Data analytics to be of increased importance to ad agencies
Major media and advertising agencies are turning their focus more on the use of data analytics and digital experts to capitalise on the rise of mobile Internet users.
This was frequently discussed among high-ranking executives throughout this year and will continue to be important to the ad-media industry in 2015.
“Encouraged by the rise of Internet users, particularly on the mobile platform, data consumption and consumer-generated content will grow exponentially. Marketers, brands and even media agencies need to get ready to utilise that growing river of data,” said Patthawan Sathaporn, managing director of media investment firm Mindshare Thailand.
She said brands must adapt their marketing communication to the changes in consumers’ behaviour by managing and analysing data so as to modify their strategies.
In preparation for this challenge, Mindshare will build a “digital war room” for its clients. The Loop, a data monitoring and controlling war room, will be ready to welcome clients by next quarter.
“This will be the second one in Southeast Asia after Singapore. The first Loop room was developed in our New York headquarters,” Patthawan said.
This new war room includes multiple screens monitoring data from more than 100 sources in real time. Data partners are defined on a market-by-market basis.
This is to help clients make collaborative and adaptive decisions and across the full range of their marketing.
The Loop is also used to track competitors’ efforts, as well as to provide intelligence on trending and viral news, videos and pictures, enabling instant decision-making.
In a previous interview with Mindshare, it said it was searching for data scientists to work with. This year, data scientists account for less than 3 per cent of total staff. By 2019, the agency hopes to get that proportion up to 20 per cent.
Another leading communications agency, OMD Worldwide, is also focusing more on human resources, particularly data analysts and scientists, to help the company provide real-time responses for clients.
Global chief executive officer Mainardo de Nardis said OMD’s Bangkok office was doing a good job under an integrated discipline strategy both online and offline. Currently, the Bangkok team has 35 to 40 digital experts.
“Next year, OMD’s Bangkok office is planning to welcome 30 more staff to the digital team,” he said.
Other key elements for a real-time response service are programmatic buying, real-time feeders and a data management platform.
IPG Mediabrands also said it was considering adapting programmatic buying for digital service.
