Big Data

Is Advertising All About The Algorithm Now?

"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.." - 

Albert Einstein

For ages now marketers have been droning on about data - only thing is is that there's so much of it now, what does it actually mean?

The Mad Men era is over. Romantic as it was to be part of the alternative advertising experience, brands must now relinquish their control over what consumers see and start listening to what they want. Sure, consumers do still have aspirations for certain lifestyles, but the typical 'WASP' profiling is just not enough any more. An article by George Parker, former Mad Man and Madison Avenue connoisseur, speaks volumes as to how much the industry has changed, and how quickly. 

"Back in my “Mad Man” days, the only big things we cared about were “Big Ideas.” That, plus the bigness of the lunchtime Martinis."

The idea of Big Data has stemmed, I have no doubt, from recent financial turmoil, suffered by all brands thanks to the recent economic climate. It's really no wonder that accountability is the word on everyone's lips these days - why wouldn't they want to know what their money's getting them? I would...

However this does make our job a little bit more challenging. It was such a good idea to give consumers all these platforms to talk about brands wasn't it? For hundreds of years it has been the goal of an advertisement to out-sparkle the competition, after all, advertising is art, but how did it get to the stage where we have to prove everything? 

Advertising is art. We may have to think a little bit more about how we can engage with consumers that are utterly drowned in communication, but at the end of the day some of the stuff we come out with is pretty cool.

It's all a matter of trust, not surprising really considering that once you did buy that L'Oreal shampoo you didn't look like Cheryl Cole, or that when you bought boxers from H&M you weren't as glorious as Becks in his kecks. Sources consumers trust are few and far between, so analysing the data respectively to what media is consumed is kind of the only way round this problem (see below).

This is where digital comes into play. When real people are given access to on-line platforms that can, you guessed it, connect them with other real people, they're bound to talk. Whilst TV trust ratings are still so low it makes sense for advertisers to look to other channels, and successful marketers will seek ways to leverage consumer goodwill in any way they can. But how can advertisers compete when consumer trust real friends and virtual strangers the most? How about actually listening to the facts? This is what Big Data is all about. A biannual study by Neilsen conducted over two years has shown fluctuation in trust levels across the world, yet, despite regional differences in the platforms trusted, it has been proven the word of mouth is the authority in all towns. However, with word of mouth reigning supreme, it might come as a shock to some that advertisers still carry a significant amount of sway as the majority of consumers sought out feedback from the brands before making a posting. This is the golden opportunity for marketers to 'shape the tone' of consumer content before reaching vast audiences.

Raw data is exciting stuff for advertisers, we use it to empower creativity and re-target campaigns - whilst it has become harder for us to account for every penny, it has at the same time fuelled our appetite for performance. This is echoed by Martin Larsen; engagement rate based on screen data has become a metric of interest.. it helps us discover whether or not people care. We must all become 'conductors of brand sentiment' according to Tim Hipperson, which we can sell at premium rates...if we get the right answer.

Even the Don of Advertising, Sir Martin Sorrell, has recognised the through the anarchy that advertising agencies have found themselves in, big data will drive the business. The competitive set has changed; 'it's no longer Omnicom and IPG and Publicis, it's Nielsen and GFK...'

Yet there is fault in the theory. The potential flaws in this data lie with the ability of the consumer to drift throughout cyber space with their cookies disabled. This has been recognised by ComScore, who do conduct research without the use of cookies, but so many market researchers base reports from them, so demographic profiling is subject to substantial errors, thus directly impacting the relevancy  of campaigns delivered. Be warned; the research has the potential to be hugely rewarding, just don't let the cookie crumble because you didn't check your facts.