If you weren’t able to catch us in NYC, or if you’re simply looking for exclusive Measurement Week content, be sure to sign up for our Measurement Week Recap.
