Adobe Experience Cloud: your cheat sheet

Summary:
◦ What is it?
◦ Overview of the key solutions and features
◦ Why use Adobe Experience Cloud
◦ Could be improved
◦ Future features

What is it?

Adobe Experience Cloud brings together Adobe’s full line of digital marketing solutions, which are subsequently split into three clouds: Adobe Marketing Cloud, Adobe Advertising Cloud, and Adobe Analytics Cloud. The solutions within these various Clouds have been interconnected since 2013. The Adobe suite is one of the most comprehensive on the market.

For the past several years, Adobe has proposed an exhaustive full stack offer to its customers, allowing them to master data’s entire value chain, from media acquisition to activating their CRM base, and including A/B testing and data collection.

Overview of the key solutions and features

Adobe Analytics Cloud

Key perks
◦ Fully-customisable and -shareable reports with just 2 clicks thanks to Workspace
◦ Advanced calculated metrics and segments
◦ Enriched by external sources
◦ Data treatment in real time or later on
◦ Access to the raw data included
◦ Automatic alerts (Intelligent Alerts)
◦ Statistics-based error detection (Anomaly Detection)
◦ Works independently or as part of the Adobe Cloud

Key perks
◦ Unlimited tag library
◦ Synchronous and asynchronous tag management
◦ Makes collaboration easier
◦ Reviewed, corrected, and flexible ergonomics

Adobe Advertising CloudKey perks
◦ Virtually unlimited input sources
◦ Second-party data can be easily integrated
◦ Third-party data can be bought and/or sold on the Adobe marketplace
◦ Audiences can be created and used later with other Adobe solutions
◦ Audience Analytics integration to measure the impact of your DMP activation scenario
◦ Works independently or as part of the Adobe Cloud

Key perks
◦ Very powerful algorithm (Adobe claims approx. 20% increase in performance)
◦ Can be synchronised with external solutions (DoubleClick, Marin…)
◦ External data can be imported (CRM, Google Analytics…)
◦ Works independently or as part of the Adobe Cloud

Adobe Marketing Cloud

Key perks
◦ A/B and multivariate tests
◦ Content personalisation
◦ Automatic product recommendation (upsell, cross-sell)
◦ Adobe Target audiences or audiences from Adobe Cloud
◦ Intuitive interface (5 minutes to launch a test carried out in WYSIWYG)
◦ Works independently or as part of the Adobe Cloud

Key perks
◦ Decision-making trees and scenario-based campaign creation (workflow)
◦ Cross-channel campaign management
◦ Context-based e-mail campaigns
◦ Data can be imported on- and/or offline
◦ Audiences from Adobe Campaign or from the Adobe Cloud
◦ Works independently or as part of the Adobe Cloud

Key perks
◦ Centralisation and planification of social communication
◦ Network of over 100 partners
◦ Sentiment analysis
◦ Works independently or as part of the Adobe Cloud

And also :

• Adobe Experience Manager : CMS
• Adobe Primetime : creating, delivering, and monetising multi-screen video content

Why use Adobe Experience Cloud

The major advantage of the Adobe Experience Cloud suite is the interconnectivity among its different solutions – which is very easy to set up. The system is robust, and has been proven over several years (it was launched in 2013). All its solutions communicate amongst themselves, and enrich one another – with Adobe Analytics as the cornerstone. This synergy gives way to rich possibilities for activation. The Adobe suite can also easily import external data sources. Stack solutions can thus fine-tune their actions, or simply synchronise with external databases. This paves the way for data-based activation. Lastly, Adobe provides particularly impressive client support services. All clients enjoy both level 1 support (general) and level 2 support (more specialised). Support can be reached via e-mail, chat, or telephone, depending on urgency. The cherry on the cake? Over the phone, users can choose local or international support.

Could be improved

Though Adobe is very present on the US market, and is becoming more popular across Asia, it is having difficulty making its mark on the European market. European clients often already have what they need, are perhaps less keen to change, and have more limited budgets. Incidentally, Adobe often jumps straight to its full-stack offer (more costly and requires more commitment), which might frighten potential clients. Adobe’s solutions are rich, and thus require a certain commitment from the teams that set them up and use them. Adobe has redoubled its efforts in recent years to make its products more easily accessible. However, the scope of its products is sometimes seen as a complication rather than an advantage. This is particularly true in Europe, where teams in charge of analytics are often beginners, or understaffed on the advertiser side of things.

Future features

• Adobe Experience Cloud: programmatic website personalisation
• Adobe Analytics: more automatic analyses and predictions
• Attribution: more attribution functionalities to come, particularly on Adobe Analytics
• Adobe Sensei: all Adobe products will benefit from its artificial intelligence, with “smart” website personalisation thanks to Adobe Target
• Read about announcements recently made at the annual Adobe Summit

Adobe’s Experience Cloud was the first to arrive on the digital marketing cloud market, and its range is one of the most comprehensive available. However, because it is not free, and intended for professional use, it does not enjoy the same marketing aura as freemium models, such as Google’s stack.