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What are data scientists?

“We’re not looking for the overly complex analyses of a data scientist; we just need someone who can simply deliver us clear insights that help us understand our business better”. It was the comment I received recently when pitching for a position at a large company that was in search of a data-driven marketer. The statement caught my attention, as it conflicted with my personal perception of a data scientist. Up until that point, I had always associated the term ‘data science’ with one’s ability to turn raw data into valuable business insights. So I asked myself: isn’t helping companies understand their business thoroughly the exact function of a data scientist? Clearly, not all managers seem to think so.
3/20/2019
Senne Vermassen
Data

POSITION SWITCH AT GOOGLE: ‘AVERAGE POSITION’ IS DISAPPEARING

Changes and innovations are the only constants in the online marketing community.
Google is no exception: it recently announced that the ‘average position’ will be disappearing in September 2019 because the relevance of this statistic has decreased over the years. It is hardly a surprise, but this change does have all sorts of repercussions for reporting and optimisation techniques. We discuss the expected impacts below. 
3/6/2019
Malika Meddour
Digital marketing

Turning stoppers into stayers - How churn prediction leads to a larger and more satisfied customer base

We have all faced this situation: after a period of undisputed loyalty towards a certain service or product, we decide to cut ties and go down a different path. It may be that we simply lost interest in that addictive game on our smartphone after a few days, changed our mobile phone provider within months or hopped over to another bank after years of contentment. One thing is for sure: we have officially churned. For most of today’s companies, this is just another unnoticed blip on the radar. For the customer however, it is most likely not.
1/17/2019
Senne Vermassen
Data

Don't reinvent the wheel: why an agency should be your data science partner

Data science has a lot in common with pizza: although you can combine as many toppings as you want, many recipes have a proven track record. Think about the margherita, the four cheese and the contested Hawaiian. Just like pizza, many data science applications have become commodified over time. AI applications such as recommendation engines, search engines, segmentation and labeling tools are available by default in many web and marketing ecosystems. This has some important implications for choosing data science partners. Yes, in this article I serve my own benefit. Nonetheless, it's also in your interest and – trust me – it would be ill-advised to stop reading.
1/7/2019
R Peters
Data

The user-friendly animation framework named Lottie

We all like our apps to contain fluid, beautiful and fun animations. It seems like a simple thing, but it’s one that can make the difference between an app that’s just okay and one that really stands out. Unfortunately, implementing good animations isn’t always easy. The process of creation and integration is often a multidisciplinary endeavour. Fitting animation usage must be located, the animations themselves must be created and finally they also need to be implemented in your app. On top of that, if your application is multi-platform, things get even more complicated because iOS, Android and web browsers all use different APIs for working with animations. All of this makes integrating animations in your app a difficult challenge. It can sometimes make for messy code, and getting an animation just right can feel like a real nightmare.
12/13/2018
Maarten Lauwers
Creation and implementation

Umbraco for Content Editors

The first thing a content editor will see when he logs in to the Umbraco back end for the first time, is a friendly pop-up from the Content Management System (CMS). To get a great head start the 12 step tour throughout the back-end introduces you into the menu and the sections it contains, the tree that is used for content, but also in the media library and other sections. Further it highlights the search functionality and leads you to the help button, which is the end of the welcome tour but the start of two other tours named "Create Content" and "Data Structure". These are good to get an idea on how the system works, but of course The Reference will provide you with a training specific to the custom implementation done on your request.
12/5/2018
Peter Huys
Creation and implementation

Salesforce, Sitecore and Google are better together

Every company has several points of contact and interaction with their clients, both digital and physical. Different touchpoints usually mean different technologies and a diversity of data sets. One of the biggest challenges that companies are facing today, is connecting experiences and technologies with each other. If your company is able to connect these touchpoints, it can support an omnichannel strategy and limit data silos. Recent partnerships between Salesforce & Sitecore on one hand and Salesforce & Google Marketing Platform on the other hand emphasize the importance of connecting solutions and integrating data.
11/30/2018
Thomas Danniau
Creation and implementation

Federated Authentication in Sitecore 9 with Custom Claims Using Identity Server 3

Federated Authentication in Sitecore allows you to authenticate users into the Sitecore CMS through an external auth provider. This post aims to provide guidance on how to achieve this, as well as demonstrating some powerful configuration options at your disposal when handling the mapping of claims. I will demonstrate how to take claims from Identity Server 3 and even add custom claims that can be processed by the Owin configuration.
10/18/2018
Michael Lumpp
Michael Lumpp
Creation and implementation
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