Good Things are Worth Waiting For

Digital marketing is nothing new - it’s been a near-constant topic of discussion, frustration and innovation even before Google blew the doors off the market with their launch of Adsense in 2000. (Note to self: Shoulda bought GOOG long-before it cracked $500. That’s why I’m in Media and Entertainment, and not finance.)

Still, anyone working in the business today (both the Media and online businesses, for sure) can attest to lots of change, new ground, and opportunity when it comes to connecting the dots on Digital Marketing.

While I love to arm-chair quarterback (Gasp! A sports reference!) the shifts in Digital Marketing, there is a lot to be learned when leading marketing academics and corporate pioneers get together to spearhead discussion on the topic. Such was the case a couple of weeks ago at the Digital Marketing Analytics Roundtable, hosted by Teradata and the University of Maryland.

It was a great opportunity -- for leaders from companies like Barnes and Noble, Razorfish, Nationwide, American Red Cross, Lunexa, Living Social – to share experiences about advances in digital marketing, challenges, and take a good look at what the future holds. (See Blog Post from Stephanie Miller, VP of Aprimo Digital Messaging here.

In our industry, digital marketing is taking on a major role in marketing to and engaging with our customers – and with the emergence of big data analytics, the ability to hone our message and develop truly targeted, insightful marketing to our viewers is growing all the time. We’re finally not just relying on our usual partners and middlemen – the box office, the retailer, the VOD provider – but, through direct-to-consumer and social channels, finally able to establish a direct relationship with our audiences. With the right tools – and a sound digital marketing strategy – we can leverage behavioral insights to learn what, when, how and where our consumers engage.

Here are a couple of nuggets from the Round Table that I found super interesting:
 

• Don’t let intimidation stand in your way - To quote one of the panelists, "The business end of adopting an analytics strategy is not rocket science, it just seems like it is…” I hear about Big Data Steering Committee-after-Steering-Committee, and the one thought I have is, just get started already. Don’t misunderstand – a long-term, comprehensive analytics road-map is probably the greatest gift you can give your organization (we specialize in this at Teradata); however, applying digital marketing strategies to your marketing approach can start now. Don’t let analysis paralysis get in your way.

   

• Pretend you’re a Journalist: Attribute, Attribute, Attribute – Marketing Attribution has long been a buzz word in marketing – but, in reality, there were limited tools to quantify which interaction in an ongoing series of dialogs actually tipped the scale in a transaction. Was it your outdoor ad? Or, the direct mail campaign? What about the banner on Fandango? Why did the consumer *actually* buy? And, what is the relative importance of each "exposure” to your message? Big data analytics – and custom capabilities in Teradata Aster – make Attribution achievable. There’s more to attribution than meets the eye. You can use attribution to: attribute BY channel, attribute ACROSS channels; and use that information as critical inputs in your forecasting and future marketing mix.

These are also hot topics discussed at the Teradata Big Analytics Series Roadshows. Be sure to check it out!

Colleen Quinn