Omniture Summit – Day 3

I called this day “The Maroon 5 Effect,” because everybody going to breakfast showed the effects of going to the concert and staying up late. I started noticing the effects of it right on the bus, where it was awfully quiet, even though the bus was full of people. Over at the Salt Palace, the scene looked of a zombie movie. There were only a portion of the attendees eating breakfast, but most were eating their meals. Not much was discussed during the morning session, other than key speakers selling their products to us.

The best breakout session in the event had Allan Dick, CMO of Vintage Tub & Bath. Not only was very passionate about his business and very entertaining (he gave us the story of the tub and toilet in 10 minutes). He explained how he used both SearchCenter, Data Sources & SiteCatalyst to bridge online and offline data to get a better view of what keywords are converting and generating sales. He explained that a visitor is given a unique customer ID, which can then be used when a visitor calls their call center to make the purchase. This data is then imported to SiteCatalyst using Data Sources and tied to the keyword data.

The closing session was a product road map discussion, which is precede by Brett M. Error, EVP and Chief Technology Officer. This is an interesting forum because here’s where us as clients and product users can provide comments and recommendations for improvements. Not only Mr. Error but his team of developers asses the situation and make notes, which are then reviewed and implemented. What’s different about other forums is that Mr. Error mentions which of the past year’s recommendations where implemented into production and provides with release dates. This year, the majority of the issues had to do with improvements of the Discover platform. I left the event with the same opinion that I have regarding the products: they are going in the right direction but there’s room for improvement.

That night, there was a reception, where we were given another opportunity to network with clients, as well as have some fun. The ambiance was of a winter wonderland, with a dancer dressed like a tree, moving around the bar. There was also a photographer, taking pictures behind a snowy backdrop. The party continued to a club, but I needed to pack my bags and get some rest before my return trip. So that’s Omniture Summit 09…at least from my point of view.