HOW BRANDS USE DATA TO CREATE SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGNS | Harnham Recruitment post

Make no mistake: making minor adjustments to an ad or campaign that’s meant to appeal to the masses just won’t cut it. Customers crave creativity. They want to be understood. Which is why people respond best to brands that do their homework, doing their research into what appeals to different groups.How should businesses appeal to their chosen segments, then, considering how diverse people are? Data, of course.Why Data? For one thing, it drives results and creates improved outcomes. Data also helps to prove the value of marketing, providing a bargaining chip for future budget discussions. And, most rewarding of all, brands get valuable insights into their target market. Which, in turn, leads to more well-targeted, profitable campaigns. And if you think Data doesn’t belong in the world of creative campaigns, think again. As OpenJaw Technologies Chief Marketing Officer Colin Lewis argues: “Creativity is not just compatible with being Data-driven – Data can drive better creative.”

Psychological profilingStrategic communications consultancy, Verbalisation, researches and analyses language to form valuable insights. Using its Rapid Audience Insights Diagnostic system, the company’s team of psychologists and researchers work out how an audience thinks. They also learn the actual words an audience uses, which they then use as the basis of a marketing strategy. Based on their unique research and insights, Verbalisation has created several successful campaigns for high-profile brands. These include the #NotAnotherBrother campaign for counter-terrorism organisation Quilliam, which looked at the motivations of jihadists. The campaign is now used by the UN and schools across the UK, as well as the US Department of Defense. It is the most viewed counter-extremism campaign of all time, with more than half a billion global media impressions. 

Location, location, locationOut-of-home (OOH) advertising. Yes, it goes way back, but it’s actually the only traditional advertising channel posting rapid growth. In fact, thanks to mobile-location Data, brands can target audiences quicker and with a greater chance of success than ever before. Great news for JCDecaux (JCD), a leading OOH company with ads reaching 410 million people in over 4,000 cities. JCD now works with location Data to define and segment audiences. Doing so helps it decide where to place media, improve campaigns and measure resulting store footfall and purchases. Knowledge, so they say, is power. Particularly when that involves knowing the whereabouts of the most coveted customers. Newly teamed up with identity resolution company, Neustar, JCD’s insights look stronger than ever. JCD can now understand which of its locations rank higher for any brand’s most desired audiences. All thanks to location Data and real-time behaviour analysis. 

Personalised employee trainingData doesn’t just boost the results of B2C brands; it can also be a vital shot in the arm for internal security training campaigns. Training provider, CybeReady, for instance, uses a Data science-driven approach to deliver cyber awareness training with a difference: its anti-phishing platform helps security teams quickly roll out and tailor campaigns to individual employees.In big companies, getting employees up to speed is especially challenging. With many locations, languages and time zones to contend with, Information Security teams have their work cut out. CybeReady eliminates these challenges by delivering 12 personalised, 60-second simulations to each employee. In their first language, every year. What’s more, the training provider uses machine learning to analyse performance on a daily basis. This enables it to provide the most appropriate simulations to each individual. The result? IT teams save 160 hours each month and employee resilience increases five-fold.There’s no limit to what Data can do. If you’re a fan, we may have a role for you. Take a look at our latest opportunities or get in touch with our expert consultants.