Data ‘can create greater empathy’

The panel was part of an event celebrating the 2015 Admap Prize, an essay competition which this year explored the intersection of data and creativity with the question: Does big data inspire or hinder creative thinking? The winner of this year’s prize, Ben Essen, argued that the term ‘big data’ reinforces the creativity-hindering idea that more data can give us more certainty.

During the debate, Samsung’s US CMO Marc Mathieu — also a member of the judging panel — said that data had the ability to “de-average advertising”. He also underlined the ‘human’ element of data: “If you go to the Uber website, you don’t see data – you see people. Imagine the typical cab experience these days – it’s not really human. With Uber, you know the driver’s name and he knows yours. Tech allows for more empathy.”

Mathieu encouraged the industry to embrace the idea of ‘personal’ data, rather than ‘big’ data.

“Brands don’t get built in the way they used to,” he said. “The Googles and Apples of this world are the biggest brands. And we bring these brands into our life in ‘micro moments’ when we need them – because they know and anticipate what we need.

“We need to be powered with an understanding of them that could not be touched without technology and data. If we use it in a way to target people and sell them something, that will backfire. If we use it intelligently, it will change the way that marketing is done.”