September 2, 2024
However, with ongoing discussion surrounding privacy laws and third-party cookies, the ability to track and harness data could be about to change—and this could mean a big shift in digital marketing.
This got us thinking: should marketers embrace the idea of having less data? Could this shift create new opportunities? Could it make us more creative and inquisitive? And could it actually lead to more effective strategies, instead of directing all of our budget into bottom-of-the-funnel channels like everyone else? In this post, we explore the relationship between data and digital marketing.
Since the internet boom of the 1990s, the digital revolution has transformed marketing into a data-driven science. Every strategy reads like a scientific experiment: marketers gather existing data, predict which areas could provide the best return on investment, design and deliver a campaign that tests their hypotheses, and retrieve data to measure their success.
From tracking consumer behaviour to measuring conversion rates, this reliance on data has fed into every digital marketing activity—and it’s easy to see why. This information is simultaneously comforting and empowering; it provides a clearly defined path from point a to point b, enabling businesses to curate campaigns that are targeted and highly personalised.
Whether your aim is to grow sales, enhance brand awareness or boost engagement, data is viewed as the holy grail of the marketing world. But is it?
Rory Sutherland, vice chairman of Ogilvy and co-founder of the company’s behavioural science division, has long argued that businesses are too reliant on data. He believes that this can blind marketers to the bigger picture, create a false sense of certainty and lead to “data blindness.”
Sutherland outlined his concerns back in 2021. The revered ad exec wrote a thought piece in which he said: “Reliance on data can create huge, invisible opportunity costs. It may blind you to the obvious more often than it alerts you to the unknown.”
This “blindness” occurs when marketers become too focused on measurable outcomes and overlook the intangible—often unquantifiable—factors that drive consumer behaviour. The real danger, according to Sutherland, is that data-driven decisions can result in a narrow view of marketing success.
By relying on data alone, marketers may become fixated on optimising for short-term, easily measurable goals like click-through rates or social media follows. The problem? This can come at the expense of long-term brand building, sustainable growth and customer loyalty.
As Sutherland puts it: “There’s always a trade off between short-term efficiency through exploiting what you already know, and long-term resilience and success through exploring what you don’t yet know.”
Day-to-day, marketers dedicate their time to wrestling with endless streams of data, finding the evidence required to build innovative, impactful and effective campaigns. But Sutherland believes that too much data can actually lead to the reverse.
In his view, this tunnel vision can stifle creativity and discourage experimentation. In short, it can lead marketers to play it safe and chase predictable, data-backed outcomes.
Speaking to Think with Google in 2023, Sutherland discussed the ways in which we interpret this data. In his experience, this information is often taken too literally and acted upon without considering context. In his words: “If you’re only looking at the behaviour without exploring the reason behind it you’ll be misled.”
The crux of the issue is this: data is logical but humans aren’t; our behaviour is determined by more than just numbers on a spreadsheet.
This quest for endless data encountered a setback in 2018. This was the year that stricter privacy laws were introduced, from the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States.
A few years later, Google announced their intention to eliminate third-party cookies. This sent shockwaves through the marketing world, igniting concerns about the future of data collection and the fallout these changes could bring. Note: Google recently backtracked on their decision and you can read more about this here.
Despite Google’s rethink, the overall message is clear: the era of easy access to abundant data is changing and marketers must prepare to adapt.
With consumers becoming increasingly concerned about how their data is collected, stored and used, the demand for greater transparency has grown. But while privacy laws are a win for the consumer, they have also created an ongoing headache for digital marketers.
After all, how do you maintain effective marketing strategies when third-party data sources dwindle? The answer lies in redefining the relationship between brands and their audiences.
Key actions remain the same. Bottom line KPIs remain the same. Although we get less information on where conversions come from, there’s a big chance many businesses were giving far too much credit to the last click anyway.
Without third party cookies, we can now look at the wider marketing mix and invest in channels more freely, without the fear of not seeing revenue attributed.
Investments in brand awareness campaigns may provide a much better ROI for larger SMEs in the long run than some data driven campaigns.
This leads us to one of the most compelling parts of Sutherland’s argument: experimentation. Sutherland emphasises that stepping away from data can actually liberate marketers. He believes that reducing reliance on data encourages us to test new ideas, explore unconventional strategies and rediscover other forms of marketing.
Take billboard advertising. In a world dominated by data-driven marketing, billboards may seem outdated or irrelevant. However, research indicates that they remain highly effective at capturing attention, reaching diverse audiences and building brand awareness.
For example, stats compiled by Clear Channel reveal that exposure to Out of Home (OOH) advertising can significantly enhance marketing outcomes. This includes boosting ad awareness by 198%, uplifting sales by 47% and increasing profits by 26%.
Similarly, physical stores are another compelling example. While e-commerce has made it possible to track almost every aspect of a customer’s journey, brick-and-mortar stores have to rely on more creative, sensory-driven marketing techniques.
Take the Gruen Transfer (or Gruen Effect). Named after Victor Gruen, the pioneer of shopping malls, this concept involves designing a slightly disorienting layout that encourages shoppers to make impulse purchases.
There is one brand that has mastered this art: IKEA. Their showrooms utilise a structured layout, purposely guiding shoppers through a maze of products and perfectly staged rooms.
Like IKEA, big brands use behavioural concepts, studies and research to create profitable layouts. However, while their designs are dictated by data, the value of these physical stores can be harder to quantify.
Unlike a website, data is not drip fed during every interaction. We cannot follow each part of the customer journey, see how every user engaged with a piece of content, or monitor the number of times they looked at a product.
Yet, according to Sutherland, it’s this lack of data that can foster creativity and innovation. He argues that when faced with fewer data points, marketers are compelled to think outside the box and develop strategies that engage audiences in deeper, more meaningful ways.
One of the key points Sutherland makes is that intuition and human insight are often undervalued in our data-driven world. This is particularly prevalent in modern marketing where decisions are guided by numbers, metrics and algorithms.
In contrast, Sutherland believes that the most effective strategies tend to come from a deep understanding of people—their desires, pain points, emotions and behaviours. He argues that the true essence of marketing lies in creating connections and telling stories that resonate.
In the pre-digital era, marketers relied on creativity, intuition and human insight to craft campaigns that struck a chord. Although these campaigns lacked the precise measurability of today’s digital efforts, they often had a profound and lasting impact.
Consider some of the iconic campaigns of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. The Volkswagen Beetle “Think Small” ad revolutionised advertising with its minimalist and humorous approach. Similarly, the 80-year-old who jogged through Nike’s first “Just do it” ad captured the brand’s values of determination and perseverance.
These campaigns were bold and creative. They succeeded not because they were measurable or driven by metrics but because they were authentic; they tapped into fundamental aspects of the human experience.
As Sutherland puts it, “evolved human instinct may be much better at statistics than modern economists.” Or. “Not everything that makes sense works, and not everything that works makes sense.”
His sentiment is clear: our ability to be creative, empathise and connect with people remains important. The key is to combine data with a more human-centric approach.
While we can learn lessons from the past, it’s also important to remember how much the world—and the world of marketing—has changed. Data has transformed every aspect of our lives and forever altered the way businesses operate.
With vast amounts of data at our fingertips, marketers have the power to respond to emerging trends, make immediate adjustments to their strategies and spot new opportunities as they arise. This level of responsiveness is crucial for gaining and maintaining a competitive edge.
On top of this, data plays a pivotal role in helping us understand audiences. It allows us to follow their journey in minute detail, discover what kinds of content they engage with, which marketing channels they prefer and ultimately, how we can best reach and serve them.
A key point to note is that data, while powerful, is also inherently retrospective. As Sutherland aptly puts it: “It’s important to remember that big data all comes from the same place – the past.”
Data ages quickly. Although it can tell us what has happened, it cannot always explain why people make the choices they do or accurately predict what they will do next. This is why a purely data-driven approach can fall short; it lacks the nuance of human behaviour.
To truly resonate with audiences, marketers must strike the balance between data-led and human-informed approaches. While we should leverage data to guide our actions, we should never lose sight of the people we’re trying to reach.
it’s clear that privacy laws have—and will continue to—reshape digital marketing practices. But, as Sutherland suggests, this shift could open up new opportunities. Faced with the possibility of a third-party data drought, marketers can explore first-party data, experiment with innovative ideas and engage audiences in more creative and meaningful ways.
Although data remains an invaluable tool, it’s crucial to remember that marketing is about more than just numbers—it’s about people. With marketing increasingly dominated by algorithms, metrics and short-term goals, there is a genuine risk of forgetting the human element. However, it’s this element that often determines whether a campaign soars or flops.
While data should inform and guide marketing strategies, we must also recognise the value of human insight. The best marketing is not always the most measurable; impactful campaigns often feature compelling stories, forge strong emotional connections and leave lasting impressions.
Here at Another Concept, we adopt a human-first approach. From our digital PR strategies to the content we craft, connection is at the heart of everything we do. By balancing data with creativity, we design campaigns that achieve results while building brands that people truly love.
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