In this joint webinar, SourceMedium Founder Feifan Wang and Elevar Lead Solutions Engineer John Cairo debunk the myths surrounding Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA) and explore how server-side tracking is revolutionizing e-commerce growth strategies. As cookie-based tracking crumbles and platforms like GA4 delay reporting by 24-48 hours, brands are flying blind. This session explains how to regain real-time visibility by combining Elevar’s raw data stream with SourceMedium’s advanced processing.
Feifan and John break down the technical differences between MTA (bottom-up, tactical) and Media Mix Modeling (MMM, top-down, strategic), arguing that modern brands need both to triangulate truth. Using a detailed customer journey example—involving Meta prospecting, a “10 Reasons Why” landing page, a Leap link, and a Klaviyo abandoned cart email—they illustrate how traditional last-click models fail to capture the true value of mid-funnel assets and how first-party data ownership is the only way to close the gap.
Key Takeaways
- The “Sports Broadcast” Analogy: Elevar is the camera crew capturing every play (raw data event), while SourceMedium is the commentary team analyzing the assists and strategy (attribution). You need both to understand the game.
- Real-Time is Back: By bypassing GA4’s processing delays and using Elevar’s Pub/Sub integration, SourceMedium delivers real-time attribution data, allowing brands to optimize campaigns intraday.
- MTA vs. MMM: MTA is for granular, user-level optimization (CRO, personalization), while MMM is for high-level budget planning and offline impact. They are complimentary, not competitive.
- The “10 Reasons Why” Page: A practical example of how mid-funnel content pages often get zero credit in last-click models despite being critical for conversion. Custom MTA models can assign proper value to these assisting assets.
- Identity Resolution: How Elevar’s server-side tracking resolves user identities across sessions (even when they switch devices or browsers), stitching together fractured journeys that client-side pixels miss.
- Zero-Party Data: Integrating post-purchase survey data (e.g., Fairing) to catch attribution blind spots, like “I heard about you on Tim Ferriss,” which no pixel will ever track.
