Of all days to work late, it had to be on a Friday, on the hottest day of the year (so far), and on my mom's birthday. Sitting in the office when that's all going on because you have to analyze some data and work on media plans - a person can get pretty emotional. I eventually got home and stopped by to hang with mom for a bit when she point blank asked me..."Why are you so busy?"
..."Why am I so busy?" I started and then stopped. How do I explain to my parents, who aren't super tech savvy, why digital is so much more involved than any other media channel out there? The long and short of it is, digital is creepy - we know everything about everyone - whether the user has dropped off in mid-action, if they've purchased something, how much they purchased, and ultimately how much ROI that means for the client. You can't really do that with TV or print or radio. And that is why I have to stay late because that sort of information doesn't just appear out of thin air (okay maybe it lives in the cloud but that's just semantics).
I recently read two articles on big data and how it gives users what they want, before the even know it. Having been in the industry for a few years now, I've become a big fan of big data even though sometimes it makes me feel uncomfortable - uncomfortable because it can be intimidating just how much there is to work with. I personally feel that when I present to the client, I don't want to tell them I think it might be a good idea. I want to present to the client that based on x, y, z I KNOW it's a great idea and will help them achieve their ultimate goals. I love having back up information and its even better when I have facts based on cross-platform results that will ultimately help choose our strategy for the next planning cycle. I would feel naked if I didn't have data to support my recommendation.
Big data is basically data that is being collected and expanded over time. Marketers are (and should actively be) able to tap into this data to make key decisions on strategy. Something to note about big data is that I believe it can only be as good as the people who analyze it. If you are only using a data scientist to tell you what they think and you aren't able to contribute or take key learnings out, you are missing the boat. There's an argument in the Netflix article linked above that predicting whether a program will do well or not based on 30 million "plays" a day takes the creativity out of the show and starts making all shows look and feel the same. I personally feel like Netflix is doing it right - they used data to make a decision on whether a show may be popular based on director/actors involved but are leaving the creative producers free reign on story line. It turns out its working. People are hooked as Netflix KNEW they would be.
So what if maybe 99% of the data you collect is "useless" - that 1% that helps you make a key decision that could potentially differentiate you from your competitors - in my book that's #winning. Even if it overwhelms me and makes me stay late.
-D
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