As I interact with clients and prospects, I am noticing interactive data is every where. It is spread across point solutions like display ad servers, ad word tools, social network tools and web metric tracking tools like Google Analytics, Core Metrics, Omniture and my favorite tool, Excel.
When you examine the data, not the tools, you find there is a manageable set of data you can leverage regardless of the tool. Most people think they need every attribute but the fact is, you will only use a small selection of attributes. You can get a lot of insight out a few metrics like cost, creative, offer, site category, date, views, clicks, etc. Don’t worry about every single attribute, just the ones you use. By taking this in tiny steps, you will not over think it and have insight to optimize your marketing. If you find you missed something, just add it.
Most importantly, don’t make this is community project. Find a couple smart people and go to work. If they tell you it will take over a month, you have the wrong the people.