The team at Good & Gold is spectacular. They were quickly able to assess our marketing needs and offered a thorough and measurable plan for achieving results. Working in partnership, we have exceeded most of the goals we set out to achieve and have moved on to impressive new objectives. Additionally, and importantly, the team is staffed by wonderful humans. We were cautious when bringing in a marketing partner, but the folks at Good & Gold have become an extension of the Stumptown family.
The team at Good & Gold is not just knowledgeable and lightning fast, they are who we trust with our digital marketing needs. They have become an important part of our team who we rely on daily. Never has there been a challenge that have not been able to tackle.
Ever wonder what fuels our creativity and keeps us buzzing at Good & Gold? Here's a glimpse into what lights our fires. This month, we're pulling back the curtain to share the latest and greatest in our team's reading and listening favorites. From thought-provoking books to energizing tunes, discover what our employees are currently into and maybe find your next favorite read or listen!
Reading - Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin - I picked this book up to read while on vacation and could not put it down. The unique narrative style and poignant character development made me feel intimately connected to the web of emotions and experiences - Creativity, friendship, love, ambition, and self discovery.
Listening - I'm listening to Tycho, Maribou State, and Khruangbin, whose dreamy, soulful, surfy, and world-traveling vibes are setting the perfect stage for my summer mood.
Reading - The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - earlier this year, I read my first Kristin Hannah Book, The Great Alone. It quickly became my all-time favorite read. I’m only a few chapters into The Nightingale, but it’s good so far, and I’ve heard it’s a tear-jerker!
Listening - Caamp, Noah Kahan, Lizzie McAlpine… all things folky and acoustic and easy listening for the summer.
Reading - All Fours by Miranda July - My book club, a group of 30-45 year old moms, dove head first into this thought-provoking, conversation-sparking and memorable read. The conversations about this book seem to never end!
Listening - LEON, Miguel, BEYONCE - I’m all about artists with rich musical vibes - introspective and dreamy to bold and dancy.
Reading - The Measure by Nikky Erlick - I got this book as a present and I must admit it has made me ponder about the purpose and meaning of life and how we can easily lose sight that life is short and that we need to make the most of every day and moment.
Listening - I am listening to Just one Thing with Michael Mosley. The above book made me look in the direction of generally having a better health and wellbeing approach. “If time is tight, what’s the one thing you should be doing to improve your health and wellbeing?”
Reading - The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz - I had heard people talking about this book here and there and finally picked it up and dove in this summer. Written in a unique, simple format, I was immediately intrigued. This book expands upon four broad concepts that basically allow you to gain more freedom within your life and is really just a simple method to being happy.
Listening - My most recent playlist is filled with Vieux Farka Touré, Carole King, Thee Sacred Souls, Cocteau Twins, Charley Crockett, and Qendresa. A podcast I’ve been loving lately is called Otherworld. It tells real stories by people who have experienced something paranormal or unexplainable. It’s slightly spooky without being scary, and is such an intriguing listen!
Reading - Life Ceremony: Stories by Sayaka Murata - A compelling collection that invites readers into a world where societal norms are turned on their head. Through surreal storytelling, Murata examines the essence of human connections in a rapidly changing world, addressing themes of love, death, and societal expectations with a bold, unconventional flair. I particularly enjoyed how the stories often blurred the lines between the grotesque and the beautiful, and pushed me to consider the bizarre as potentially normal. A great read for fans of speculative fiction and those intrigued by the quirks of human nature.
Listening - Challengers [MIXED] by Boys Noize, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. This album from the recently released film Challengers is full of energetic, playful house beats that are great for working out, dancing, or stumbling through a contentious polyamorous relationship.
Reading - The Hike - a book that’s very similar to Stephen King’s Fairy Tale. The story follows a man who goes for a hike one day while on a work trip and finds himself in a land where he must face his inner demons and grow in order to escape.
Listening - Lore - A great but slightly dark podcast that “explores the mysterious creatures, tragic events and unusual places that fill the pages of history.”
Reading - Samsung Rising: Geoffrey Cain - An inspiring and detailed account of Samsung’s rise to power across several industries and its fight against Apple. This book explores Samsung’s tumultuous beginning, unique corporate culture, and desire to bring South Korea onto the global stage with constant competition and innovation. Samsung’s ebbs and flows in wins, losses, and leadership make this a compelling read that gives deep insight to a lesser known part of our daily world.
Listening - Lex Fridman: An AI researcher, scientist, and podcast host known for his deep, insightful conversations with a diverse range of guests. His podcast, "The Lex Fridman Podcast," explores topics like artificial intelligence, technology, science, and the human condition, featuring thought leaders from various fields. Listening to his podcast offers a blend of intellectual stimulation and personal growth. He regularly has unique guests such as Sam Altman, Mark Cuban, Elon+Kimbal Musk, Bill Ackman, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Jimmy Wales, and Marc Andreessen.
Reading - The Illusion of Choice: 16 ½ Psychological Biases that Influence What We Buy" - This insightful book captivated me with its relevance to both my career and understanding general human behavior. It expertly distills complex decision-making biases into digestible principles and chapters. A must-read for those in marketing, advertising, or entrepreneurship, it offers practical applications for everyday decision-making, selling, and negotiation tactics. I found it to be a quick, simple, and useful read that has already started to influence my approach to work and personal decisions.
Listening - "Bass Boat" by Zach Bryan from his newest album "The Great American Bar Scene" - This song inspires a sense of nostalgia as it reminds me of the lake town I grew up in, watching bass boats glide by my parents' house on the lake. While the lyrics don’t completely align with my personal experience, the general sentiment, raw emotion, and melody evoke a sense of calmness and self-reflection. It captures the serene beauty of golden hour, and the moment the sun sets where you forget everything around you and are fully present. Life doesn’t always go the way you hope, with its twists, turns, and unforeseen events. This song is a reminder to be present, enjoy the little things and small moments, and cherish the people that bring you joy—those are the memories that will carry you through life.
Reading - I’m currently reading “Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love” by Marty Cagan. I’ve read several of his books, and he truly is an expert in building products and experiences that matter—with the customer always at the forefront. This book emphasizes the importance of avoiding biases that can lead us away from delivering the best possible product to the end user, whether it’s a tech product or any other offering. One concept that has really stuck with me is the idea of consistently and constantly delivering new value to the customer, even if it means revisiting old ideas. This principle goes beyond the tech industry and applies to e-commerce and any consumer-driven product. If you don’t live and breathe the goal of driving value at every level for your customers, you won’t achieve the growth you’re aiming for.
Listening - I’ve been rotating between music of my eclectic youth (90s grunge, Red Hot Chili Peppers, T-Pain, Usher, The Eagles, Lil Wayne—you get the idea) and discovering artists that I may have missed along the way. Some folks I have been jamming to lately have been The Teskey Brothers and the Guantanamo Bay Surf Club, both have been a great way to wind the evening down with some chill melodies and soulful voices.
In the world of digital marketing, data is king. Understanding how your ads perform, where your traffic comes from, and how users interact with your website is crucial for making informed decisions. While standard ad platform tracking and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) offer valuable insights, they come with certain limitations. In this blog post, we'll explore the pitfalls of standard ad platform tracking, the challenges of GA4, and how third-party tracking solutions can provide a more comprehensive and accurate picture of your marketing efforts.
Standard ad platform tracking, such as those provided by Facebook Ads or Google Ads, often suffer from platform bias. Each platform tends to attribute conversions to itself, leading to over-reporting. This bias can distort your understanding of which channels are truly driving results, making it difficult to allocate your budget effectively.
Ad platforms typically track data within their own ecosystem. This siloed approach means that cross-platform insights are limited. If you're running campaigns across multiple channels, it becomes challenging to get a unified view of your customer journey and overall marketing performance.
Standard ad platforms often use last-click attribution by default, which credits the final touchpoint before a conversion. This model can undervalue upper-funnel activities like awareness and consideration campaigns that play a crucial role in guiding customers down the funnel.
GA4 introduces a new way of tracking and analyzing data, which can be complex and require a steep learning curve. For marketers used to Universal Analytics, adapting to GA4's event-based model and navigating its new interface can be daunting.
GA4 often employs data sampling when processing large datasets, which can lead to inaccuracies. Sampled data might not fully represent your actual traffic and user behavior, leading to potentially misleading insights.
With increasing privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA, GA4 has implemented stricter data collection practices. While this is a positive step for user privacy, it can result in less granular data and limitations on tracking certain user interactions.
Third-party tracking solutions excel in providing cross-platform attribution, allowing you to see the complete customer journey across multiple channels. This holistic view helps in accurately identifying which touchpoints contribute most to conversions, enabling better budget allocation.
Third-party trackers often utilize advanced algorithms and methodologies to reduce data inaccuracies and biases. This ensures that you get a more precise understanding of your marketing performance without over-reliance on any single platform's data.
Unlike standard ad platforms and GA4, third-party tracking solutions offer greater customization options. You can tailor tracking to fit your specific business needs, set up custom attribution models, and create detailed reports that align with your marketing goals.
Third-party solutions provide in-depth reporting capabilities, combining data from various sources into a single dashboard. This unified reporting helps in making more informed decisions and understanding the true impact of your marketing efforts.
Many third-party tracking providers prioritize privacy compliance, offering tools and features that help you adhere to regulations while still gaining valuable insights. This balance ensures that you respect user privacy without sacrificing data quality.
While standard ad platform tracking and GA4 offer valuable insights, they come with significant limitations that can hinder your ability to fully understand and optimize your marketing efforts. Third-party tracking solutions address these challenges by providing cross-platform attribution, enhanced accuracy, greater customization, comprehensive reporting, and advanced privacy compliance.
Investing in a robust third-party tracking solution can be a game-changer for your marketing strategy, helping you make data-driven decisions with confidence and ultimately driving better results for your business.
At Good & Gold, we believe in the power of storytelling through design and strategy. This year, our story has been recognized in a remarkable way—we are thrilled to announce that we’ve been nominated for several prestigious awards and have proudly taken home two significant wins!
The Netty Awards celebrate achievements in the digital landscape, honoring top companies and leaders across more than 100 distinct categories. They set a benchmark for excellence and are a testament to the creativity, innovation, and technical prowess demonstrated by the winners.
We were honored when the Netty Awards reached out to us to let us know we had been recognized and nominated for the Creative Website Design of Alfred Coffee. The goal behind our website design was to blend creativity with functionality, creating a digital experience that would resonate deeply with users. We’re proud of this vision now being celebrated with the Netty Award for Best Creative Web Design. The Alfred website project was a labor of love, and seeing it honored on such a prominent stage is incredibly rewarding for our team.
Studio Garrison is an award-winning interior design firm that values quality design, innovation, sustainability, and collaboration. Our design team successfully created a new name (Studio Garrison) that was bold and concise for the firm, along with a design system that would stand the test of time.
For the last 30 years, The Communicator Awards have honored excellence, effectiveness, and innovation across all areas of communication. As a highly prestigious award sanctioned and reviewed by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts, being recognized as the best in Professional Services for our website and rebrand work is a true honor.
We were thrilled when the Drum Awards reached out to us to let us know we had been nominated for our work with Alfred and their website/email program in the Best Redesign or Relaunch category. The Drum Awards are a global organization, widely regarded as a benchmark in the marketing and communications industry, known for celebrating the best companies, practices, and most influential individuals shaping the industry.
It's an honor to see our hard work relaunching Alfred’s website and email program recognized among some of the best in the world. This recognition further fuels us to continue creating captivating work that makes an impact.
We extend our gratitude to The Netty Awards, The Drum Awards, and The Communicator Awards for acknowledging our work and honoring us with these awards and nominations!
We at Good & Gold are thrilled to announce our recent certification by the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). This milestone is not just a mark of recognition—it’s a reflection of our core values and our commitment to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in every aspect of our business.
Why This Matters
As an LGBTQ+ and woman-owned company, we understand the importance of representation and inclusivity in the business world. Our team comprises of diverse talents who bring unique perspectives and ideas, driving innovation and creativity. The NGLCC certification is a testament to our efforts in building a business that not only aims for excellence in digital marketing but also champions the rights and recognition of the LGBTQ+ community.
Aligning with Our Values
At Good & Gold, our mission goes beyond providing exceptional digital marketing services. We are dedicated to crafting a brighter future for all, especially for those who have historically been marginalized. This certification aligns perfectly with our ethos of inclusivity and our dedication to supporting causes that defend fundamental rights, like the Equality Act and protections for LGBTQ+ individuals under Title IX.
Our Commitment to the Community
Receiving the NGLCC certification is another step in our journey to help create a more equitable business landscape. It strengthens our resolve to continue advocating for the LGBTQ+ community in and out of the workplace. Whether it’s through diverse hiring practices, supporting LGBTQ+ businesses, or creating campaigns that address and challenge discriminatory legislation, our goal is to make a lasting impact.
What This Means for Our Clients
This certification means that when you partner with Good & Gold, you are choosing a company that does not just deliver results but does so with integrity and a commitment to social justice. It means your brand’s message is crafted by a team that understands diverse audiences because we embody that diversity.
Looking Forward
As we celebrate this achievement, we are motivated by the current socio-political landscape and the upcoming 2024 presidential race, recognizing the critical role we play in advocating for and protecting LGBTQ+ rights. In light of increasing challenges, such as anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric, our work and your support are more significant than ever.
Join us in celebrating this milestone. Together, we can continue to push boundaries and make a difference, not just in marketing but in the world.