By Tina Wisner
There has been a great deal of talk recently about “Big Data.” So much focus and effort is being channeled today by companies large and small in acquiring technology, products, and services by which to collect and store Big Data. Yet very little effort is being placed on the methodologies, techniques, and rigors that are required in deriving bigger and better insights from that data. Yes, Big Data requires new technologies to be powered, and it has to be stored properly. But Big Data must also result in Big Thinking, to ensure that it is becomes more valuable than traditional data in informing important business decisions.
With the concept of “Big Data” so new, I am hearing stories about how its wealth is often times underutilized. I recently attended a Big Data and Cloud Connect Conference in Chicago. During one of the sessions, it was mentioned that a large bank recently acquired social media data (among the many unstructured data that is available,) invested in updated infrastructure, and came to the obvious conclusion that its customers don’t like fees. Target Marketing Magazine recently published an article on why “Big Data is Baloney!” The article spoke about massive data, high powered systems, and expensive technologies, that, in the end, simply boiled down to engagement metrics.
With the largest variety of sources, fastest velocity of refreshing capability, and truly robust technology that powers it, Big Data means nothing without the business value that can ultimately be drawn from it. With the explosion of different channels by which consumers today, on a global basis, can communicate and consume (the Internet; social media networks; personal surveys; smart technologies on phones/parking meters/electric grids/thermostats; etc.), elevating the understanding of an agency’s clients’ consumers has become not only possible but essential. This data helps to provide offerings that are designed around the real time needs of these consumers.
An agency’s “Data Science Team” members should fully support the use of the robust technology, intelligent tools, and smart resources that can speed up the outcomes that make a difference for agency clients. The mission of a successful agency’s Data Science team should be to enhance the business value inherently found in traditional data, and embellish that with the variety, volume, and velocity of the Big Data that is also available today.
Some goals that a Direct Response Agency should seek to answer in regard to their clients’ business needs are (1) to identify and quantify the influence of Direct Response Television Advertising (DRTV) on the digital channel; (2) to measure the multi-channel impact of DRTV; (3) to uncover the moment by moment sentiments and behaviors of consumers that can drive action, and (4) to mine new targeting opportunities exhibiting similar consumption and behavior patterns as the base target.
Are there challenges involved with Big Data? Of course. I would say that Time and Automation are two critical success factors to consider in the effective use of Big Data. To build the infrastructure and process of collecting and storing meaningful Big Data takes time and investment.
Challenges with Big Data can be summed up into two themes: Technical and Analytical. Agencies have to deal with the typical technical issues that most organizations have had to deal with coming from legacy systems. Data silos exist. On top of that, the need to marry Big Data with traditional data makes integration, standardization, and data cleansing twice as challenging. Processing speed and storage capacity can also become issues as well, if not for the emerging tools and technology today that make it possible to scale very quickly. Championing these technical issues is just a part of overcoming the bigger challenge.
In my opinion, the biggest challenge today is in finding added value from these new data sets, in order for Big Data to have business significance and impact. Two things became crucial for an agency’s Data Science Team members to achieve: (1) they need to define new metrics, create new dimensions of attributes, and re-state business benchmarks, through the integrated lens of the old/traditional data, and the new, Big Data; and (2) the new data sets have to be converted in an analytical format that data scientists can explore, to uncover hidden patterns and find correlation to the current state of the business, while guided by the integrated lens of success measurements.
An advertising agency’s data development and implementation philosophy should be simple. An agency should move quickly to identify and leverage emerging data trends to better its clients’ ROMI without delay. This approach can have two phases: Phase 1 – acquire the data, prototype rapidly, analyze quickly and socialize the business value; and, Phase 2 – develop the automation, and test and implement horizontally, while planning for future vertical enhancements.
The results of data innovation and expertise in analytics are services that a modern agency must offer to its clients as part of its campaign planning and execution. Data Science Team members should be proud of the enhanced insights they are able to produce for clients. This forward movement will ultimately translate into organic growth and new opportunities for both existing and prospective new clients.
In conclusion, data today, Big or Small, robust technology, and analytics rigors have to intersect to create Big Business Impact. Only then can our industry truly say that “Big Data Equals Big Thinking!”
Tina Wisner is director of data science and analytics at Hawthorne Direct.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More