Brand Building in the Age of Big Data by Mr. Gavin Coombes

WKWSCI
SYMPOSIUM
2014
Big Data, Big Ideas for Smarter Communities
BRAND BUILDING IN
THE AGE OF BIG DATA
Gavin Coombes
President, Edelman Digital
March 21, 2014

WKWSCI SYMPOSIUM 2014
2

Introduction
• What Minority Report got right:
– Touch-screen computing
– ‘Talking’ out of home advertising
– The ability to predict negative behavior
3

The Google ‘Flu’ Predictor
4
450 million parallel computing models absorbing trillions of
data points to ‘predict’ flu instances before they happen

Marketing Evolves With Technology
• Railways enabled distribution of catalogs
• Post-war housing boom enabled direct mail
• TV enabled filmed, broadcast advertising
• Fixed-line telephony enabled telemarketing
• Structured databases enabled points loyalty
• Internet enabled web, e-commerce, social
5

Some Developments Are Evolutionary.
Big Data Is…
6
REVOLUTIONARY

But Haven’t We Had Customer
Databases For 50 Years?
7

Traditional Approach to Database
Marketing
• Purchase history provides raw material
• Customers organized into segments
• Statisticians examine tables for patterns
• Recency, frequency, volume equal value
• Targeted communications drive purchases
• The goal is highest lifetime customer value
8

The Role of The Hypothesis
• All this is guided by the use of hypotheses or statements
that can be proven or disproven via the use of data:
• For example:
• Surprise discounts drive impulse purchases
• Average spend per customer is higher in morning
• Women visit different supermarket aisles than men
9

It’s Also Called ‘Discovery”
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Christopher Columbus set sail for India but found America.
The point is not that he did not find what he was looking for but
he set out to find something and he found something.

Some Brands Have Used This Approach
To Real Advantage
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But These Are The Exception,
Not The Rule
• Few other brands followed the Tesco or Capital One
• Also, the data in these cases was limited to purchase
history. There were no other types of data inputs
• The difference with big data is Volume and Variety
12

Today, 99% of all Data is in Digital Form
and 95% of it is Unstructured
13
X 5

Raw vs. Structured Data
• The Google ‘flu prediction model’ uses no segments or tables:
it uses algorithms combined with massive volume to identify
most probable connection between two distinct data points
• But it is not ‘programmed’ or ‘informed’ opinion. Neither the
system nor the analysts know anything about flu prevention
or causes. They are simply the connectors of the data points
14

The Pioneer
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Now, We Can All Be Amazons
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For clients like GE, HP and VW, Edelman Digital deploys sophisticated
listening and response technology to monitor for customer service and/or
price-related conversations and intervene with assistance or special offers

Social Beyond Media
• Big data enables use to create genuine 1:1
customer relationships using social media
• The average tweet or post contains 33 data
points telling us about the person who sent it
• This can be used to predict behavior and
prepare for negative or worst case scenarios
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The Power of Originality
18
But the ideas that strike the biggest chord are usually without any real
precedent. There was no data-enabled template used to create Psy nor
was there one for Avatar. Originality is still the biggest and best asset.

The Value of Originality
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It is the same for advertising and marketing. The programs that succeed in an
age of big data will not only be the ones that embrace the idea of genuine
1:1 marketing but also link those same users together as part of a movement.

Using Big Data
• Start with your brand story:
– What does your company stand for?
– What impact do you want to have on the world?
– What sort of behavior do you want to change?
20

Using Big Data
• Then build a framework to harvest the options:
– A campaign that encourages people to share info:
Dove is a great example
– A transactional model integrated with social media
i.e. social commerce
– A listening and response system that enables you to
enter the right conversations and at the right time
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Using Big Data
• Then ensure you can recognize the value:
– Resale to partners, vendors or suppliers
– Refresh by steering to branded publications
– Recombination with other sources for new sales
22

Remember, It’s a..
23

As With Any Revolution…
• You can sit on the sidelines or you can take part
• My advice…
• … take part
24

Brand Building in the Age of Big Data by Mr. Gavin Coombes

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