Hey, it’s me again. This week’s post will be about data-driven marketing.
This video by the economist, even if it’s 4 years old, is still explaining thoroughly data in marketing. Make sure to check it out!
I personally dislike and avoid giving up data, as it feels like my every move is being followed. It often scares me when I get an ad about a topic I talked about over coffee with my friends. It feels like this crosses my personal boundaries, and that’s why the European Union’s data regulation is a good thing in my opinion.
Even though you can make personalised ads, which is the greatest advantage of data in marketing, they don’t always make sense if there isn’t enough data. I have an example of the negative effects from my own life. In Europe, there’s a big online clothing retail company, called Zalando. I once bought boxers through them, and after that, I received weekly email letters of clothes that suit me the best. Every time, the email consisted of almost entirely boxers. Thus, I haven’t used Zalando as much anymore. This is a perfect example on how algorithmic marketing can affect a company negatively, and annoy its customers. I’m sure you’ve also had a similar experience with e.g. ticket prices for different flights.
What do you, my dear readers, think about this? Does the good in data-driven marketing outweigh the bad things?
Jere’s digital marketing journey 
Interesting article on data collection and its uses in digital marketing Jere. How do you think marketers could use the data they collect to create more effective marketing campaigns? Perhaps in a way that doesn’t annoy consumers?
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Without much knowledge about the topic, I think there are three main solutions to make campaigns more effective and less annoying. With the well-known issues of privacy, I think transparency between the company and the consumer is the best way to start. Companies should more openly and effectively inform consumers about how they use data and e.g. advise how consumers can opt out of of data collection if they want. Honesty is the best policy, and if companies really want to make campaigns that doesn’t annoy, I think providing information is the best way to do it.
The second main solution is the advancement of technology. AI applications today are till narrow, thus making decisions based on data, without the AI understanding what it really is doing. This can easily lead to those negative examples (which I referred to on the post), and I firmly believe that the next step in effective campaigns will be taken with smarter technology.
I would lastly ad, that before making personalised ads, companies really should know their target audience before launching their campaigns. It sometimes feels like the ads I receive really don’t represent my browsing history at all, which is annoying. Companies should be 100% sure that they have the correct data and information to target the audience they want. However, I believe that this is a problem with smaller (and bigger, but less competent) companies, who might not have the data and the knowledge to effectively launch campaigns.
And sorry for the late response, a trip to New Zealand during the mid-term break followed by a hellish flu is a sub-optimal combination to keep up with school work…
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I think this comes down to how you view the world politically. If you prefer to give up your freedom and liberties in return for convenience then data driven marketing makes sense. However, most of the Western world holds the ideal of freedom in high regard, so I do not foresee the West relying on data driven marketing. However, in states that already collect data on their citizens, such as China and Russia, may adopt this technique to great effect.
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Yeah true, I think the European Union especially will look after the privacy of the consumers.
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