Entering a new data ecosystem

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We live in an era defined by disruption. At a time of dizzying change, when the only certainty is uncertainty, businesses must evolve to exploit the opportunities afforded by data and digital technology, or they will lose out.

The old-school language of marketing has become redundant. Established businesses struggle to keep up with the innovations of a never-ending stream of new, more dynamic entrants. At the same time, consumers – who have more control over brands than ever before – are being bombarded with messages, left, right and centre.

As companies and brands look to adapt to this new ‘business as usual’, Kantar Added Value spoke to a selection of senior clients, across a range of categories and territories, to inform and lead this important industry debate.

From financial services to retail, hospitality to consumer packaged goods, and automotive to tech, we asked them what will mark out the winners and losers in the race for tomorrow’s business growth. Their answer? Genuine ‘customer-centricity’, where the ultimate benefit to the consumer – above the products and services that brands sell – is of greater relevance. 

Put simply, this is personalisation – the most relevant content created and delivered at exactly the right moment. This should come as no great surprise. However, aspiring to it is one thing, achieving it is quite another.

Brands have to look again at how they understand their customers, how they communicate with them, and how the customers experience the brand.

Data was supposed to be the solution, and yet confidence in the use of big data has fallen at precisely the time when it has never been more important. But data by itself is not the answer; indeed, some organisations have found the avalanche of big data slows down their business. The business challenge right now is how to link the pieces of the puzzle together systematically, to create meaning and action against strategic insights.

Data remains key, but only with the right system in place – or, more accurately, a system focused on the customer, and fuelled by a data ecosystem that identifies, quantifies and activates more effective, demand-led growth. Companies need a new marketing operating system that puts the consumer at the heart of the business, where brands can monitor, respond to and predict people’s needs.

Data has to be joined-up, easy to take action against and delivered more quickly, and it must be measurable in terms of return on investment. But there are obstacles to overcome. These may include legacy systems and ways of working that have become a way of life, compounded by silo-based structures that encourage people to ‘protect their own patch’ at the expense of the bigger picture. 

This makes life harder for organisations that have been around for a long time, compared with brands born in the tech age, when the need for personalisation and choice has been hardwired from the start.

Transactional data can be a powerful source of behavioural insight, but – to make it meaningful – it has to be complemented by attitudinal information. The former can provide the ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘where’ and ‘who’, but the clients we spoke to agreed that the ‘why’ is critical, and not yet something behavioural data can offer.

Segmentation has historically been the touchstone for strategic planning – a foundational framework for maximising existing brands, creating new ones, and identifying needs and opportunities, as well as gaps and inefficiencies.

But new technology gives us the opportunity to do so much more – by hardwiring the segmentation dataset into a broader ecosystem within the insight and media data universes and beyond, to platforms such as Facebook. This creates the potential to engineer a more precise – more scientific – approach to reaching consumers, and to make your marketing the gold standard in efficiency and effectiveness.

The six building blocks of our strategic marketing and activation system are:

• Attitudinal and behavioural – create a foundational backbone

Until now, corporations have had to opt for either an attitudinal or a behavioural segmentation; one traditionally offers greater depth, the other actionability. A foundational data backbone requires both – a next-generation marketing mix-evaluation tool.

• Consumer and shopper – bring the two worlds together

Separate consumer and shopper segmentations owned by different parts of the organisation should be a thing of the past. Bringing consumer strategy and sales activation together can be done now.

• Predictive – anticipate and act against predicted behaviour 

Being able to predict where consumers are headed, and how they will respond to products and communications, is a huge idea. Hardwiring predicted future behaviour into segment creation means you can stay one step ahead.

• Activation-enabled – bridge between traditional insight and media datasets

Amazingly, there has been no consistent link between brand targets developed through the strategic planning process and the activation segments created by media agencies. Until now.

• Right talent – build and restructure for this new world

The first four components are about tools and processes, but people are what drives systemic change. The right organisation and training are key to making data integration successful.

• Role of real-time – balance ‘big picture’ with nimbleness

Everyone is scrambling to incorporate real-time in their armoury, but few stop to think when it is relevant and when it is not. Some things are too important to be real-time.

These recommendations are the result of extensive quantitative studies that we hope will be a major step forward in the industry debate about how we adapt to this rapidly changing environment.

Kantar Added Value worked with PepsiCo to unite the $60bn organisation around a single global model, providing a common language to talk about the landscape, the consumer, the business and new growth opportunities.

PepsiCo’s former senior vice-president of global insights, Peter Harrison, said he had “never witnessed a piece of work that has had so much impact on a business; a piece of work that has changed the conversation within an organisation, that has galvanised an organisation around an agenda”.

Companies are at various stages of this journey, but – thanks to technology – the destination looks increasingly similar, regardless of which industry you are in. The roadmap is clear; the challenge is to stay the course. 

Jonathan Hall is president, brand consulting, North America & global chief innovation officer, and Nina Rahmatallah is deputy managing director UK, at Kantar Added Value