Google and Facebook are collecting and analysing data of its users, and advertising giants Publicis and Omnicom have merged to do more of that collecting and analysing.
It’s the era of Big Data. And more than driving a revolution in the advertising industry, it’s changing the very way we live. CCTV reporter Liling Tan looks at the implications of big data, and how its use in advertising is helping to shape the future.
A life-changing data revolution is under way. It’s called “Big Data” involving the collection and analysis of information about consumer behavior to better target our needs and wants. And as this video from advertising giant Ogilvy shows it promises even bigger things to come. Marketing and advertising experts say Big Data is about creating experiences that make lives easier, and the information it draws from is growing exponentially.
“So when I’m thinking about what I want to buy, a new car or a new book, I’m talking to my social network, and all of those conversations and all of those searches I do create data about what matters to me,” said Josh Feldmeth, CEO of Interbrand New York.
Josh Feldmeth says Big Data is a big opportunity, but for companies and brands it doesn’t come without its challenges.
“How does management commit to making decisions about brands and marketing that are fundamentally data derived, we’ve fully entered the age where, sort of, management by gut, or marketing by feel alone, misses the opportunity. And big data confronts every manager and marketer with that challenge,” Josh Feldmeth said.
That means the days of advertising solely through emotional messaging are gone for good. Now, vast pools of data and complex algorithms drive highly-targeted ads. Ogilvy’s customer engagement division OgilvyOne partners with data generators and data owners like Google and Facebook to connect with customers.
“We have evolved our disciplines and our talents as well within Ogilvy. I mean we have 250 data analytics people within the company today. That was a skill that was probably not there only a few years ago,” said Dimitri Maex, Managing Director of OgilvyOne.
And Big Data, it seems, has less to do with volume, than with value.
“I’ve never been a really big fan of the term “Big Data.” The problem I have with it is that it turns it into a technology-driven conversation, and I think the application is much more important than the technology. It suggests that size is really important, that it’s all about the volume of the data and that’s really not what is important. What is important is how you use data,” Dimitri Maex said.
Google doesn’t like the term either. Which is why according to a report by M-I-T Technology Review, Google prefers not to be associated with the term, saying it was too “Big Brother-ish.”
Privacy, of course, is a key concern. In an age where data can be collected, analyzed, sold and used by advertisers, financial institutions, telecommunication companies and governments, there are increasing calls for regulation. But whatever form it may take or however you want to call it, information is currency and what’s known as “Big Data” is here to stay.
