2020 has seen a digital gold rush. A shift in consumer behaviour prompted by the pandemic has caused a significant increase in digital usage. Marketers have boosted their share of spend across online channels and dug deep when it comes to their data and tech capabilities.
This year has propelled brands to innovate faster than anyone thought possible, so as we get ready to move into the 2021 and beyond, let’s look ahead at what the next ten years may have in store.
Data has never been more abundant, but it is easy for firms to become overwhelmed with managing the vast quantities of disparate data which need to be cleansed and connected to deliver real value. Businesses need to adapt and focus on what drives the most value. By refocusing the measurement ethos and shifting from asking “did it work?” to “did it deliver value?” marketing measurement will become less Wild West and more gated communities with rules.
This has become an increasingly complex challenge with data deprecation, given privacy concerns, government legislation and walled garden data access limitations. To address this challenge, it is critical to evaluate data for privacy compliance, robustness and accuracy and ensure it aligns to actions and decisions. Brands mustn’t get drowned in data, instead audit and augment data to support measurement and actionable decisioning.
With no replacement for the cookie, multiple data-driven advertising models will emerge for targeting, measurement and personalisation, varying across industries and use cases. We will see more strategic models that are scalable and give great insights at great speeds while still being granular for deeper insights. First party data will therefore be more important than ever and if brands do it right, they will have a cheap and convenient source of information to tap into and an optimised CRM database to connect effectively with all users.
Omnichannel is king and two, three or four marketing platforms are always better than one. An online-only strategy will limit potential growth, so a diverse strategy including TV is still required for reach. Video advertising is number one for driving ROI and growth; it has the strongest efficiencies over the short and long term and is most effective for driving brand messaging. But brands must experiment with new formats and find opportunities through simulating outcomes.
Many measurement programmes stop at a report card-like measurement of performance that validates past decisions or highlights opportunities for the future. The most successful measurement programmes leverage the understanding of performance drivers in realtime to simulate, forecast and iteratively plan for the future.
Rather than a single forecast, businesses should simulate a range of outcomes to best understand the risk and benefits of decisions and find opportunities.
It is only through simulating for a range of outcomes that brands can find opportunities.
No-one truly knows what the future will bring but access to the right data gives us a pretty good way to plan for any scenario. Brands can learn from 2020 and move forward with more confidence to embrace uncertainty and experiment their way to success.
Justine O’Neill is a director of Analytic Partners