Page 14 - index
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RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS
Increasing
investment and
strong growth
potential for ‘Big
Data in Marketing’
A recent study by Forbes Insights, Rocket Fuel and At first glance, the persons in charge seem to
Spencer Stuart presents the latest developments in be satisfied with their current marketing perfor-
dealing with Big Data. The group interviewed nearly 300 mance. Based on the proportion of marketing on
senior executives in September/October 2014 for their sales success, 90% of the respondents said that
worldwide survey, including 21% from the Asia Pacific their results correspond to expectations (62%) or
region. even exceeding (28%) them. In terms of market-
ing’s contribution to the launching of new products
Although the use of large amounts of data in marketing overall, 85% say their efforts are meeting (49%) or
already plays a big role in our industry, the potential for exceeding (36%) expectations.
growth is still huge.
However, on closer inspection it becomes clear
Companies are increasingly investing in technologies that the high results are a matter of low expec-
for digital advertising, as well as technology partners or tation. Almost half of the respondents said that
in-house experts. According to the study, almost 75% of their company is wasting money in its marketing
the companies surveyed encourage their staff with fur- initiatives - especially CEOs and representatives of
ther developments regarding data analysis. the insurance and healthcare industries share this
view. Slightly more than half judged that their com-
The corresponding report, Data-Driven Insights Are On- pany does not exactly know who uses their prod-
ly Part of the Journey: Today's Best CMOs Take Action ucts and half stated that they do not understand
reveals the following findings: exactly who likes or dislikes their products.
The better the understanding of Big Data, the
Data to the rescue. In a similar study by Forbes
and Rocket Fuel which they conducted the year stronger the marketing performance. Those who
before, 52% of the respondents claimed they un- “know” Big Data tend to significantly outperform
derstand Big Data and its benefits well. This figure those who “do not” across a range of key objec-
swells to 77% this year. Meanwhile, 91% of re- tives. That is, those who “know” Big Data have far
spondents agree—that the ability to rapidly collect keener insight into who is engaging with or who
and analyze data in an increasing number of ways likes/dislikes their products or services. They are
is becoming more important. Moreover, CMOs are also far less likely to feel they are wasting money
significantly more likely to hold this view than are on marketing initiatives.
CEOs—an indication that the marketing function at
many companies will need to work a bit harder on Those who understand Big Data are significant-
building its business case. ly more effective in targeting customers. Across
a range of media, including traditional avenues
Those who know how to deal with big data, gen- such as television and print but also across the dig-
erate more data from different sources. Whether ital and even out-of-home spectrums, those compa-
web, mobile, CRM systems, email or even GPS, nies with a good understanding of Big Data score
those who are familiar with Big Data can get far significantly higher relative to the overall findings.
more knowledge from existing data sources. Ma-
chine-aided learning plays a decisive role here. Digital advertising is on the rise. In a move com-
Slightly less than three-quarters (73%) of compa- plementary to an expanding reliance on data to
nies said to make use of machine-aided learning to inform marketing, companies are meanwhile accel-
analyze large amounts of data and to generate add- erating their investments in digital advertising. To
ed value. Among those saying they have a good get it done, companies are using a portfolio ap-
understanding of Big Data, the figure rises to 96%. proach—simultaneously investing more in agen-
cies, technology partners and in-house teams.
14 Asian eMarketing January 2015 - Digital Marketing Trends & Predictions
