Takeaways from the Microsoft Advertising Partner Summit

On April 30th and May 1st, the newly branded Microsoft Advertising held the 2019 Microsoft Advertising Partner Summit at their Redmond, WA campus. Metric Theory was one of the attendees!

This event brings together Microsoft Advertising agency partners, technology partners, and channel partners in one collaborative space to learn about Microsoft initiatives that ultimately drive value for their clients.

During the agency-specific sessions, we learned about valuable upcoming product priorities, essential for the service of agency clients. Day 1 ended at the breathtaking Chihuly Garden and Glass for the Partner Summit Opening Ceremony & Awards.

Day 2 was filled with inspiring keynotes on accessibility, trust & privacy, diversity, and more. These topics may not all seem related to marketing, but the speakers, more accurately described as thought leaders, explained that incorporating these ideas into marketing can only make the industry grow in a positive way. All of those concepts are core to Metric Theory’s culture, so that was a very fulfilling day for us. So many great ideas to share with our team!

One session in particular resonated with our view of client data and partnerships. Revealing the Data-Driven Marketer’s Blueprint for Success, led by Sarah Bolton and Thomas Borland, focused on understanding each client’s ‘customer decision journey’ (CDJ). At Metric Theory, client teams take a very CDJ-centric approach to provide the most personalized, relevant, and thoughtful discovery and purchase experience possible. This session dove into recent survey results, showing that high-performing agencies and brands have a strong understanding of what the CDJ is and how to take advantage of it in advertising. I guess it’s good to know where we stand!

We look forward to seeing how this summit continues to inspire in future years!