Since day one, the team at GALE has consistently championed the pivotal role of data in marketing to understand audiences, facilitate optimization, and enhance storytelling. Technology is the engine that enables us to gather and utilize the data necessary to develop impactful campaigns that deliver results.
In my role as VP, Research and Data Products at GALE, I continuously assess data partnerships, insights platforms, and methodology development to ensure we are equipped to advise clients with the most data-driven strategies possible. The NexTech event, hosted by Adweek, provided an excellent opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals, explore new technologies, and identify the trends shaping digital marketing in 2024 and beyond. Here are my top five takeaways:
1. The ESG factor of data investments is front and center.
Equity, inclusion, and carbon impact are increasingly discussed concerns when it comes to data proliferation and the AI applications on top of that data. A number of presenters, including leaders from XStereotype and Cedara, noted they were focused on using AI to concretely measure the size of these challenges and enable their clients to take action to address them. ESG issues will continue to gain prominence in the data world, emphasizing the need for brands and agencies alike to make it a priority.
2. Authenticity is more important than ever.
This came up in two facets. On the one hand, tech can create experiences that help consumers relate to product brands in deeper ways. For instance, the CEO of Legitimate spoke about how Blockchain technology helped Puma distinguish its authentic products from counterfeits by connecting a trackable digital experience to the physical product, generating first party data. On the other hand, the CEO of Coexist Gaming reminded us that operating authentically can also be as simple as just asking (and listening to) communities about their needs, hopes, and lived experiences.
3. With Generative AI, be “intentionally weird.”
Brands and agencies are simultaneously keen on figuring out how to use Generative AI in their business and marketing, and cautious about disrupting their hard-won efforts to be authentic with their customers. The Publisher & GM from BuzzFeed shared her solution to this conundrum: be "intentionally weird." Build products that create quirky experiences and be transparent about their genesis. Learn the ins and outs of AI with these experiments and be ready to build more “authentic” experiences as the technology – and your business’s know-how about training it – evolves.
4. Focusing on attention metrics can hold us to a higher bar, but challenges remain.
Attention and quality are inextricably linked. The quality of an ad drives attention, as does the quality of the placement (think NYT Cooking vs. a Made For Advertising recipe site with endless pop ups). Attention-centric advertising is also more responsible advertising; it’s financially responsible because it doesn’t waste media investments on the wrong audiences or in cluttered spaces, and presenters from Sanofi and Condé Nast both suggested attention-centric advertising is a more environmentally-friendly approach. Still, adoption comes with challenges. Developing stronger ad creative takes time, plus premium placements introduce CPM, reach, and frequency trade-offs. Media planning tools weren’t built around attention and brands want to know how it will drive ROI. The industry needs to create standards to drive trust and adoption.
5. GALE already has a long history in many of the areas deemed “Next”.
Leaders from TransUnion and NielsenIQ highlighted the value of connecting a wide range of consumer data points to individual consumers via an identity graph for post-cookie targeting. This has been at the core of GALE’s approach to targeting media since 2017. SAS spoke about how brands can create their own media companies from their owned media channels to deepen first-party data, and even monetize it by placing ads. theSkimm’s CRO discussed leveraging their highly-trusted email newsletter and rich engagement data to build a shoppable ecosystem. Those two sessions brought me back to my very first project at GALE back in 2014, building an editorial website for a natural CPG company to promote their brands within relevant, trusted content, and build their first-party data ecosystem.
As we gear up for the upcoming year, it’s essential for agencies, brands, and technology partners to keep the insights above in mind to set themselves apart as industry leaders. At GALE, our steadfast commitment to forward-looking and data-backed strategies places us in a strong position to navigate the ever-evolving marketing landscape, ensuring we consistently deliver top-notch and innovative solutions for our clients.
