Big data in marketing now is not only a thing, it’s a big thing. Smart companies are parlaying all the information we leave around the web, in stores and on our credit cards to learn about our proclivities. Our likes. Tastes. And timings. This “parlay” is then given to corporate data nerds, supervised by a marketing officer who oversees budgets, big deals and the national TV campaign — but who may not spend a lot of time looking into the eyes of customers and prospects. The result of this big data? Newish forms of broadcast. Email newsletters to existing customers. A national promotion for a chance to spend a day with an ex- Disney girl. Online ad exchanges.
Brand planners are good at what they do because they look consumers in the eye. They deal in feelings; feelings that are best shared or observed one on one. The problem with marketing today is that technology has given us tools to do one on one things via broadcast. Dear “loyal customer” Vs. Dear “Steve.” Sales calls are automated. Robo calling with personal names and account numbers. Mail run off on a printing press. It’s not personal when it’s mass produced and modular.
Readers know I talk about the roots movement in our culture. Well roots will come back to marketing soon. Even forward thinker Faris Yakob is reading The Benevolent Dictators, a book about the titans of the ad industry.
The best ideas in marketing come from personal, individual insights and discussions. Then we turn them into big data and broadcast them. Let’s slow down the broadcast. Peace.
