The advertising industry is still operating as it has done for the past 40 years. You only have to look at the share prices of the networks in the space to know this is the case.
While we have started to see data and creative companies combining for a bottom-up, evidence-based, empirical approach to advertising, things eventually revert to the status quo, with data being underutilised.
We are still not putting data in the hands of the right teams to make a positive impact on ad strategy. So far, data is being collected, analysed and stored primarily by analysts and data scientists. However, if the goal is to drive innovation and growth, data should be understood by – and used across – all teams in an organisation, not just handed off to a cloud specialist or a GA4 analyst. It is essential that data insights are given to the creative teams, because they are the storytellers, and currently, their stories are not being informed by data.
Why data needs to be activated by creative teams
When it comes to driving sales, creative is still king. However, data is now the source of what creatives can use to design, and optimise ads. So, equipping creative teams with knowledge gained from data will give them a deeper understanding of their target audience, helping them identify gaps for opportunities, and to develop more effective campaigns.
The difference between treating a potential customer like a stranger or like a friend whose tastes and preferences you know, is the data points you have about them.
For example, British retailer Boots partnered with Channel 4 in 2023 to target viewers with bespoke ads based on their purchasing patterns. 24 million users on the broadcaster's streaming platform were successfully matched to their respective Boots Advantage Card accounts. This is indicative of the power of addressability, and how analysing the data in your arsenal – and utilising it across teams – can help inform creative decisions.
AI is only as good as the data that you have
Generative AI is changing how most industries work, and ad tech is no different. AI can not only help scale up personalised creatives, but also identify trends to inform creative decisions and improve campaign performance.
As with any AI model, its effectiveness relies solely on the data that's fed to it - or that it has access to. For instance, a travel company can use addressable media with creatives for Disneyland to target families with kids, while serving creatives for adventure sports to single people who are more likely to travel alone. Evidently, this only works when you have accurate data about your audience.
If data is so important, why is it being ignored?
While there are several factors causing data to be ignored, the major one is privacy regulations such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the US. These rules have made it harder for advertisers to access users’ data without explicit consent.
Even Apple has changed its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework, complicating data collection for targeted advertising. Many advertisers are already grappling with a decline in the effectiveness of their campaigns due to this. To fuel the fire, the days of third-party cookies are numbered with Google preparing to phase out cookies this year.
We are currently in an age where consumers are becoming increasingly aware of how valuable their data is, and are careful about whom they give it to. There is also a growing sense of 'data fatigue' leading to reduced willingness to share information. With social media, users end up seeing more ads than they'd care to, so it's no surprise that they've become really good at ignoring them. For advertisers to break through the noise and capture consumers' attention, they must play smarter.
It’s time to grasp first-party data
Just because it's become tougher to access valuable, accurate data it does not mean data should take a backseat. You may simply be looking in the wrong place for it. One study reveals that 61% of UK consumers are happy for advertisers to use personal data to personalise ads and offers, but as Google begins to remove third-party cookies, businesses need to be using tools that can provide accurate measurement of how this loss of third-party data will impact their marketing strategies.
Businesses that utilise technology to understand how the removal of third-party cookies will affect them, will be better equipped to effectively harness first-party data, which is collected directly from consumers and comes with their stamp of consent. It's infinitely more reliable than third-party data and can provide valuable insights into what customers want.
Couple this knowledge with contextual targeting, and you have advertising gold. Instead of knocking on people's doors when no one's home, with first-party data, you already know when to knock, who will answer the door and what they want to see.
As mentioned, in 2022, Boots harnessed the first-party data from its Advantage Card and tailored its summer TV ad campaign with different creatives and formats for different audience segments. The result was a four-times increase in return on ad spending, with 61% of TV viewers exposed to the campaign likely to purchase a product.
The fact is that data uplifts creativity rather than diminishing it by empowering and amplifying brand messaging. When organisations give data its rightful place in creative advertising, the benefits can only be exponential.
