MediaCom's Andy Littlewood on the Paradox of Big Data and More

Littlewood started his career at MediaCom in Scotland spent some time at Aegis and PHD then returned to MediaCom as the Chief Data and ROI Officer in Australia before moving to the US in 2015 as the Head of Knowledge NAamp160 We recently talked about his responsibilities as the answer man of the companyCharlene Weisleramp160 What type of data do you capture and useAndy Littlewoodamp160 We capture and leverage every kind business performance audience location web interest shopperamp160 There are no limits to what we might consider useful given our clients39 needs and business objectivesamp160 Each data set is assessed based on the unique value it can provideWeisleramp160 How has the industry changed since you first startedLittlewoodamp160 Brands still want to build lasting profitable relationships with consumersamp160 What39s changed is how that happens including how much more complicated everything has becomeamp160 Marketers started with one or just a couple of advisors and then sought a stable of specialists when the internet first emerged and digital was thought to be an entirely different worldamp160 Nowamp160clients are coming back to the idea that there is greater value in an integrated approachamp160 Programmatic and other tools have kicked off this same cycle again and I39m not sure that these new processes are in service of building brands or just driving cost efficiencyamp160Weisleramp160 You have international experienceamp160 Is there a difference on a global level in how data is used Littlewoodamp160 The US definitely has more data but with that comes more challengesamp160 I call it the paradox of big data it39s great to have location data sets of 50MM plus shopper data sets that cover most households and many other options but what we often forget is that each data set only reflects one aspect of the total consumeramp160 Not enough time is spent really validating the use or accuracy of big data sets their skews and their true predictive valueWeisleramp160 How can you tell which data is good and usable and which data is notamp160 I assume it varies by projectLittlewoodamp160 Test itamp160 A data set is only as valuable as the information it providesamp160 Each data component has a cost and can be combined in elaborate ways but is the cost really worth it and does it drive your business or brandamp160 Structured testing is the way to find outWeisleramp160 What has the response been from your clients to the data resultsamp160 Has it changed their strategies and focusLittlewoodamp160 Every client we have is trying to achieve growth in competitive marketplacesamp160 The data results we generate are often the extra inches that help them get aheadamp160 Every client is responsive to data insights that drive their businessWeisleramp160 How do you tailor the language of data to make it less wonky to your various internal and external client groupsLittlewoodamp160 I live by a very important maximamp160 If I can39t explain it to my mom nearly it39s not ready for communicationWeisleramp160 How do you think privacy is perceived in data usageamp160 Has it changed with recent eventsLittlewoodamp160 Consumer consent is at the heart of so much of what we do todayamp160 Marketers want to pay for real consumers interested in their services and consumers want to see relevant messaging and understand how their information is being usedamp160 Additional privacy requirements ultimately help bring trust back to the equationWeisleramp160 How will privacy concerns impact your future workLittlewoodamp160 Policies that emphasize privacy data quality and governance have a positive effectamp160 With limits on spurious or poorly collected dataamp160the quality of the remaining data will improve which is good news for marketers and consumers alikeClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

APPLY FOR JOBS | SUBMIT YOUR RESUME | REGISTER FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT

MediaCom's Andy Littlewood on the Paradox of Big Data and More

Author

Publish date

Channel

Charlene Weisler

APPLY FOR JOBS | SUBMIT YOUR RESUME | REGISTER FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT

MediaCom's Andy Littlewood on the Paradox of Big Data and More

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Charlene Weisler

Cookies