Intelligence rather than image will shape the future of marketing

Today, more than 50% of all purchases are digitally influenced, a number that will rise to 100% by 2018. As consumers leave digital traces everywhere, data is becoming available in abundance. For the first time, a marketer’s core competency needs to be around data and technology, not messaging and imagery.

We are observing a series of challenges that need to be addressed to enable consumers to get to their desired outcomes faster rather than interrupting them along the way. The key question for marketers is how to use intelligence to reduce friction points along the consumer journey.

Data is still not a priority for most marketers

A study led by Adobe revealed that most marketers are still struggling with the basics. Surprisingly, only 13% of businesses can target a recognised segment and measure results, indicating that most companies lack the ability to tie together the various elements of their business required to take action on their data. Less than 5% are able to manage experiences in an always-on manner.

In contrast, take Activision’s strategic use of data. Games such as Call of Duty drive sales of $500m (£328m) on the first day of a new release. The opportunity is to find ways to monetise the entire franchise. By analysing data points every day, Activision successfully predicts triggers to reduce attrition and drive in-game purchases. In the age of real-time marketing, organisations that leverage customer data to deliver timely and relevant messages gain a competitive advantage.

Intelligent messaging meets intelligent media

Programmatic – the automated matching of audiences and advertising messages – has been growing rapidly. eMarketer expects programmatic to make up more than 60% of total digital display ad spending in the US in 2016.

From a marketer’s perspective, two things are crucial for programmatic to succeed. First, a deep understanding of the audience and second, a sophisticated technology platform to allow rapid and always-on communication.

The latter is being solved by the likes of AOL, Amazon and Google, or by efforts in the advertising holding companies such as Publicis’ Vivaki or WPP’s Xaxis. Unsurprisingly, audience insight is key. Publishers and brands are beginning to realise that their greatest asset is their audience profiles, so it’s critical for brands to own those profiles or they will be dependent on the publishers.

A lack of understanding of consumer needs and wants automation – even on the most sophisticated platform – will lead to disappointing results. It’s shocking how little use is being made and how little effort is being put in to collecting and analysing behavioural and attitudinal first-party data, and amending that with third-party data.

This is particularly the case for European marketers; only 6.7% of those connected with users on Facebook use application programming interface (API) data for deeper insight, compared with the US, where almost 18% use it. And, unlike Activision, many marketers are desperately trying to use data to optimise an outdated interruption-based advertising model, which leads to further challenges:

1. Underestimating the power of the consumer

Technology has empowered consumers and enabled companies such as Uber and Airbnb to succeed. At the heart of what makes them successful is a focus on addressing an underlying consumer frustration. Smart brands are moving away from optimising frequency and reach, instead putting an increasing share of their budgets into service design and the creation of utilities.

2. Understanding value to create a true value exchange

Data not only helps brands better understand consumers, but also helps identify what value a brand needs to deliver to earn the attention of consumers. For example, The Weather Channel has long moved on from simply providing basic weather-related information. Instead, it embraced big data and provides businesses with insights into how the weather impacts changes in consumer purchase behaviour.

The use of data to improve the customer experience and drive deeper and longer-lasting consumer/brand relationships is still in its infancy. Despite much talk, little action has followed. Entrepreneurs have stepped into this void and have been challenging established brands across a variety of industries. This disruption is unstoppable. Taking data more seriously is a first step in the right direction.

Michael Karg is CEO of Razorfish International

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